Jon Polk - The Park Forum

December 20, 2024December 18, 2024

Jesus’ Family Tree — Joy of Advent

Links for today’s readings:

Read: Nehemiah 2 Listen: (3:42)
Read: Revelation 11 Listen: (3:24)

Links for this weekend’s readings:

Read: Nehemiah 3 Listen: (5:43), Read: Revelation 12 Listen: (2:58)
Read: Nehemiah 4 Listen: (3:38), Read: Revelation 13 Listen: (3:20)

Scripture Focus: Matthew 1:1, 17

1 This is the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah the son of David, the son of Abraham

17 Thus there were fourteen generations in all from Abraham to David, fourteen from David to the exile to Babylon, and fourteen from the exile to the Messiah.

Nehemiah 2:3-5

3 but I said to the king, “May the king live forever! Why should my face not look sad when the city where my ancestors are buried lies in ruins, and its gates have been destroyed by fire?”

4 The king said to me, “What is it you want?”

Then I prayed to the God of heaven, 5 and I answered the king, “If it pleases the king and if your servant has found favor in his sight, let him send me to the city in Judah where my ancestors are buried so that I can rebuild it.”

Reflection: Jesus’ Family Tree — Joy of Advent

By Jon Polk

You may have never read the first seventeen verses of Matthew 1. You should, after all, it’s Jesus’ family tree. If you pay attention, you might even recognize a few names.

So go ahead. Here it is. I’ll wait.

In the old King James, Matthew 1 is the “begat” section. So-and-so begat so-and-so and one hard to pronounce name begat another funny sounding name. It’s the passage to be feared if called upon to read aloud in church.

Ancient genealogies were written with a purpose in mind. Names can obviously refer to a specific person, but they can also reference a family name. The phrase “the son of” can mean literally “direct offspring of” or it can mean more generally “descendent of.”

Matthew carefully shapes Jesus’ ancestry with a goal in mind. Matthew traces Jesus’ lineage back to Abraham and outlines three sets of fourteen generations: Abraham to David, David to the Babylonian exile, and the exile to the Messiah.

Do the math and this equals six sets of seven generations, making Jesus the beginning of the seventh. Seven is a biblical number representing completion. Therefore, Jesus inaugurates the fulfillment of God’s plan for the world.

As expected, there are prominent names in Jesus’ lineage that anyone would love to have in their family tree: Abraham, faithful father of many nations; Judah, the royal tribe through which the Messiah would come; David, a man after God’s own heart; and Zerubbabel, who led exiles back from Babylonian captivity.

Not a bad pedigree.

But wait, there’s more!

Surprisingly, there are a few scoundrels on the list as well: Jacob, who tricked his father out of the family blessing; Rehoboam, son of Solomon who brought about the divided kingdom; and even David, who committed adultery and murder.

Everyone has a few stories in their family history that they would like to keep secret. Even Jesus.

And you thought there were interesting characters in your family?

As we draw near to the holiday break, maybe you’re dreading interactions with your crazy uncle or your weirdo cousin. Perhaps there is tension between members of your extended family. You might be preparing to tread lightly if certain topics come up in conversation.

Somehow there is an odd comfort in knowing that even Jesus’ earthly family history was less than perfect. So go easy on your family this year. Allow the grace of God to saturate every conversation, every interaction.

Because you never know, to someone else, you may be the weirdo cousin.

Divine Hours Prayer: A Reading

Now his mother and his brothers arrived, and standing outside, sent in a message asking for him. A crowd was sitting round him at the time the message was passed to him, “Look, your mother and brothers and sisters are outside asking for you.” He replied, “Who are my mother and my brothers? Anyone who does the will of God, that person is my brother and sister and mother.” — Mark 3.31-35

– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Autumn and Wintertime by Phyllis Tickle.

