Tuesday - December 26, 2023

SCRIPTURE

Acts 6. 8-15

Stephen, full of grace and power, did great wonders and signs among the people. Then some of those who belonged to the synagogue of the Freedmen (as it was called), Cyrenians, Alexandrians, and others of those from Cilicia and Asia, stood up and argued with Stephen. But they could not withstand the wisdom and the Spirit with which he spoke. Then they secretly instigated some men to say, ‘We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and God.’ They stirred up the people as well as the elders and the scribes; then they suddenly confronted him, seized him, and brought him before the council. They set up false witnesses who said, ‘This man never stops saying things against this holy place and the law; for we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and will change the customs that Moses handed on to us.’ And all who sat in the council looked intently at him, and they saw that his face was like the face of an angel.

WORDS OF HOPE

December 26 is an interesting day in the church and secular calendar. It is Saint Stephen's day in Western Christianity (December 27 in the Eastern orthodox.) It is the day which Stephen, one of the first chosen leaders of the disciples was martyred. In the passage immediately before the one above, Stephen has been chosen as one of seven to help with the distribution of food among all the disciples. Stephen is described as a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit. Essentially the seven were chosen because the Apostles were not able to handle the duties of the day today and also preach the gospel.

In the United Kingdom and many parts of the former British empire, today is Boxing day. Is the day on which servants and tradesmen were given a Christmas box containing a little money, a small gift, perhaps some food leftover from the Christmas table. This seems to be an appropriate thing to do on the second day of Christmas, (the 12 days of Christmas last until January 6 with the arrival of the Magi). The first day of Christmas is the great gift of the birth of Christ, the second day, is a day to recognize and give something to those who perhaps have less than we do. Or at least two people who work very hard so that we have more than they do. Just as Stephen became a servant, (a waiter at the table, as the previous passage says), so we have many of those who serve. Boxing Day gives substance to that recognition.

Today is also Thank You Note Day. It is intended for handwritten thank you notes to be produced and to be sent. With email and text messaging and various electronic means of greeting ‘cards’ we have perhaps lost some of the simple joy that comes from receiving a handwritten note in the mail placed on our front door. I personally admit I'm a sucker for this. Since I was a small child, I have loved going out to the mailbox to see what has arrived. I don't know if I got the same sort of serotonin boost that they claim people get when their phone dings, but I suspect that's exactly what happened.

I am old enough that within a week of having received a Christmas present, my mother made me sit down and write thank you notes. This is something that I fear we are losing in our society. And I will bluntly state that this is a bad thing.

So today as a devotion I ask you to sit and make a list of people who are giving you something not just for Christmas but throughout the entire year. Sit down and write them a thank you note. You may be thanking them for a physical gift; or you may be thanking them for a job well done; support or love or friendship. These too are valuable gifts. If you can, send it through the Postal Service or deliver it yourself.

And in all of that, don't forget to thank the God who brought those people into your life. Don't forget to thank the God who sent Jesus to show you a way to God. 

And try with great devotion, prayer, and meditation to make your thanks more than an obligatory action (like many of mine that my mother made me do) that is a true heartfelt thanks for things, small and large that have been done for you in your life this last year.

PRAYER

God of gifts, God of life, God of all, thank you for this world and all that is in it, and all the people with whom we interact each day. Help us to see that of God in every person so that we may be thankful for their presence. Bring to us the thankfulness that we need for our friends and our enemies that we may all come together in peace. 

DEVOTION AUTHOR



Weber Baker

Order of Saint Francis and Saint Clare