CHRISTMAS EVE in the STABLE

The LAMB+ of GOD ~ The LORD JESUS CHRIST ~ was born in the lowliest of places through a humble young woman who was guarded by a lowly but righteous young man.  

His+ Coming was totally His+ Choice to do His+ FATHER’S Will. His+ FIRST ADVENT was to REDEEM fallen men and to bring them back to Our Heavenly FATHER.

In short, HE+ was born to die. 

 

⁷ But made HIMSELF+ of no reputation,

and took upon HIM+ the form of a servant,

and was made in the likeness of men:

⁸ And being found in fashion as a man,

HE+ humbled HIMSELF+,

and became obedient unto death,

even the death of the cross.

Philippians 2:7-8

SHOES are for WEARING .... not for showing

An Example of Christian Training in Humbleness and Humility

Katie,  an  adorable  little girl, about 5 or 6, was always glad to see visitors come, especially us. Soon after we arrived and news items exchanged, Katie eagerly ran to her Mother to whisper something in her ear.  Mother  leaned down to hear her little daughter’s request.

The  visitors were  a bit surprised to see Mother’s  face becoming  solemn, as she  shook her head.  Quietly, Mother said to her, “No, Katie.  Shoes are for WEARING,  not for showing.” If I hadn’t been sitting right next to the Mother, I would have never heard the exchange.

Little  Katie  was sorely disappointed . . .

LEFT BEHIND...



RACHEL'S TOMB
in old Bethlehem
Rachel... still weeping for her children
because they are not.

 LEFT BEHIND...

From Cradle to Cross

HE+ suffered loss in lowest garb allowed,

HE+ wrapped HIMSELF+

in Swaddling Clothes

and then, in human Shroud.

.

From rented manger

to borrowed Tomb

HE+ had not where

His+ Head to lay.

HE+ owned no Colt nor Room,

it seems,

though Temple tax ,

exacted,

paid. 

Fleeing sword 'ere HE+ could walk,

Egypt hid the Royal BABE+

from death by HIS+ own nation

at His+ birth

with Wise Men's laud and adoration.

Glory LEFT BEHIND, 

not grasped,

for us HE+ emptied Himself+

for FATHER'S Will

and by Obedience 

forged a path for us to trod BEHIND HIM+ still. 

By imitation of HIS+ loss

we accept the limitations

HE+ sets upon our brow

that we might come before Our FATHER,

embracing HIS+ Salvation

now.

 

Meditation Poem by Sr. Judith Hannah + ,

Order of the GOOD SHEPHERD+

Year of Our LORD,

1.14.2016 

SWADDLED in Humility ... Incarnation Meditations 2014 ... for the Monastic-At-Heart

Luke 2:7

And she brought forth her Firstborn Son, and wrapped HIM+ in swaddling clothes, and laid HIM+ in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.

Swaddling a baby seemed to be a custom in the lands of the Orient. It consisted of enveloping the infant with strips of cloth, wrapping the babe and totally binding him.  The purpose was to limit or restrict movement, to restrain the babe supposedly from hurting himself.

The Royal SON+ of GOD Who+ left His+ Glory, the Glory which HE+ had with The FATHER before the world began, entered the realm of man clothed in this restricted fashion.

From his first hour out of the womb, The LORD JESUS was totally restrained and limited.

The LORD JESUS came to earth ...being found in fashion as a man, HE+ humbled Himself+... to take upon Himself+ the restrictions of a human being. HE+ voluntarily embraced the humility of being as limited as the ones HE+ created, in conjunction with The FATHER'S good Will. 

Can we imagine how demeaning that was? How limited would it be for a Potter to become a clay jar, a vessel of his own creation ?  From Glory with The FATHER, HE+ became a clay vessel to be used by the dirty and befouled hand of man.

Yet, The LORD JESUS came to earth and was appointed to this humility. HE+ agreed with The FATHER'S will BEFORE HE+ left His+ throne in Glory.

HE+ embraced --- before HE+ was born --- His+ swaddling clothes.

Do we ?

Let us Pray:

O LORD JESUS, I call THEE+ "Lord, Lord,"  yet I have rejected the very first step to begin my  intensive walk with THEE+: to embrace the restrictive swaddling clothes, the clothing of Thy+ Choosing.

I shudder to don them daily. I shy away from limitations that restrict my day, my flesh, my thoughts.  I fail to bring them in line with Thy+ Holy Discipline... that discipline which THOU  has chosen for me. 

O HOLY FATHER, THOU Who constrained and limited Thy HOLY SON+ JESUS when HE+ took upon  Himself+ the form of a man,  THOU knowest what is best for me also. 

To bring Glory to Thy Name, I need to heed disciplines of restrictions of my time, my actions, and my thoughts.

I need the discipline of limitations, especially of my  interaction with others, in order to hear Thy+ Voice. I need these disciplines in order to  grow straightly and properly and to be a profitable servant of Thine.

Un-warp me from my crooked ways, O LORD; wrap me securely within Thy+ limitations.

Enfold me within Thy+ Self, THOU+ Who+ hast become my Divine Swaddler+.  I yield my Self unto THEE+.  I am not mine own any longer; I am bought with a price.

Because it is THEE+, O JESUS,  Who+ restricts me, I  embrace the disciplines of  constraints and limitations which THOU+  dost plan for my good.

O HOLY ONE+ of Israel Who+ came as a Babe+ and Who+ was immediately swaddled in humility, grant me Thy+ Grace to be swaddled by THEE+ .

 Let this Divine Humility be according to Thy+ Will and purpose. Let  it become my armor, O GOD. 

