Being Tamed

The Reading:

For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all, training us to renounce impiety and worldly passions………  Titus 2: 11

"The Scream"   Alwy Fadhel    (coffee on paper)

Every Christmas Eve, we hear a passage from a letter the Apostle Paul wrote to Titus.  It’s a strange story to be paired with the lovely Gospel of Luke because it had nothing to do with Bethlehem or the Holy Land, or Jesus’ birth. Titus had been left on the Mediterranean island of Crete to establish a Church there and Crete was a place of wild and rebellious people.  Titus was facing a nearly impossible job, and Paul's short letter was simply one of instruction and encouragement to a lonely missionary.

How is this passage relevant on Christmas Eve? Why include it here? Perhaps it's to remind us that the world is full of wild and rebellious people and life will be full of nearly impossible tasks. Or maybe it's to remind us that with the Grace of God, we can and will accomplish amazing things. Or that, whenever we face the impossible or find ourselves on the brink of failure, God will be right there with us. In other words, this passage is a gentle reminder that God became man; that God is an Incarnate God.

So, as you attend Christmas Eve services this weekend, listen not only to Luke’s lovely story about the birth of the baby Jesus, listen, too, for the still small voice of Paul, encouraging Titus, and reminding him that God is right there with him, as he is with each one of us.

Merry Christmas.