To see thee more clearly,love thee more dearly,follow thee more nearly

Transcription

1 Dear Christian Friends: The Grace and peace of God be with you throughout the coming year. This is the first Sunday of the New Year and a time we think of New Year s resolutions. I like the man who prayed to God: Lord, in 2016, my prayer for the New Year is a fat bank account and a thin body. Please don t mix these up like you did last year. One conscientious man kept a record of his past resolutions regarding dieting. 2012: I will get my weight down below 180 lbs I will get my weight down below 200 lbs 2014: I will develop a realistic attitude about my weight. 2015: I will thank God each day that I am not starving. A good new year s resolution might be captured in the words of the song from Godspell: Day by day. Day by day,day by day,oh Dear Lord,Three things I pray To see thee more clearly,love thee more dearly,follow thee more nearly Day by day. To see thee more clearly. That in itself is a prayer worth praying every day in the coming year. Our text this morning tells us: He was in the world, and the world came into being through him; yet the world did not know him. One of the questions you might ask at the dinner table each evening or before the end of each day is: where did I see Jesus today? Where did I see Jesus today? Some days we can see Jesus through the world that came into being through him. This time of the year, there are days when you can look up at the snow on the mountains while you are enjoying a warm sunny day in the valley and just marvel at the beauty of creation. Or maybe you see in intricacies of a single flower and marvel at its shape, its color and its smell. At other

2 times you may enjoy the smile of a small child and marvel that God allows humanity to participate in the process of procreation. Day by day, to see thee more clearly. Our text this morning goes on to say: But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God. It s always a good day when you have stopped to listen to God s voice and hear God say: You are my child. I claimed you at your baptism, you are mine forever. There are so many days when we have sinned and feel bad about ourselves, when we have not measured up to the expectations of our parents, our spouses, our bosses, or our friends. Sometimes their criticism is well founded. And in the midst of our sinfulness, we hear the words of Jesus, I do not condemn you. You are forgiven, go and sin no more. Day by day, to see thee more clearly. Our text goes on to say: And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father s only son, full of grace and truth.from his fullness we have all received grace upon grace. The most common way we see the grace of God is through the cross. There on the cross, God pours out his life, so that we might be forgiven and know the depth of God s love and grace. When we gaze upon the cross, we can see the fullness of God s grace. But God s grace is not confined to the cross. God s grace is poured out upon us each and every day, if we only have eyes to see it. I witnessed God s presence at Real Help on Christmas Eve day. On a day when we thought we might not have enough volunteers to provide the meal for the homeless, the kitchen and dining room was filled with volunteers willing to give of themselves for those in need. God was present not only in the volunteers, but in the people who came to be fed and who came to receive sweatshirts and warm clothing. There was faith in God,

3 there was thankfulness for food, there was hope in the midst of their struggles. In so many ways, the love of God was present in that humble setting. Day by day, to see thee more clearly. Day by day, to love thee more dearly. Once we see that Jesus is the word made flesh, and once we see the depth of God s love for us and all people, and once we believe that he has come and he has died on the cross to offer us the free gift of eternal salvation, what can we do but love him more dearly. Each and every day, the praise of God should be on our lips. Just as we need to tell the people in our lives that we love them, we need to express our love to God. Day by day to praise God for his love in creating us, praise God each day for the material blessing we enjoy in this world, praise God each day for God s promises of salvation, and we praise God just because we love God. How important it is to not only praise him in our personal prayers and devotions, but praise God as a community in worship. When we take time for daily prayer and devotions, and when we take time for weekly worship: Day by Day we love thee more dearly. It is when we see more clearly, and love God more dearly that we can truly follow thee more nearly. It is the love of God that gives birth to the love in us. It is the love of God that gives birth to the love in us. And it is that loves that inspires us to follow in the path of Jesus, the path of sacrifice and service to others. That s what it means to follow Jesus more nearly, to take up our cross and follow him. We are not called to take up the cross of dying on a cross, but we are called to take up the cross of sacrificial giving, of humble service, and loving our neighbors as ourselves. And so, two dozen people were at Real Help on Christmas Eve day, serving a hot meal, distributing warm clothing, and following God more nearly.

4 I often see God working through people like Wendy s brother. He lives in Big Bear, lives hand to mouth doing a variety of plumbing jobs, and yet he has taken in Felix, a Mexican immigrant and cares for him. These two men, with little between them, check up on elderly people in their community, and cook hot meals for them on holidays and special occasions. Every Christmas Felix fixes tamales, horchata and jimaca tea and sends it with Wendy s brother to share with our family. I see God in them as they care for others around them, even within their own limited resources. It is important that as we follow Jesus and do good works in his name, that we don t think we are doing them to earn God s love or salvation. As we go back to our text this morning, John writes in vs. 17 The law indeed was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. The law tells us all those things we HAVE TO DO. It is grace through Jesus Christ that tells us that we are loved by God and we have been given the promise of eternal salvation as a gift of grace. We don t follow Jesus more nearly so that we will be saved. It is because we have been saved by the grace of God, that we freely choose to follow him. It goes back to that fundamental Lutheran principle: because therefore. Because God has saved me, because my sins are forgiven, because God has been gracious to me therefore I seek to see him more clearly, love him more dearly, and follow him more nearly. Today, we are reminded that God took on human flesh and lived among us and we have seen his glory,,,and from his fullness we have all received grace upon grace. May your new year s resolution be to: see him for clearly, love him more dearly, and follow him more nearly. AMEN

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