This week: God as Glory. If you have any comments - adebelak@redeemerluth.com [mailto:adebelak@redeemerluth.com].
When the shepherds were up in the hills around Bethlehem, the text notes that the
glory of the Lord shone around them. Was it a light? If it was a light, aren't we
told throughout the Hebrew Scriptures that Israel was to be a light to the nations.
Was the light up in the skies or was this storytelling bringing the ears of the
listeners back down to earth - to the ordinary - to characters as simple as shepherds
in a small town? God as Glory shines all around us. Sometimes we are so involved
in what we are doing we miss the shine that is attempting to bring light into our
lives. God as Glory is the simple presence of God's presence among us and for us.
Out of the 'light' shining around them, these shepherds will see the Glory of God
and it will be in the midst of the animals of creation - in the form of the most
innocent and vulnerable of characters - a baby. When people expect the Glory of
God to come like a warrior taking out 'those' folks and setting us free so we can
now be the top gun, God as Glory keeps being anchored in nothing more than our humanity.
And yet, that is enough. God as Glory is brought into the midst of us so we are
able to see it - touch it - engage it. We do that as people in relation to others.
Here when two or three gather in the name of the God of all creation, the Glory
of God shines forth - we see that light always tied to life - real, everyday, everybody
kind of life. Glory!
O God of love and new life, when your Glory shines we often miss it because we are
not expecting the ordinary - the people and experiences we claim to know so well
- to be the center of revelation and hope. Keep our eyes open, O God. Amen.
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