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The Christmas Labyrinth Devotions 22, 1915 SE Lake Weir Avenue, Ocala, FL (2026)

01/01/2023

January 1st
The Christmas Labyrinth
The Final Pause: Christmas for the Whosoever

We’ve reached the final pause of the Christmas labyrinth and these reflections. We journeyed through the twists and turns. We’ve stopped and listened to the prophets of old and then moved forward to see how each prophecy came to be in the lives of names we’ve come to know – Zechariah and Elizabeth, Mary and Joseph, and of course, Jesus.

In ancient labyrinths, the way out is to retrace the steps of the way in. It gives the participant one more chance to re-reflect on the bigger picture of life. In our constructed labyrinth, we were taken out from the center by a path that takes us back into the “world’ at large, but just before exiting, a single post includes these words:

You’ve reached the final stop of the labyrinth. You have heard the story of Christmas told at every twist and turn. Please remember, this story is meant to be your story. Jesus didn’t come for a select few. Christmas is for you and me and everyone. That’s why the most widely known Bible verse says:

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son,
that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

If the exit strategy of labyrinths is to give us a bigger picture of life beyond the maze of our existence, how much bigger can we get than John 3:16?

It is our reminder that the stories told in the early chapters of the Gospels are not simply retellings of stories removed from us. They are recorded realities for you and for me. They are living words inviting us to see Christmas for the “whosoevers.”

Christmas is for you. Christmas is for me. There are no exclusions. Christmas is for every one of us – not so we can add to some company’s retail numbers. Christmas is the story of our Savior’s coming to do just that – to rescue us from the brokenness of the world outside us and within us.

As December 24th/25th is behind us and January 1st is upon us, what will we do with this yearly reset? Jesus doesn’t stay behind. This Babe of Bethlehem who also bears the name Immanuel – God with us = promises to do just that for “whosoever believes in Him.”

There will be plenty of twists and turns to the next 365 days. He promises to be with us through every one of them. He has come to make his dwelling among us and within us. May the “Whosoever” be each and every one of us. There’s a “whole world” of love to live and to give.

12/31/2022

December 31st
The Christmas Labyrinth
The 36th Pause: Worship

The journey had been long. Since observing the star appear; to their research as to its meaning; to their decision to pack up provisions; to the moment they arrived here in Bethlehem, many miles had been traversed and many days had passed. Such is the journey of the Christmas Labyrinth.

Although time has passed since they began this expedition, their reward was in sight. The six mile journey from Jerusalem to Bethlehem was next to nothing compared to the miles and miles from which they came. But what would they do when they arrived and sought an audience with his now not-quite-newborn king? Matthew tells us in 2:11,

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.

We typically rush to the gifts they present as we retell the story, but let’s pause for a 36th time to take note of their posture. We are told “they bowed down and worshipped him.” The Greek word used here doesn’t imply a cultural “bowing down” to show respect, but is typically used to express worship of a Deity.

In the world of religion, worship is often seen as what humans do to get the attention of whatever “god” or “gods” they seek. It is oftentimes viewed as the means by which humans can gain the favor of these deities and persuade him/her/them to act on one’s behalf.

But worship as found in the Scriptures – whether Old Testament or New, is not focused on human efforts, traditions or rituals, but on the God who initiates and acts in mercy and grace towards humanity. Worship then flows as a response of praise and thanksgiving to what God has done.

We see this played out in this house in which the holy family now live. The Magi (however many there were of them) arrive. Even though their knowledge of the true identity of Christ or all he would do was most likely limited at best, they were certainly convinced this was the God of Israel’s promised Messiah. And they bowed down and worshipped him.

The three well-known gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh become an expression of their worship. On this side of Jesus’ coming, ministry, death and resurrection, they point to his kingship, deity and his coming sacrifice.

As we reach the end of this Christmas labyrinth, all these pauses have taken us on a journey. Will we move on or will we bow down and worship Him?

12/30/2022

December 30th
The Christmas Labyrinth
The 35th Pause: A Tale of Two Kings

The people of Judea lived under a dictated peace. Between the uninvited military presence of Rome and the unwanted reign of Herod the Great, each day was filled with a tension which permeated the nation.

Suddenly, Magi arrive from a foreign land with a question for the king Rome had placed over the Jewish people. They were called “wise men” in many translations and although they knew much about a wide range of subjects, they didn’t seem to grasp the political climate of the day. Matthew sets it up with the first two verses of chapter 2, “During the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked,

‘Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews?
We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.’”