What About Those Shepherds? — Joy of Advent

Links for today’s readings:

Read: Nehemiah 1 Listen: (2:06)
Read: Revelation 10 Listen: (1:59)

Scripture Focus: Luke 2:13-20

13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

14 “Glory to God in the highest heaven,

and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

15 When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

16 So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. 17 When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, 18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. 19 But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. 20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

Nehemiah 1:8-9

8 “Remember the instruction you gave your servant Moses, saying, ‘If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the nations, 9 but if you return to me and obey my commands, then even if your exiled people are at the farthest horizon, I will gather them from there and bring them to the place I have chosen as a dwelling for my Name.’”

Reflection: What about those Shepherds? — Joy of Advent

By Jon Polk

In Luke’s nativity narrative, an unlikely group of shepherds takes center stage. These poor guys are out in the middle of the night, minding their own business, doing what shepherds do night after night, guarding against wild animals and thieves.

Nothing. Exciting. Ever. Happened.

As for career choices, they were the blue-collar of the blue-collar. We romanticize shepherds as if they stepped out of a Thomas Kinkade painting, but reality was harsh.

Shepherding was a despised occupation. They were considered shifty and untrustworthy, often grazing their flocks on other people’s lands. If Mike Rowe had been around in the first century, shepherding would have been featured on Dirty Jobs Israel.

Not only were they social outcasts, but the nature of their work kept them ceremonially unclean according to Jewish laws.

So when the angel showed up in the middle of the night with a big proclamation, they were dumbfounded by what they were hearing.

It was customary in the Roman Empire for the birth of an emperor to be heralded by poets and orators declaring peace and prosperity across the land. These angelic messengers, however, proclaimed not a new emperor, but one they called Savior, Messiah, and Lord.

This royal birth announcement came not to the secular or religious rulers of the day, but out in the fields to the poor and lowly, to the most common of common folk.

Jesus would later inaugurate his own ministry by quoting from the prophecy of Isaiah:

The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners… (61:1)

Indeed, the good news was first announced to these poor shepherds, social outcasts of Jesus’ day.

There are many reasons to be unhappy at Christmastime. Financial difficulties, health issues, difficult job or family situations. It can be a dark and difficult world we live in. It’s not surprising that many people have difficulty with the holiday season.

Jesus came to bring hope, peace, and joy to the lowest of the low, the poorest of the poor, the saddest of the sad. Those shepherds remind us that no matter who we are or what we have experienced in this life, the good news is for us!

As the prophet Isaiah proclaimed, “The people walking in darkness have seen a great light!” (9:2).

Divine Hours Prayer: The Refrain for the Morning Lessons

Truly, his salvation is very near to those who fear him, that his glory may dwell in our land. — Psalm 85.9

– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Autumn and Wintertime by Phyllis Tickle.

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December 18, 2024December 18, 2024

What’s in a Sign? — Joy of Advent

Links for today’s readings:

Read: Ezra 10 Listen: (6:19)
Read: Revelation 9 Listen: (3:30)

Scripture Focus: Luke 2:8-12

8 And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. 12 This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

Reflection: What’s in a Sign? — Joy of Advent

By Jon Polk

It is one of the most familiar parts of the nativity narrative, “Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy!”

Shepherds shocked. Angels rejoicing. What a scene. As the shepherds attempt to process the stunning news, the angel provides confirmation for them in the form of a sign.

What kind of royal sign do you suppose these frightened shepherds were expecting? Perhaps a regal procession of dignitaries arriving in Bethlehem. That’d be a pretty good sign. How about some sort of supernatural proof, like a fire to light up the night sky! Now that would really be a sign!

Wait. What was that? The sign of this new king is that he’ll be clothed in rags and lying in a cattle trough? What kind of king is that?

It is, after all, a distinctive and remarkable sign, isn’t it? Not only did the news of Jesus’ birth first break to these shepherds, social outcasts of the day, but the sign of his birth was as common as any other baby born to the working-class poor.

But the shepherds understood, didn’t they? Later, they find the baby in a manger exactly as the angel said and when they leave Mary and Joseph, they glorify and praise God for what they have seen and heard.

