Week 12 - The Birth of Jesus
Welcome in our beautiful chapel just a few days after the busy Christmas period. Let’s become still within in order to be able to receive the baby Jesus. God is welcoming me and looking forward to being with me during this meditation.
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Theme:
A very human event: a birth while on a journey.
Almost unnoticed a child is here.
But this child intervenes in the story of my life.
What I desire:
That I can lovingly accept this Christ child
and hold Him in my arms.
That the new life He brings will also enter me.
Music: Soms breekt Uw licht. Huub Oosterhuis
Soms breekt uw licht
in mensen door
onstuitbaar
zoals een kind
geboren wordt.
Gedenk de mens
die wordt genoemd
uw kind uw koninkrijk
uw licht.
Geen duisternis heeft ooit
hem overmeesterd.
Gedenk ons
die als hij geboren zijn
eens en voorgoed
die uit zijn mond
uw Naam hebben gehoord,
die moeten leven
in de schaduw van de dood
hem achterna.
Sometimes Your Light Breaks
Sometimes Your Light breaks
through in people
irrepressibly
so as a child
is born.
Remember the person
who is called
Your child, Your kingdom,
Your light.
No darkness ever
overpowered Him.
Remember us
who have been born just like Him
once and for all
who, from His mouth,
have heard Your Name,
who have to live
in the shadow of death
following Him.
Spotify Link:
https://open.spotify.com/track/3Y9RwQRD4y2kGJ08oLvLuR?si=U0e-QyNKQ62Q9jDoYBWWmw
YouTube Link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GwGtqBDe0iU
Matthew 2, 1-12
In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, asking, “Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him homage.”
The wise men set off without knowing where they are going: they are seeking direction. I imagine I am walking with the wise men. What moves them so that they embark on this journey? What moves me to go looking for new life?
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When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him; and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it has been written by the prophet:
‘And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for from you shall come a ruler
who is to shepherd my people Israel.’”
Then Herod secretly called for the wise men and learned from them the exact time when the star had appeared. Then he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for the child; and when you have found him, bring me word so that I may also go and pay him homage.”
Herod is afraid of losing his power and authority. He is unable to accept that such a small, vulnerable child could bring change to his life. Do I want to try and put myself in Herod’s shoes? Am I able to see things from his perspective?
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When they had heard the king, they set out; and there, ahead of them, went the star that they had seen at its rising, until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
The star showed the wise men the way. Sometimes Your light breaks through in people, in me. Can I think of an experience in my life when God’s light has broken through in me or in people around me? What can I do if I wish to follow Jesus?
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And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road.
To return by another road, another way. If I encounter Jesus maybe I will also choose another way. I get moving inspired to take action. Then Your Light breaks through in people: in me.
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Music: Sometimes Your Light breaks.