Catalyst Question

Where have you noticed God in your everyday life?

God is Still Near

In Luke 2:22-40, we find the story of Mary and Joseph bringing Jesus to the Jerusalem temple. This act of dedication of their firstborn son was fairly common amongst Jews of the day. What was abnormal was the response. Two prophets, Simeon and Anna, each praise God for Jesus’ presence. Why celebrate this otherwise apparently normal boy? Because, by meeting Jesus in this very ordinary ritual, they encounter the extraordinary: God’s redemptive presence. God is near, and so they celebrate!

Finding the extraordinary amidst the ordinary isn’t limited only to ancient prophets or biblical stories. The Hippo Song, a classic camp tune, reminds us that “God’s fingerprints are everywhere.” Perhaps this became even more evident with the rise of Moo Deng’s popularity last year. In animals, plants, rocks, water, and everything else in the universe, creation points us to our creator.

Organizations like The Nature Conservancy work to ensure the protection of God’s creatures great and small. They bring together individuals and communities, religious and secular organizations, government and private initiatives, all to make sure the ordinary things of the Earth aren’t lost. The protection of these creations not only ensures wilderness for generations to come. It also ensures we can continue the sacred rituals God gives us through ordinary things. Baptism requires clean water. Bread and wine require healthy crops. God calls us to care for the normal things in our world; yet, through them, we also find that sacred presence that’s been there all long. 

This week, reflect on what it means that Jesus’ presentation at the temple–a very routine thing–is remembered as an exceptional moment in history. Then, think about the routine things in our world today–bugs and dirt, air and flowers, birds and fish, and of course, hippos like Moo Deng–and search for God’s fingerprints. Through them, and through us, God is still near. 

Ask Yourself

Where do you have trouble noticing God in your everyday life? Why might that be?

Ask a Friend

If God created everything, then how does our faith call us to interact with nature?

Catalyst Question

What’s something old that you’ve noticed becoming popular again? How does that make you feel?

Something Old and Something New

There’s an old English rhyme that goes, “something old and something new, something borrowed and something blue, and a sixpence in your shoe.” It describes a tradition for brides to wear something of each category on their wedding day. To this day, many weddings include parts of the tradition, though finding a sixpence is much more difficult in the 21st century.

Only a month into the new year, there’s much in the news that appears both old and new all at the same time. The 45th president is now the 47th president. Multiple countries and companies are preparing for space travel, with hopes to return people to the moon within just a few years. Even flare leg jeans are back in style.

In Sunday’s Gospel reading from Luke 4:14-21, Jesus reads a few verses from Isaiah that declare “the year of the Lord’s favor.” This sounds new and exciting! Yet, it comes from a prophet from hundreds of years before. It’s an ancient promise that’s reaffirmed for present listeners. In that way, it is both old and new.

Many people become obsessed with new things. Perhaps this is because they believe new things will lead to different results. What’s odd about that is that, to use biblical language, there’s almost nothing new under the sun. What feels new to some is quite old to others.

But with Jesus, it is still very different from the old and new that we see in politics, in science, or in style. Why is that? Because, in Jesus, the promise fulfilled. What’s old is made new in Jesus in ways that no politician, scientist, or influencer can match. Jesus is Emmanuel, God with us, and it is only God’s newness that brings forgiveness of sin and abundant life. Jesus is so much more than an old trend returning. We owe ultimate allegiance not to political offices, scientific advancements, or cultural trends. We owe it the one in whom all things are always being made new, the only one who keeps all promises: Jesus.

Ask Yourself

What are the things–or who are the people–that ask for your ultimate allegiance in ways that draw your devotion away from Jesus?

Ask a Friend

What are the ways that Jesus has brought renewal into your life? 

Catalyst Question

Share about a time when someone stepped in to help you face a sudden, unexpected problem.

An Urgent Answer

As wildfires continue to threaten countless people in Los Angeles, community organizations are stepping up to help. Some provide food and shelter to the newly houseless. Others assist pets separated from families in the rush to find safety. All God’s creatures, great and small, need support in times of tragedy like these. And God shows up in all sorts of ways, through local organizations like those above and through international efforts like our own Lutheran Disaster Response.

In Sunday’s reading from John 2:1-12, a very different sort of urgent need appears. It is certainly not life or death to run out of wine at a wedding reception. The only thing at risk, it seems, is the social standing of the party thrower, whose lack of resources just might disappoint the party goers.