Is it possible that the shepherds saw that, in his birth, this Savior Jesus was not all that different from them? Could they have somehow recognized the amazing humility of God’s divine condescension?

The eternal, immortal, omnipotent God, creator of the universe, squeezed his divinity and his identity into a tiny helpless infant, born to an average Jewish couple. He was not born as a great general or an emperor or some kind of public hero. Not our God.

Instead, he was born as a poor kid in a sleepy little town on the south side of Jerusalem. Talk about being from the wrong side of the tracks.

Truly God’s ways are not our ways and this unusual sign of his birth—a dingy manger and a ragged hand-me-down onesie—is evidence that God’s ways of ruling and bringing about his kingdom are far from obvious to us and certainly not based on power or coercion.

A king who profoundly identifies with his subjects, even to the point of being born among them? This is indeed a great joy for all people.

Divine Hours Prayer: The Call to Prayer

My mouth shall speak the praise of the Lord; let all flesh bless his holy Name forever and ever. — Psalm 145.22

– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Autumn and Wintertime by Phyllis Tickle.

What Did You Get Jesus for Christmas? — Joy of Advent

Links for today’s readings:

Read: Ezra 9 Listen: (3:19)
Read: Revelation 8 Listen: (2:15)

Scripture Focus: Matthew 2:9-12

9 After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. 11 On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. 12 And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.

Revelation 8:3-4

3 Another angel, who had a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense to offer, with the prayers of all God’s people, on the golden altar in front of the throne. 4 The smoke of the incense and the prayers of God’s people went up before God from the angel’s hand.

Reflection: What Did You Get Jesus for Christmas? — Joy of Advent

By Jon Polk

Ask any four-year-old what Christmas is all about and what do you think they’ll tell you?

Presents.

We like to say that exchanging gifts is inspired by the wise men from the east who visit the child Jesus and give him gifts.

There’s no evidence early Christians gave gifts to celebrate Jesus’ birth, in fact, gift-giving did not become a focus of the celebration until the 1800s. In 1820, Christmas-themed ads first appeared in newspapers and it wasn’t until 1867 that Macy’s department store stayed open until midnight on Christmas Eve for last-minute purchases.

Today, we have Black Friday and Cyber Monday and regular delivery trucks in our neighborhoods, and it may seem like gift-giving has gotten out of hand.

The wise men from the east traveled from as far away as Persia. Jesus was probably at least one, maybe two years old when they arrived bearing gifts.

The gifts they brought with them from their homelands — gold, frankincense and myrrh — were three expensive substances, not native to Israel, often imported at great expense.

You may have heard of the traditional interpretation of the three gifts: gold represents Jesus’ kingship, frankincense represents his priesthood, and myrrh pertains to Jesus’ death.

Throughout history, church leaders have further spiritualized the three gifts. For Gregory the Great, they corresponded to wisdom, prayer and the humiliation of the flesh. Martin Luther connected them with faith, love and hope. Others compared them to mercy, prayer and purity.

Most importantly, the three gifts indicate the high esteem with which the wise men revered the child and the honor they bestowed upon him as a King. These wise men from Persia had likely originally heard messianic prophecies from the descendants of Jews in captivity in Babylonia. Clearly, they came to worship and give honor to Jesus as King and Messiah.

If we were going to give Jesus a gift for Christmas this year, what would it be? If we follow the example of the wise men, it would need to be sacrificial. It will probably require our time, energy, or money. It should be prompted by our relationship with Jesus and rooted in worship.

Maybe more time in prayer, Bible study, or fellowship? Or kicking some habit that is holding back your spiritual growth? Perhaps being more attentive to your family or others around you? How about developing an attitude of gratitude and generosity?

What present will you give Jesus for Christmas this year?

Divine Hours Prayer: The Greeting

My lips will sing with joy when I play to you, and so will my soul, which you have redeemed. — Psalm 71.23

– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Autumn and Wintertime by Phyllis Tickle.

