A Precedent for the New Year (Luke 2:13-20)

Introduction

We stand on the threshold of a new year. Most people generally look at the new year as a fresh beginning, as an opportunity to kind of start over, to overcome a habit, or do a better job of something they see as important and that needs improvement. It may be parenting, being a better spouse, losing weight (which, by the way, is the number one resolution according to polls taken). It may be developing different priorities, using our time better, or a whole host of things that people would like to change.

So, we usually hear a lot about New Year's resolutions, resolutions which are usually broken in a matter of weeks. Many people are very pessimistic about the whole issue of making resolutions, and rightly so, because so many good intentions are followed by a history of past failures.

But the new year is a time to reflect and think about what the past year has brought and what the new year could bring. It is a time to stop and analyze, to take stock of our priorities, values, pursuits, and goals. We need to ask questions like "Who am I, what am I doing with my life? What should I be doing as a Christian with my life and the stewardship God has given me?" After all, according to the Word of God, all of life is a stewardship--a stewardship of our time, talents, treasures, and God's truth. In other words, since God's plan and our stewardships revolve around and through the life of His Son, Jesus Christ, we need to each ask "How well am I responding to the Savior and the spiritual life that He has given me?"

പഴങ്കഥകള്‍ പറയുന്ന മനുഷ്യന്‍

മാത്യു ചെമ്പുകണ്ടത്തില്‍

  ഞാന്‍ ഒരിക്കല്‍പോലും ചിന്തിക്കാന്‍ സാധ്യതയില്ലാതിരുന്ന ഒരു കാര്യം അയാളെന്നോടു പറഞ്ഞു. അന്ന് അയാളുടെ ഉദ്ദേശശുദ്ധിയെ ഞാന്‍ സംശയിച്ചു. അയാള്‍ എന്തിന് അക്കാര്യം എന്നോടു പറഞ്ഞു? കുറേനാള്‍ ഈ ചിന്ത എന്നെ അസ്വസ്ഥനാക്കിയിരുന്നു. അയാള്‍ പറഞ്ഞ കാര്യങ്ങളെല്ലാം ചിലപ്പോള്‍ അനുവാദമില്ലാതെ വരുന്ന അതിഥിയെപ്പോലെ ഓര്‍മയിലെത്തും. ജോലിയും കുടുംബകാര്യങ്ങളുമായി പലതും ചിന്തിക്കാനുള്ളപ്പോള്‍ ഇനി ഇതൂകൂടി ചിന്തിച്ച് തല പുകയ്‌ക്കേണ്‍ട കയറ്റേണ്‍ട കാര്യമില്ല എന്നുറച്ച് അയാള്‍ പറഞ്ഞ കാര്യങ്ങളെല്ലാം മറക്കാന്‍ ഞാന്‍ മനഃപൂര്‍വ്വം ശ്രമിച്ചുകൊണ്‍ടിരുന്നു.

Comparing origin stories: Genesis 1 & 2 vs. the theory of Evolution

How Christians and Jews view the creation story of Genesis 1.1 to 2.3:

Religious conservatives -- both Jewish and Christian -- generally believe that the Bible is inerrant, and that God directly inspired its authors. Thus, they believe that the creation story in Genesis must have been absolutely true, in its original or autograph copies: God formed the world, its life forms, and the rest of the universe in one continual act of creation. Conservatives have developed conflicting theories concerning the number of years in the past that creation happened; they range from 3615 BCE  to the interval measured by scientists: 4.5 billion years. They also differ in their estimate of the time interval taken for the creation sequence to be finished; these range from six 24-hour days to billions of years. In those verses where Genesis conflicts with the theory of evolution, religious conservatives assume that the scientists must be wrong. Given sufficient time, they expect the scientists to see the light and discover the truth.
Religious liberals, Agnostics, Atheists, Humanists, secularists, etc. generally reject the inerrancy and inspiration of the Bible. Most believe that the first creation story in Genesis is actually a re-written version of a Babylonian creation myth, which was composed many centuries before Genesis was first written down. They believe that the Theory of Evolution gives an accurate overall description of the development of species of life on Earth. Most also believe that the universe is on the order of 13 billion years of age, and that the earth coalesced about 4.5 billion years ago.

Saint Nicholas - a brief history

St. Nicholas was born in 280 AD, in Patara, a city of Lycia, in Asia Minor. He became the gift giver of Myra. His gifts were given late at night, so that the gift giver's identity would remain a secret. St Nicholas was eventually named the patron saint of children, sailors, Russia and Greece.

St. Nicholas was a Christian priest, who later became a bishop. He was a rich person, and traveled the country helping people, giving gifts of money and other presents. St. Nicholas did not like to be seen when he gave away presents, so the children of the day were told to go to sleep quickly or he would not come! Nothing has changed and Santa Claus will not arrive this Christmas unless the children go to sleep early.