And still Jesus steps in. Without fanfare, Jesus preserves the relationships of the attendees with the bridegroom by ensuring there’s wine to spare. Not only does Jesus turn water into wine, but into excellent wine. When Jesus offers help, even in relatively minor situations, it’s not simply adequate. It’s extravagant, extending from great to small.

These are certainly different situations, natural disasters and party supplies. Still, in the times of urgent need, God steps in because God cares about us. As followers of Christ, so too we are called to step in. Perhaps this is through a gift to Lutheran Disaster Response’s efforts to immediately address the crisis. Perhaps it’s by providing housing to someone displaced by the fires until they’re able to return home. Certainly it’s through prayer. The example of Jesus is clear: when a crisis arises, Christians are called to provide relief.

Ask Yourself

What are some different ways you could intervene to provide relief to wildfire victims or others experiencing an urgent need? Pray and ask God for the wisdom to respond faithfully.

Ask a Friend

Who is someone that provided relief to you in a time of crisis, whether minor or major? How did they show Christ to you through their support?

Catalyst Question

What do you remember of your baptism, if anything? If you aren’t baptized, or if you don’t remember yours, then share a memory of a baptism you witnessed. 

The Baptized Life

This week is President Jimmy Carter’s funeral. As people share memories, you might notice that many reflect not only on his presidency, but on what he did with life after he completed his only term as the leader of the United States of America.

There’s lots of reasons for that. Chief amongst them is that, after he left the White House, President Carter committed to continued service. This happened in his local Georgia church where he served as a Sunday school teacher. His influence helped to kickstart the housing movement that became Habitat for Humanity. He worked globally to reduce poverty and locally to inspire people of faith to live out Jesus’ compassion.

Political junkies might also know that President Carter’s single term was controversial. People remember economic turmoil at home and the the Iran-Contra Affair abroad. Fortunately, like any baptized child of God, President Carter knew two things. First, no one is perfect. Whether due to mistakes in his leadership or powers beyond his control, President Carter admitted his limitations. Second, he knew that mistakes don’t need to end your influence, even if they bring a change in the way(s) that you serve.

That’s the baptized life. We, who are not perfect, live in light of Christ’s perfection. We, who cannot save ourselves or everyone else, are saved by the grace of God.

This week, as we celebrate the Baptism of Our Lord, we read about the baptism of the only one perfect among us, Jesus (Luke 3:15-17, 21-22). Jesus submits to baptism as a sign that God, in becoming human, also accepted limitation. All of us who follow him in baptism, join in that miraculous life, death, and resurrection. Our human limitations and our sinfulness alike are not the end of our story because, in Christ, we live resurrection life.

President Carter’s legacy reminds us that, long before death, Christ invites us to participate in resurrection life. It also reminds us that, even if we don’t remember our own baptisms, we are living our baptism every day as we emulate Jesus in word and deed. May we live that life today and every day, until death comes, when we will join in that final promise of everlasting life.

Ask Yourself: When things don’t go the way you want them to, how might you remember your baptism in ways that inspire new ways of living more abundant life? 

Ask a Friend: Who is someone you witnessed live a resurrection life? It could be a personal connection, a public figure, or even fictional character. 

Catalyst Question

What constellations, comets, or other celestial objects can you identify?

Signs in the Skies

Happy New Year! Last year, many in the United States experienced a total solar eclipse. As this article details, 2025 forecasts a number of different events involving the sun, moon, stars, comets, and more.

We’re not the only ones who look to the heavens with interest. In today’s Gospel reading from Matthew 2:1-12, Magi from Persia follow heavenly body to Bethlehem and visit Jesus. Magi were priests and scholars who looked to the stars for divine wisdom. They asked questions about anything from the best time to plant and harvest crops to whether a natural disaster might visit their region. Magi sought the sacred in the stars. While Lutherans don’t typically look to the stars in exactly the same way, we do look to the heavens because we believe they reveal God’s wisdom and might.

This Sunday, we celebrate The Epiphany of Our Lord. The word epiphany means “reveal.” This festival celebrates that, in Jesus, God is revealed to all people. Jesus is not just for the polite, religiously acceptable people, but for the people who look for God in ways that seem strange to others. Jesus is not just for the insiders, but for the outsiders. In Jesus, God is revealed to all nations, all peoples, all sorts of all of us.

This year, as you look to the sky, remember that many other people will be looking at the same stars, the same comets, the same sun and moon. They might be very different from you, but the God in Bethlehem’s manger came for them, too.

Ask Yourself: Epiphany reveals that God for everyone. Who is it hardest for you to believe Jesus is here for? Why is that?

Ask a Friend: When you look to the stars, what do you learn about God?