In JESUS' name I pray: now unto the KING Eternal, immortal, invisible, the ONLY wise GOD, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen

 

Standing at the Manger... Incarnation Meditations 2015... for the Monastic-At-Heart

Standing at the Manger...

There, in the lowly, common feeding trough for rough animals, Our LORD was laid.

No, the HOLY BABE+ did not choose the manger HIMSELF+.

Here is what HE+ did choose:

HE+ chose to leave His+ glory ---  that Glory HE+ had with The FATHER before the world was --- and come to earth as a man for the suffering of death, as a man like one of us.

So, His+ entrance into the world placed the nativity of this Royal BABE+ ...

·                   of the scepter-wielding tribe of Judah,

·                   of the princely line of David 

... into a common and lowly room for domesticated farm animals, at the very out-set !

HE+ was a Priest after the Order of Melchizidek, King of Righteousness, a Priest unto whom even Abraham paid tithes.

Even so, it was The FATHER'S good will that HIS Sublime SON+ be born into a humble environment, a setting even considered lowly by the standards of lowly men.

Oh yes, how we yearn to rule with CHRIST!

Do we also yearn  equally as much to be as lowly as HE+ was ? 

Is our goal to be swaddled in humility ?

Do we have such a degree

of humbleness of mind

that conviction falls

on others around us  ?

If not, let us return to the manger and STAND THERE. 

There, let us meditate on our dear SAVIOR'S+ littleness of Self.

Let us Pray:

O Perfect CHRIST, Who+ came in littleness of Self,  look with mercy upon my greatest need.

My need... my great need of humility ... hinders me from hearing Thy+ Voice, from doing Thy+ Will. 

How can I think that THOU+ will use me while I  resist embracing being lowly, the last, the least, the forgotten,  in mine own eyes ?

Help me  truly  to count others better than myself.   Help me truly  to enjoy being inconvenienced by others throughout the day, that Thy+ Holy Will may be accomplished. 

Absorb me in humility like THINE+ own, O CHRIST, that Our FATHER'S good will may flow through me at all times. Let Thy+ great humility grow in me unto a sweet-smelling and acceptable sacrifice offered  back unto THEE+. 

This I earnestly pray, O CHRIST, in Thy+ Holy Name.

Amen

LORD, have Mercy...

+ + +

O LORD, help me not to take advantage of THEE...

nor of Thy+ mercy.

.

Lower my Self-esteem; I'm not always right.

.

Grant me enough humility

.

To see my weakness,

.

and

.

My own fallibility.

.

I don't always know

.

and seldom do I see the whole picture.

+

.

Help me be still

.

and quiet before THEE+.

.

Help me to wait

.

Upon Thy+ Movement.

.

Always Thy+ Grace

.

is sufficient for me.

.

.

For, when I am weak,

.

THOU+ art strong.

+ + +

.

In the Name of The FATHER,

Who begot thee,

And His Beloved, Only-begotten SON+,

Who+ saves thee,

And the Blessed HOLY SPIRIT,

Who sanctifies thee.

+ + +

LENTEN MEDITATION 11 ~ Taking Down the Walls

LENTEN MEDITATION 11
For the Year of Our LORD, 2.16.2007

Let us take down the walls.

Christ Jesus our LORD bids us to come unto HIM+,
all who are heavy-laden and HE+ will give us rest.
HE+ bids us to take His+ yoke upon us
and learn of HIM+,
for HE+ is meek and lowly of heart.
HE+ says His+ yoke is easy
and His+ burden, light.

A dear Christian Sister, imprisoned for her faith many decades ago, exhorted the other Sisters with her from her village to eat the rotten food given to them in the filthy prison. The mostly-rotted potatoes were thrown to them by the prison guards. They rolled into the muck by the drain hole in the cell. The Sisters were revolted by the mess they were supposed to eat.

However, this Sister leaned down and kissed a potato and vehemently offered thanks unto the LORD, with tears in her eyes, for provision to keep them alive. She told the other Sisters how GOOD The LORD was to provide them this food because they didn’t even deserve that much. (From the book, Of Whom the World was not Worthy, by Marie Chapian).

Her humbleness empowered the other ones imprisoned with her to also eat the stinking food and sustain their lives. They rejoiced, following her example, and The LORD blessed it to the nourishment of their bodies, as well as to the nourishment of their souls. And, they made it through prison.

Let us take down the walls of our hearts and lay them bare, open unto Our Savior. Let us acknowledge and not let go of our truly humble and helpless state before CHRIST JESUS. Let us do as this imprisoned yet humble Sister did when faced with our own rotted portions that we are forced to endure… without bitterness in our hearts.

We have nothing to lose. We have everything to gain.

As a matter of fact, we cannot lose…
If we embrace them as coming from CHRIST.

No, the LORD did not imprison these Sisters; wicked men did. But ... HE+ sanctified the hardships to them for their utmost good because they yielded their lives unto HIM+. They literally took whatever was dished out to them for His+ name’s sake, for a testimony to HIM+. And now many years later, being Home with HIM+, they are in joys unspeakable and full of glory.

Dear Heavenly Savior, we ask you to help us to humble ourselves…yea, to do it before it gets done for us. Help us to practice lowliness of heart. We acknowledge our ungratefulness. We acknowledge our anger and impatience when we encounter hindrances and hurts. Help us smite our pride.

Thank you for Thy Example and the examples of Christian martyrs and confessors through the ages. Help us to go and do likewise, to the praise of Thy Holy Name. This we pray in the name of the ONE+ Who+ sacrificed His+ all so that we may have true life, both here on earth and in the world to come, for all Eternity. Amen.