Items for the week of Sunday, January 4th

This past Sunday, January 4^th, the 2^nd Sunday of Christmas we heard the following scripture readings, introduction, and prayer of the day:

Scripture Readings

Jeremiah 31:7-14 Joy at the gathering of God’s scattered flock
Psalm 147:12-20 Worship the Lord, O Jerusalem; praise your God, O Zion. (Ps. 147:12)
Ephesians 1:3-14 The will of God made known in Christ
John 1:[1-9] 10-18 God with us: the incarnation of the Word.

Introduction

Within the gospel reading’s profound words lies the simple message that God is revealed in a human person. Though we may try to understand how the Word existed with God from the beginning of time, the wonder we celebrate at Christmas is that the Word continues to dwell among us. Christ comes among us in the gathered assembly, the scriptures, the waters of new birth, and the bread and the wine. Through these ordinary gifts we receive the fullness of God’s grace and truth.

Prayer of the Day

Almighty God, you have filled all the earth with the light of your incarnate Word. By your grace empower us to reflect your light in all that we do, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Poem Referenced during the message

Matt referenced a poem by W.H. Auden (1907-1973) titled: “For The Time Being: A Christmas Oratorio (1944)” in the message this past Sunday, January 4, 2026. Here is a link for the poem if you would like to read the poem in its entirety: https://thepoetryhour.com/poems/for-the-time-being-a-christmas-oratorio/

Devotion for the week

A Glimpse of God-Made-Flesh

This gospel text is wordy to the point of feeling almost otherworldly. There’s no real story here; there’s no narrative to follow. To illustrate this text for children, for example, seems nearly impossible.

“The Word became flesh and lived among us” (John 1:14). How is this gospel text—this gospel truth—made manifest, here and now? Where do you see God, in the flesh, walking the earth? How do you experience God-made-flesh speaking to you, caring for you, guiding you?

Surely God is present, in the flesh, even in the unlikeliest of places—as unlikely as a baby lying in a manger. Surely God is still here today in some form or fashion. The Word is no longer flesh and living among us, at least not in the same way as when Jesus himself was walking the earth. But we are flesh, and we are here. Surely you are God made manifest for someone; surely your presence here on earth is a glorious display of the presence of God for a neighbor or friend or colleague or family member—maybe even for someone you’d never expect to name you in this way.

In baptism, God commissions us to “proclaim Christ through word and deed, care for others and the world God made, and work for justice and peace” (ELW, p. 228). This is the work of the Word made flesh; this is the work of providing a glimpse of God to a world in need of grace, hope, and new life.

How blessed we are to live in the promise of God-made-flesh. How blessed we are to live in response to that promise!