In the time of King Herod,
after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to
Jerusalem, 2 asking, "Where is the child who has been born king
of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him
homage." –Matthew 2:1-2 (NRSV)
It’s Sunday and we’re peaking ahead to the traditional day of the magi’s visit
to the Christ child in Bethlehem (Jan. 6th). We transition from the celebration of the
fulfillment of prophecy to the people of Israel to the wider mission of God to
reach out and bless all the families of the earth (Gen. 12:3).
Sometimes we forget
that the Father of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is “our” Father, the heavenly Parent of every tribe and race.
Why do some of us
have trouble imagining Jesus with facial features and skin color that matches
various racial and ethnic groups around the world?
Jesus certainly
didn’t look like many of the pictures you and I grew up with. As a Middle Eastern man he probably had very
dark hair, olive skin, and a big nose (bigger than most Europeans anyway).
With the advent of
technology that makes the world smaller and more ‘intimate’ by the minute, we
need to get used to the fact that the God who made all things, the one who “so
loved the world that he gave his
only Son” to save it, must love red and yellow, black and brown as much as
white...and we’re all precious in his sight.
There is a diversity
of people on this planet. We are one of
many, and God loves us all. [LOVE ALL]
May we learn to
appreciate what each “tribe and race” brings to the daily table...a foretaste
of the Feast to come.
God of all creation, create in us new hearts,
willing spirits, and beautiful bodies dedicated to being the change which you
seek to bring to fullness in our world.
Your kingdom come. Your will be
done…in my life…at Joyful Servant…and beyond.
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