It seemed like an innocent enough question, but it would feed into Herod’s raging paranoia – one which led what the Jewish people saw as an “illegitimate king” to kill members of his own family and any other possible contender to the throne. But Herod played it cool for the moment and sought out the collective wisdom of the religious leaders he kept on the payroll. They informed him of Micah’s prophecy concerning Bethlehem, and so he feigned a smile and sent them on their way, but a murderous plan was already forming in his dark heart.

The Wise Men made their star-led six-mile hike from Jerusalem to Bethlehem with a growing excitement spilling out in pure joy. Their journey would bring them before the newborn king whom the constellations announced. Somewhere in their studies they equated it with a prophecy they had uncovered in the Book of Moses (Numbers 24:17),

“I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near.
A star will come out of Jacob; a scepter will rise out of Israel.”

Such is the tale of two kings. Herod would etch his name in a long list of earthly rulers who sought to build their own kingdoms. They were marked by false promises, power plays of manipulation or outright coercion.

These Magi were about to kneel before an utterly different kind of ruler. This newborn king, whose birth was etched among the stars, came not for a single nation, but for all people, was a king cut from completely different cloth – from swaddling clothes (Luke 2:7) to the strips of linen wrapped around his crucified and lifeless body (John 19:40) and then left behind in an empty tomb on the third day (John 20:6-7).

12/29/2022

December 29th
The Christmas Labyrinth
The 34th Pause: The Christmas Cross

Christmas can be a rollercoaster. There can be highs and there can be lows. Both can be found within this same December timeframe.

Thus far the highs had come fast and furious for Mary. After the initial shock of Gabriel’s message and the low of trying to explain it to Joseph and his subsequent plan to dissolve the marriage, these had been times of wonder. The trip from Nazareth to Bethlehem was difficult and the struggle to find housing was frustrating, but the birth of Jesus was followed by tears of joy.

There were shepherds who came to bear witness and tell of angel visits and songs. And now in the Temple courts they had been approached by a man of God named Simeon. He had words of blessing to share and a song to sing. But in the midst of the blessing, his words turned foreboding as Simeon turned to Mary with words recorded in Luke 2:34-35:

“This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel,
and to be a sign that will be spoken against,
so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed.
And a sword will pierce your own soul too.”

Mary felt the blunt edge the sword even as she heard each word. She stepped back and thought, “How could anyone speak against her son? Why would they want to do him harm? What could this mean?

But in her heart of hearts she knew these were words sent to her by the Lord through Simeon. God was preparing her for what was to come. His mother, being the ponderer she was, would play these words over in her mind in the years ahead. As much as the maternal nature within her wanted to forget they were ever spoken, there would come a day when in some strange way, they would give her comfort at a time when her very soul was being pierced.

For all of us who are prone toward sentimentalizing Christmas, these words of Simeon remind us that Christ’s coming wasn’t simply for a manger, but ultimately for a cross. The words of Joseph’s dream said Jesus would save the people from their sins (Matthew 1:21) and to the shepherds, the angel said a Savior was born (Luke 2:11). But this would all come at a price. Joseph wouldn’t live to see that moment, but Mary would. On a hill outside Jerusalem, their vivid memory would find her amid her weeping.

Yes, Christmas can be a rollercoaster. Yet even in the hurt or the loss or the struggle, we are never separated from our Savior.

12/28/2022

December 28th
The Christmas Labyrinth
The 33rd Pause: Nunc Dimittis (What My Eyes Have Seen)
The Fourth Song

What my eyes have seen. My eyes have seen beautiful sunrises and sunsets, breath-taking mountain vistas and lakes that glimmer under the light of the sun. My eyes have seen far too many stars to count once you leave the city behind, and leaves of every shade covering a forest landscape on a crisp fall day. My eyes have seen the face of my bride on the day of our wedding and the birth of each of our two sons.

What my eyes have seen. For all the beauty my eyes have taken in, my eyes have also seen the devastation of the way we treated other when love is lost to hate, prejudice, jealousy or anger. My eyes have seen the tears flowing down the face of those with broken hearts and those who are overwhelmed in times of disaster or loss. My eyes have seen the devastations brought on by storm or by violence.

