Friday
December 24 Love Matthew 22:37-38
He said to him, “’You shall love the Lord your
God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This
is the greatest and first commandment.
****
One of my (newer) favorite
Christmas songs is “Love Has Come” (ELW #292).
While not a traditional Christmas carol, its words and melody stay with
me. We have often sung it as our
Offertory which seems most fitting as we reflect upon the gift of love born in
Bethlehem.
Love is God’s gift to the
world. Love is the center of our
faith. We were created in love and
called to live in love. Christ was born
because of God’s love for us. More than
just an emotion, it is a way of life. In
loving our neighbors as ourselves, we are loving God – as we see in our reading
of the greatest commandment.
Love is active and as St. Paul
said to the Corinthians, “love never ends”.
We can’t quantify love and will never run out when its source is in
Christ. We love because God first loves
us. We give that which we receive.
Christmas is about love – the new
birthing of love that found its fullness in the cross. Love has indeed come and will never forsake
us nor will it ever end. Love is Jesus
within and among us! Thanks be to God!
Prayer:
Let the lyrics of this hymn (written by Ken Bible) serve as our prayer
for this day. When we sing it in
worship, be reminded that our hymns and music are prayers that we raise to God.
1 Love has come—a light in the
darkness!
Love shines forth in the Bethlehem
skies.
See, all heaven has come to
proclaim it;
hear how their song of joy arises:
Love! Love! Born unto you, a
Savior!
Love! Love! Glory to God on high.
2 Love is born! Come, share in the
wonder.
Love is God now asleep in the hay.
See the glow in the eyes of his
mother;
what is the name her heart is
saying?
Love! Love! Love is the name she
whispers;
Love! Love! Jesus, Immanuel.
3 Love has come and never will
leave us!
Love is life everlasting and free.
Love is Jesus within and among us.
Love is the peace our hearts are
seeking.
Love! Love! Love is the gift of
Christmas;
Love! Love! Praise to you, God on
high!
Pastor
Jen Boyd
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