Pious Lutheran

The Flight into Egypt , Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld, 1828 Rejoicing in Suffering Sent by God God sends suffering God guards us through the suffering God turns all our suffering into glory Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! “ This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet. ” God’s ways are beyond human reason. For instance, the prophet Micah declared that the Christ was to be born in Bethlehem, “ for from you shall come a ruler who will shepherd My people Israel. ” Though Jesus was conceived in Nazareth, and Joseph and Mary were already living there, because Israel was under Roman occupation the holy family needed to travel to Bethlehem in order to pay taxes to a foreign nation, and there He was born. The prophecy was fulfilled through suffering. Then, the prophet Hosea declared that the Christ would have to come out of Egypt, saying, “ Out of Egypt I called my Son. ” Now the holy family had to move to Egypt because Herod in his jealous rage sought to murder the Christ. ...

The Faithful and Wise Steward , Jan Luyken, 1840 Readiness The New Year is a time to reflect upon the past, and make preparations for the future In reflection we must recognize that we have not always been as ready as we ought to have been For which we deserve punishment Our Lord is merciful and forgiving, so we begin the new year afresh, and ready ourselves for Christ’s return When He returns, He reverses situation and becomes the slave who serves us A blessed New Year’s Eve, dear brothers and sisters in Christ! The close of the year calls for a time of thanksgiving and celebration. We look back upon the past twelve months and meditate on all of God’s providential care for us and our loved ones. Even in reflecting upon our crosses which we suffered through, we remember God’s goodness in preserving us through those trials. Any number of things could’ve happened this past year, and yet the Lord preserved us through it all. So tonight and tomorrow celebrate and rejoice in God’s omnipoten...

Nativity , Sandro Botticelli, 1475 A New Birth The birth of Jesus foreshadows our new birth through Holy Baptism The birth of Jesus foreshadows our new birth in the day of resurrection Merry Christmas! “ And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. ” That Word which was in the beginning, who is God, through Whom all things have been made, through Whom is life and the light of men, that Word became flesh in the womb of blessed virgin Mary. He who created Adam and Eve and Mary, who created wombs for infants, He became man and entered into the flesh and the womb of the woman He had made. He who created women to nurture and feed with their own body, was born of Mary and fed from her. He who created light and air and food and water and creatures of every size and sort stepped into His created world. Though He is uncreated, in the incarnation the infinite has put on the finite to dwell with His cr...