But what my eyes or your eyes have seen pale in comparison to what Simeon saw that day in the Temple courts. His fell upon the face of the Savior of the world. Whether this song was a spontaneous composition of this moment, or a well-rehearsed composition Simeon lifted his voice:

“Sovereign Lord, as you have promised,
you may now dismiss your servant in peace.
For my eyes have seen your salvation,
which you have prepared in the sight of all nations:
a light for revelation to the Gentiles,
and the glory of your people Israel.” (Luke 2:29-32)

In the Latin translation of the Greek, the song begins with Latin words “Nunc Dimittis” which gives the song its liturgical title. From the Greek, the English translation is “now dismiss your servant, O Sovereign God, in peace, according to your word. Because my eyes have seen Your salvation.”

What has Simeon’s eyes seen? He’s seen the fulfillment of a promise. He’s seen the sending of the Savior. He even glimpses the future deliverance this Savior will bring about – not just for the people of Israel, but for every person of every nation.

It is a beautiful song which expands so many of the themes found in the songs of Zechariah, Mary and the Christmas angels. And for you and me, it is a prayer that one day our eyes too will see the face of our Savior.

12/27/2022

December 27th
The Christmas Labyrinth
The 32nd Pause: A Stranger Waiting

Every faithful Jew held on to a promise – clutching to it in the darkest moments. They prayed it would be fulfilled in their lifetime. They believed and they waited.

Simeon was one of those faithful Jews, but here was the twist. Unlike most of his Jewish brothers and sisters, somewhere along the way, the Lord revealed something to him. Luke tells us:

Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was on him. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. (Luke 2:25-26)

He would live to see the day when Messiah arrived. And so he waited even harder. Christmas was coming, but he didn’t know when. He only knew before he died, he would see the Christ arrive. So every day he awoke with anticipation building and burning within him. Would this be the day?

Mary and Joseph did not know Simeon nor this back story. They were only in Jerusalem to follow the traditions of their faith with rites of purification and dedication of the boy whom had been circumcised on his 8th day of life and officially given the name Jesus. (Luke 2:21)

This day – somewhere around his 40th day of life, their paths would cross.

Simeon rose that morning with the same personal prayer, “Lord, is this the day?” Luke tells us of the answer to this prayer,

Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. (Luke 2:27)

This was the day. Christmas has come. He will see the face of the Messiah and his pace quickens as he makes his way to the Temple Courts with eyes darting back and forth to spot the child he had spent his life waiting to see.

Many of us spent many days and even weeks waiting for Christmas as a child. In our younger days, it would seem to take forever. In our adult years, it seems to come around so fast. But we have a fixed point on a calendar that generation upon generation didn’t have. Yet, we await his final appearing – not know the day or the hour – not knowing whether his return will be in our lifetimes.

But we have Christ’s promise to hold onto even in our darkest times. Jesus says: “I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.” (John 14:3) Remember, the One who came will come again.

12/26/2022

December 26th
The Christmas Labyrinth
The 31st Pause: Pondered

It’s December 26th. Christmas for most is now in the rear view mirror. At one time, it was just getting started as the second day in the 12 days of Christmas set aside for celebration in the Christian churches. And I’m not just talking about two turtle doves.

But with the shoving aside of the season of Advent by the mad dash of Christmas in our consumer driven countdown from Black Friday to December 24th. By the time we flip the calendar to the 26th, we’ve bid adieu to Christmas and it’s full steam ahead toward New Years and if the retails stores are our barometers, to Valentine’s Day as well.

We miss out on so much by rushing from one thing to the next. We fail to fully experience what we’ve come through because we’re already focused on what’s next. But that was not the case of Mary, the mother of Jesus. To say she’d gone through a lot in the past nine months could be the understatement of all time, and yet we know the amount of change didn’t mean she missed out. In Luke 2:19 we are told:

But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.

This single sentence reminds me how many times I had someone give me advice about parenthood saying, “Don’t miss it. It goes by so fast.” And it does. They were right and I find myself passing along that same advice to young parents I encounter. But Mary wasn’t going to let that happen.

She took in every sight and sound. She listened to every word of the surprise visitors from the fields outside Bethlehem. She was amazed as the shepherds described their visit by the angel and they tried their best to sing the incredible song of the angels. She couldn’t help but smile as she looked upon the face of this baby wrapped in cloths, She remembered her own encounter with the angel Gabriel and those of Zechariah and Joseph as well.

She didn’t want to forget a single detail. She wanted every moment to burn into her memories so she could hold onto each one long into the future. Indeed she wanted to treasure each as though they were precious gifts – each and every one. And they were.

As she pondered each one, she knew this was only the beginning. She knew who her baby Jesus was and what he would grow up to do. She would forever be a ponderer. She would treasure all God was doing.

Yes, it’s December 26th, but what’s the rush? What might we ponder? What might we treasure? Time moves fast, but we are always in His hands.

