A Note From Pastor Laura
Dear Friends,
I’ve been revisiting Adam Hamilton’s: The Journey. In regards, to the manger, Hamilton begs the question, “Why would [the author of Luke] feel it important to tell us about Jesus’ first bed? And why does he mention it three times?” He continues: One reason is obvious: the manger points to Jesus’ humble birth. It embodies a profoundly moving truth: that on his first night on this earth, the King of Glory, the Son of God, slept in a trough where the animals fed. What a picture of God’s desire to identify with the humble and the poor.
Yet I think that Luke had something more in mind...I believe Luke mentions the sign of the manger three times to communicate the powerful image of Jesus’ first bed being the place where God’s creatures come to eat. Jesus was born in Bethlehem, a town that means “House of Bread.” John would later describe Jesus’ multiplying the loaves of bread and saying, ‘I am the Bread of Life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry.’ (John 6:35) Jesus was, of course, speaking of a spiritual substance the world would receive from him. Matthew, Mark, and Luke record Jesus taking bread at his Last Supper and saying, ‘This is my body, which is given for you.’ (Luke 22:19).
The manger, the feeding trough, was a sign of what Jesus came to do. He came to offer himself as bread for our souls. He came to satisfy a hunger that could not be satisfied any other way. When Jesus was tested in the wilderness at the beginning of his ministry, the devil tempted him to turn stones into bread. Jesus responded by quoting Deuteronomy 8:3, ‘One does not live by bread alone.’ (Luke 4:4) Yet one of our greatest struggles is that we forget this. We come to believe that if we have enough bread—enough money, enough stuff—we will be satisfied. However, I’m absolutely convinced that there is nothing which you, me, our family or friends will open on Christmas morning that will ultimately satisfy the deepest longings of our heart.
I suspect we all know folks who have forgotten this—even ourselves at times? I imagine we’ve all had times when the cares of the world and the desire for wealth choked out the Gospel. We’ve lived our lives for bigger and better. Yet instead of finding ourselves satisfied, we’ve discovered that we were still hungry and empty. Our hearts hunger to know that we are loved; that our lives have meaning and purpose; that we can be forgiven and find grace; that we are not alone; that there is always hope. We hunger to know that even death will not be the end of us; and we hunger for hope, joy, love, and peace. In this life, we wrestle with the temptation to believe that if we just had enough bread, we would be happy. Luke, in the sign of the manger, is reminding us that Jesus is the ONLY ONE who can truly satisfy the hunger of our hearts."
At the start of 2021 we were hopeful. Vaccines for a global pandemic were made available. Businesses and churches began re-opening (even if masks and social distancing were determined necessities). Weddings that were put on hold resumed. Postponed memorial services took place and we even dared to invite family and friends to gather near us, at the graveside services of recently passed loved ones. Then, new coronavirus variants emerged. Debates on mask wearing escalated. Tempers rose. Patience thinned and as Donna Frischknecht-Jackson said, “self-preservation now seems to be the star guiding businesses, governments, and even some churches.” Like our biblical forebearers, we feel as if we are “those who live in a land of deep darkness” and we yearn for “the light to shine” as promised by the Prophet Isaiah.
It is Advent, and we cling to Isaiah’s promise. We make our way, as a community, to Bethlehem, which in Hebrew means “House of Bread." We journey with the hope that we will encounter the Babe in the manger who would one day proclaim, “I am the Bread of Life.” Jesus is the only One who can truly feed our hungry spirits and fill the places inside us which are empty and in need of sustenance. This year’s Advent theme is appropriately called: Bread for the Journey. If you are entering this Advent season weary and worried, you are not alone. I am there with you. Let us go, together, to the House of Bread to be filled and nourished. Let us worship, sing, listen, share, and break bread around the Lord's Table. Let us light candles around the Advent wreath. Let us bake bread and share the loaves with others. (Yes! Real homemade bread!) Let us be both fed and feed one another. Then, on Christmas, may we find our faith, joy, strength, and trust reborn.