Mary, the Called One — Joy of Advent

Links for today’s readings:

Read: Ezra 8 Listen: (5:40)
Read: Revelation 7 Listen: (2:56)

Scripture Focus: Luke 1:26-38

26 In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, 27 to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28 The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”

29 Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. 30 But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. 31 You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”

34 “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”

35 The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called[a] the Son of God. 36 Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. 37 For no word from God will ever fail.”

38 “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her.

Revelation 7:12

“Amen!
Praise and glory
and wisdom and thanks and honor
and power and strength
be to our God for ever and ever.
Amen!”

Reflection: Mary, the Called One — Joy of Advent

By Jon Polk

With the angelic proclamation, “Greetings, you who are highly favored!”, we have our first introduction to Mary in Luke’s Gospel. Because of this lofty declaration, we often think of Mary as the model of obedience, the picture of a perfect follower of God.

Now to be sure, being selected to bear the Son of God is indeed a high honor, but the extraordinary thing about Mary was that she was so ordinary. Living in a small village, not in the religious center of Jerusalem, she was a young girl in a culture that valued age and men. She later refers to herself as poor and lowly.

God chooses Mary because she has nothing. When she asks of the angel, “How will this be?”, it is a practical question. She’s old enough to know how these things work and she knows that there’s a step missing in the process.

Mary discovers a lesson that all Christians must learn. When God calls us, we are not capable in ourselves of accomplishing the task. Only God can provide what we need. Through miraculous intervention, Mary goes from unwed virgin to the mother of the Christ child. God called and God made it happen.

By embracing her calling, Mary becomes a partner with God in literally bringing the Kingdom here on earth. Without God’s intervention, Mary could not become pregnant. Without Mary as a human mother, Jesus could not be born as one of us. This is God’s design, for us to work together with God to give life to the Kingdom here on earth.

God’s call transforms us from people who are incapable on our own to those for whom, with God’s help, nothing is impossible. We, like Mary, have been chosen by God, not because of anything we have or have done, but because God wants to have a relationship with us. Like Mary, we are indeed highly favored children of God.

Let us recognize the gifts God has given us and remember how truly favored we are. Listen closely for your calling from God and be quick to obey, even when you don’t fully understand the whys and the hows. During this season of Advent, may we use what God has given us to breathe life into the Kingdom here on earth, both now and all year long.

Divine Hours Prayer: The Refrain for the Morning Lessons

On this day the Lord has acted; we will rejoice and be flad in it. — Psalm 118.24

– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Autumn and Wintertime by Phyllis Tickle.

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Links for today’s readings:

Links for this weekend’s readings:

Scripture Focus: Matthew 1:1, 17

Nehemiah 2:3-5

Reflection: Jesus’ Family Tree — Joy of Advent

Divine Hours Prayer: A Reading

Read more about Bathsheba’s Story — Love of Advent

Read more about Supporting Our Work

Links for today’s readings:

Scripture Focus: Luke 2:13-20

Nehemiah 1:8-9

Reflection: What about those Shepherds? — Joy of Advent

Divine Hours Prayer: The Refrain for the Morning Lessons

Read more about Supporting Our Work

Read The Bible With Us

Links for today’s readings:

Scripture Focus: Luke 2:8-12

Reflection: What’s in a Sign? — Joy of Advent

Divine Hours Prayer: The Call to Prayer

Read more about Humility and Joy — Joy of Advent

Read more about Supporting Our Work

Links for today’s readings:

Scripture Focus: Matthew 2:9-12

Revelation 8:3-4

Reflection: What Did You Get Jesus for Christmas? — Joy of Advent

Divine Hours Prayer: The Greeting

Read more about Saccharine Joy — Joy of Advent

Read more about Supporting Our Work

Links for today’s readings:

Scripture Focus: Luke 1:26-38

Revelation 7:12

Reflection: Mary, the Called One — Joy of Advent

Divine Hours Prayer: The Refrain for the Morning Lessons

Read more about Mary’s Story — Love of Advent

Support Our Work