12/26/2022

December 25th
The Christmas Labyrinth
The 30th Pause: The Center

When we started this Christmas Labyrinth back on the Friday after Thanksgiving, I explained the purpose was not to lead the wanderer to dead ends. Instead this ancient path was to “help the traveler pause and ponder some spiritual truths as he or she makes their way through the maze and come to a deeper understanding as they reach the center.”

Today we reach the very center of the labyrinth. One could argue “The Manger” from yesterday was the center, but I would suggest we turn to John 1:14 to find the deeper truths behind this child of Bethlehem.

John begins his Gospel with a cosmic understanding of creation and the ensuring spiritual battle taking place beyond our eyes. “The Word” speaks and the world explodes into existence. Yet darkness wants to have its way with this creation declared to be good in Genesis 1. Darkness wages war against the light of God and a fallen humanity sides with these dark ways.

Then suddenly the Rescuer makes his way onto the stage, but not in the way many expected. There is no Tolkien-like warrior with sword drawn to lead a vast army against whatever enemy stands with the darkness. Instead we get John 1:14a

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.
We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son,
who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

The Word made flesh? The only Son who came from the Father?

God has come to deliver us, but not with angels at the ready. Instead he “takes on flesh” and “makes his dwelling among us.” Here is the most direct teaching of the “incarnation” – literally meaning “in the flesh.” God’s Son comes “in the flesh.” He becomes a helpless baby.

I know we’ve heard the story, but don’t let its familiarity shield you from asking the question, “What if it’s true? What if this tiny baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and laid in a manger, is actually is as the Nicene Creed would later confess:

Who for us and for our salvation, came down from heaven,
was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the virgin Mary and was made man.

On the center post of the Christmas labyrinth, it asks the question: “If this baby Jesus is indeed the “Word who became flesh,” what does it mean that God has entered the world to be our rescuer?” It’s a question worth asking.

12/24/2022

December 24th
The Christmas Labyrinth
The 29th Pause: The Manger

There is a difference between knowing about Christmas and actually knowing the Christ of Christmas.

The shepherds looked at each other in amazement - silently asking the same question – you saw the angel too? You heard what I heard? They didn’t have to verbalize their “Yes!” One knowing glance said it all.

These keeper of sheep were asking each other, “What now?” Luke tells us what happened next:

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.” (Luke 2:15)

Though their watching of the flock was not over yet, but they could not resist taking the next steps of going and seeing this child for themselves. They had the opportunity to see the newborn Savior with their very own eyes and they weren’t about to waste it. They had been given the clue to find him. “This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger” (Luke 2:12).

So off to Bethlehem they went – searching every stable. Although they didn’t have luxurious cribs to choose from in their day, finding a baby lying in a manger would certainly make him easier to find.

What a contrast. King Herod had built a huge fortress just a few miles outside of Bethlehem. It lived up to the extravagance of his kingly tastes. But the Messiah, the very Savior of the world, was laid in nothing more than a manger. Why would God choose to answer His peoples prayers of generation upon generation with such humility?

From the eyes of the future looking back, St Paul gives us a clue in one of the earliest hymns found in Philippians 2:6-7:

Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.

They didn’t know that hymn yet. They didn’t know how far the Christ would empty himself – even to a cross. All they knew was the what the angels told them, so off they went and there they would kneel at the manger and look at the face of the Savior. Here they would know the Christ of Christmas.

12/23/2022

December 23nd
The Christmas Labyrinth
The 28th Pause: Angel Song
The Third Song

Can you imagine Christmas without the music? As fun as Jingle Bells, Deck the Halls and Rudolph the Red-Nose Reindeer might be, this is not the songs we’re talking about. We mean the carols which have been handed down to us through the ages which communicate the reality of Christmas in ways which sink down into our hearts and souls.

Can you imagine a Christmas without “O Come, All Ye Faithful,” “Joy to the World,” “Angels We Have Heard on High,” “What Child is This?,” “Hark, the Herald Angels Sing” or “Silent Night”?

Music has the power to bring us together. Studies have shown this over and over. There’s something special about the songs of Christmas. We gather with the lights dimmed, candles in hand and blend our voices singing,

Silent night, holy night, all is calm, all is bright.
‘Round yon virgin, mother and child,
Holy infant so tender and mild.
Sleep in heavenly peace, sleep in heavenly peace.”

If this has been your tradition, even reading those lyrics transports you to the holy moment of a Christmas Eve with voices and warmth surrounding.