In the name of the Living Bread,
Pastor Laura
I’ve been revisiting Adam Hamilton’s: The Journey. In regards, to the manger, Hamilton begs the question, “Why would [the author of Luke] feel it important to tell us about Jesus’ first bed? And why does he mention it three times?” He continues: One reason is obvious: the manger points to Jesus’ humble birth. It embodies a profoundly moving truth: that on his first night on this earth, the King of Glory, the Son of God, slept in a trough where the animals fed. What a picture of God’s desire to identify with the humble and the poor.
Yet I think that Luke had something more in mind...I believe Luke mentions the sign of the manger three times to communicate the powerful image of Jesus’ first bed being the place where God’s creatures come to eat. Jesus was born in Bethlehem, a town that means “House of Bread.” John would later describe Jesus’ multiplying the loaves of bread and saying, ‘I am the Bread of Life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry.’ (John 6:35) Jesus was, of course, speaking of a spiritual substance the world would receive from him. Matthew, Mark, and Luke record Jesus taking bread at his Last Supper and saying, ‘This is my body, which is given for you.’ (Luke 22:19).
The manger, the feeding trough, was a sign of what Jesus came to do. He came to offer himself as bread for our souls. He came to satisfy a hunger that could not be satisfied any other way. When Jesus was tested in the wilderness at the beginning of his ministry, the devil tempted him to turn stones into bread. Jesus responded by quoting Deuteronomy 8:3, ‘One does not live by bread alone.’ (Luke 4:4) Yet one of our greatest struggles is that we forget this. We come to believe that if we have enough bread—enough money, enough stuff—we will be satisfied. However, I’m absolutely convinced that there is nothing which you, me, our family or friends will open on Christmas morning that will ultimately satisfy the deepest longings of our heart.
I suspect we all know folks who have forgotten this—even ourselves at times? I imagine we’ve all had times when the cares of the world and the desire for wealth choked out the Gospel. We’ve lived our lives for bigger and better. Yet instead of finding ourselves satisfied, we’ve discovered that we were still hungry and empty. Our hearts hunger to know that we are loved; that our lives have meaning and purpose; that we can be forgiven and find grace; that we are not alone; that there is always hope. We hunger to know that even death will not be the end of us; and we hunger for hope, joy, love, and peace. In this life, we wrestle with the temptation to believe that if we just had enough bread, we would be happy. Luke, in the sign of the manger, is reminding us that Jesus is the ONLY ONE who can truly satisfy the hunger of our hearts."
At the start of 2021 we were hopeful. Vaccines for a global pandemic were made available. Businesses and churches began re-opening (even if masks and social distancing were determined necessities). Weddings that were put on hold resumed. Postponed memorial services took place and we even dared to invite family and friends to gather near us, at the graveside services of recently passed loved ones. Then, new coronavirus variants emerged. Debates on mask wearing escalated. Tempers rose. Patience thinned and as Donna Frischknecht-Jackson said, “self-preservation now seems to be the star guiding businesses, governments, and even some churches.” Like our biblical forebearers, we feel as if we are “those who live in a land of deep darkness” and we yearn for “the light to shine” as promised by the Prophet Isaiah.
It is Advent, and we cling to Isaiah’s promise. We make our way, as a community, to Bethlehem, which in Hebrew means “House of Bread." We journey with the hope that we will encounter the Babe in the manger who would one day proclaim, “I am the Bread of Life.” Jesus is the only One who can truly feed our hungry spirits and fill the places inside us which are empty and in need of sustenance. This year’s Advent theme is appropriately called: Bread for the Journey. If you are entering this Advent season weary and worried, you are not alone. I am there with you. Let us go, together, to the House of Bread to be filled and nourished. Let us worship, sing, listen, share, and break bread around the Lord's Table. Let us light candles around the Advent wreath. Let us bake bread and share the loaves with others. (Yes! Real homemade bread!) Let us be both fed and feed one another. Then, on Christmas, may we find our faith, joy, strength, and trust reborn.
In the name of the Living Bread,
Pastor Laura
