Readings: Isaiah 9, 1-6, The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; Psalm 96, Today is born our Savior, Christ the Lord; Titus, 1, 11-14, The Grace of God has appeared; Luke 2, 1-14, In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that the whole world should be enrolled. Terrific Readings!
Isaiah, a quick review.
This beautiful passage is just one of many reasons why I love the Work of Isaiah.
Yes, this is Isaiah I, who composed before the Babylonian Captivity around 600 before Christ. In fact, he wrote even before Assyria destroyed the northern kingdom of Israel, around 750 before Christ. He saw it coming.
Incarnations
Folks, it happened two weeks ago, that beautiful Saturday, December 10. Rosemary & I were volunteers at a picnic in Flower Mound for underprivileged kids. We were specifically employed at crowd control in front of a photo shop in a large pavilion where all kinds of things were going on, lunches, dances on a stage, face paintings, and so on. Horses for riding were outside.
Then there were tons of kids, about 3000 according to one count. 60 school buses, 850 volunteers, and 4500 hot dogs which were totally gone in a nano-second. We had about 35 members of our own little community.
A whole bunch of events touched me, but three stand out.
The first person who touched me was Joey, a cute little black girl about 6 years old. I chatted up everyone in the line, but seemed to spend more time with Joey, which is how I came to know her name. She just told me.
At one point in our conversations she handed me a small trinket she had glued onto her blouse. She said, “That’s yours. I made it.” I was so touched. Then she got her picture taken and was gone, happy as could be.
Another time I was watching a black woman chaperon or bus driver. She was rounding up her kids and had them all sitting on the cement floor just beyond my line for the photo shop. When I talked with her she was up to 45 in counting her kids and had more to go. Her care for all those kids knocked me over.
Then there was a little black girl who was afraid. She, too, was about 6 and was with about five other girls a bit older and an adult lady. In the line ahead of her was a black man who was totally dressed as a clown, face painted white, and everything.
I’m standing next to her and she whispers to me, “I’m scared of him.” I was touched that she told me. So we talked. Eventually I moved into her sight line so she could not see him, because it was like she was obsessing about the guy.
She told the others and they scoffed at her. However, I was able to let her know that fear was okay and that here she was safe. I would not let the clown hurt her. That seemed to calm her; she got her picture, and went happily on her way.
These were incarnation events for me, the spirit of God right there in this crowd of kids on a picnic. I suggest that these sightings take place daily, in people like the ones I mention, in people who make up my daily life, and in events, to say nothing about nature.
What was your last incarnation event?
Picture 1: The Team
Picture 2: Emma as angel
Picture 3: The Nativity Drama
Picture 4: The Nativity Drama
Picture 5: The Nativity Drama
Video: The Nativity
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