Although many of best loved Christmas hymns were not written for hundreds and hundreds of years after the birth of Christ, it all began in the Christmas accounts handed down to us by Luke. First Zechariah sang, then Mary, and now the angels over a darkened Judean sky. Their audience – startled and now fascinated shepherds. What they witnessed was this:

Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.” (Luke 2:13-14)

Our eyes and hearts are lifted to the “Glory of God” who is fulfilling the promise in the sending of the Savior. From the highest heavens, He pours down a God-given peace to those who know his mercy and grace. This is a song of Good News for all the world. We are invited to join in a celebration which began in the fields outside the town of David and continues to us now.

Come to Bethlehem and see
Him whose birth the angels sing;
Come adore on bended knee,
Christ the Lord, the newborn King
Gloria, in excelsis Deo
Gloria, in excelsis Deo

12/22/2022

December 22nd
The Christmas Labyrinth
The 27th Pause: Shepherds

They were minding their own business – literally. They were busy with the same routine they’d done a thousand nights before. Watch the sheep. Protect the sheep. Keep the sheep. There was nothing to suggest that this particular night would bring anything out of the ordinary. Such was the life of these shepherds in the fields near Bethlehem.

They were just average Joes (or Josephs). There was nothing special about them. They were shepherds as their fathers were and their grandfathers. Sometimes we are told they were thought of negatively in Jesus’ day, but in reality, that wasn’t until much later. These shepherd were not thought of much at all. In the “Who’s Who” of the day, they didn’t make the cut. You might even call them an afterthought.

But they were not devalued or forgotten by God. After we are told by Luke that baby Jesus is born, wrapped in swaddling clothes and placed in a manger, the very next thing he reports is about – guess who?

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. (Luke 2:8-11)

Once they got over the initial fear which gripped them, they were soon to realize they were the first humans chosen to received the “good news that will cause great joy for all people.” The very fact that shepherds were the first to hear the life-altering news, certainly emphasizes the “for all people” part of the angel’s message.

In their culture, much like ours, the rich and powerful lived a very different life than most. They ran in very different circles than the less influential neighbors. But the common lives of Mary and Joseph, and now these shepherds, remind us the Lord doesn’t show partiality toward those our society may favor. This newborn king is different – very different – than the rulers who sit on thrones in palaces and rule over us.

Here is the Prince of Peace. Here is the King of Love. Here is Christ the Lord.

This is indeed the greatest news - not for a select few. The shepherds prove it. We too are invited to hear the words of the angel once again with fresh ears and open hearts. We too are invited to come and kneel at the manger.

12/21/2022

December 21st
The Christmas Labyrinth
The 26th Pause: Swaddling Clothes

Every parent I’ve talked with has that moment when they think, “This is real. I’m having (or I have) a child. I’m a parent.”

My moment came later than most with our firstborn. I mean – I should have known. There was the whole pregnancy to clue me in. There was the time I felt our son kicking away as I rested my hand on Anette’s belly. There was the prepping and the Lamaze classes. And yet, it wasn’t until that moment when I held that baby with his little smoochy face and tiny hands and feet, that I thought, “This is real. I have a son. I’m a father.”

I can’t help but wonder if Mary and Joseph had a similar moment that night in Bethlehem. Granted, finding out you’re going to have a child from a messenger of God rather than an at home “pregnancy test” is just the start of the many things which sets this birth apart from any other. But even with the conception of the very Son of God being carried in the womb of Mary, there was also much which was the still the same. I grew up with hearing this story from the King James version of Luke 2:6-7,

And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. 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.

And even as other versions became available, the mixture of the ordinary and extraordinary resounded through the same verses in the NIV,

While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.

There’s nothing more ordinary than these things listed:

- The time comes for the baby to be born, and her body let her know it
- She gives birth, as in no mention of angels floating down from heaven to hand her the child
- She wraps her newborn in cloths and swaddles him like any other Jewish mother would do at this time and laid down to sleep

Yes “the virgin conceives and gives birth to a son,” but she gives birth and she wraps him in “swaddling clothes.”

As we reach this pause and reflect on these two verses, we are caught up between what the commonplace and that which has never happened before and will never happen again. All the waiting is over. The Promised One is born. Mary and Joseph could marvel as they stare at the face of God.

The Christmas Labyrinth Devotions 22

01/01/2023

12/31/2022

12/30/2022

12/29/2022

12/28/2022

12/27/2022

12/26/2022

12/26/2022

12/24/2022

12/23/2022

12/22/2022

12/21/2022

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