Healing Rays of Righteousness

God Is Down Here Among Us

We often think of God as being “up there” – in heaven. But, in the birth of Jesus, God has come down to us, and now lives among us. We could never reach Him up there, so with amazing love He came down here to be among us, living by His Spirit in us.

“The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means, “God with us”). (Matthew 1:23). “The Word (Jesus) became flesh and made his dwelling among us.” (John 1:14).

The story is told regarding a once famous monastery which had fallen on hard times. Its many buildings used to be filled with young priests and monks, and its big church resounded with the singing of the chant. But now it was nearly deserted and silent. A handful of monks shuffled through the buildings praying their prayers and praising their God with heavy hearts.

On the edge of the monastery grounds, an old Jewish rabbi had built a little hut in the woods. He would come there from time to time to fast and pray. No one ever spoke with him, but whenever he appeared, the word would be passed from monk to monk, “The Rabbi walks in the woods.”

One day the Abbot, who was the one in charge of the monastery, decided to visit the Rabbi and open his heart to him regarding the bad conditions at the monastery and seek his advice. He walked across the monastery grounds and into the woods to the Rabbi’s hut.

The Rabbi warmly greeted and embraced him and invited him into his little hut. In the middle of the room was a wooden table with the Bible laying open upon it. The two men sat down at the table and said nothing to each other. They just sat there looking at the Bible.

Finally, the Rabbi lifted his eyes and said, “You and your brothers are serving God with heavy hearts. You have come to ask me for a teaching. I will give you this teaching, but you can only repeat it once. After that, no one must ever say it aloud again.”

The Rabbi looked directly at the Abbott and said, “The Messiah is among you.”  For a while there was silence, then the Rabbi said, “Now you must go.”  The Abbott left without saying another word and returned to the monastery.

The next morning the Abbot called all the monks together and told them that he had received a teaching from the Rabbi “who walks in the woods.”  But the teaching could be spoken only once and never again. Then the Abbott looked at each of his fellow monks and said, “The Rabbi told me that the Messiah is among us.”

The monks were startled, and asked themselves, “What does this mean? Is Brother John the messiah, or Father Matthew, or Brother Thomas? Am I the messiah?”  They were all deeply puzzled by this teaching but never spoke it again.

As the days and weeks passed, life at the monastery began to change. The monks began to treat one another with a special reverence. There was a gentle, loving spirit about them that everyone noticed. They lived, worked, and worshipped together as bothers who had finally found something of great value and precious to them.

And soon, people began coming from everywhere to be nourished by the prayer life of the monks, and young men were again asking to become part of the community. It became apparent that the monastery’s impact on the surrounding community was reborn and energized.

A significant and visible change came over the monks when they believed the Messiah, the Christ to be present among them.

The author of this story is unknown, but the story is supported by historical records. I share the story because it illustrates what I think happens when we fully hear, understand, and believe the Christmas story of Jesus’ birth.

Imagine what would happen in our church if we believed that the Messiah is among us. Would we be more eager to be present whenever the church gathered? Would we be more attentive in greeting one another warmly with a genuine smile of appreciation. Would be more alert to notice and welcome the stranger in our midst. Imagine what would happen if we believed that the Messiah was among us, clothed in human flesh.

Imagine? No! No! Let us believe and live into the glorious truth that the Messiah is among us. Is not this the good news and invitation of the Christmas story? The scriptures affirm that it is so.

Jesus told his disciples, “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. … On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you.” (John 14:18,20).

Jesus prays to the Father, “I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one – I in them and you in me – so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.”  (John 17:22-23).

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“Healing Rays of Righteousness” – December 28, 2022

www.geigler13.wordpress.com

Ray M. Geigley

Discovering the JOY of Christmas

“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 the Messiah, the Lord.”

(Luke 2:10-11)

From since our childhood, we have thought of Christmas as the most wonderful time of the year. We have listened to the story of the baby in the manger, the angels, the shepherds, and the wise men so often that we can almost recite the scriptures from memory. We have sung our favorite Christmas carols year after year and no longer need a hymnbook to sing them. And no one needs to remind us that Christmas is the celebration of Jesus Christ’s birth.

But, most likely, there are some of us who may not have discovered the JOY of Christmas. It seems that no matter how much you enjoy the holiday season and its festivities, the emptiness you feel deep within reminds you that the “great joy” promised by the angel has not been your personal experience.

This saddens me, because I believe that Christmas is about much more than just a fun-filled event. It is intended to be a personalized experience of much JOY. The Christmas story is like a letter addressed to each of us personally, inviting us to see, hear, and feel the life-changing JOY of the story’s good news.

As soon as the angels disappeared into the stillness of the night, the shepherds hurried to Bethlehem to search for this baby, this “Savior.” They had heard the good news, they believed, and they went and “found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger.”

Filled with JOY they quickly spread the “good news that will cause great joy for all the people” to others as they returned to the fields and their work of caring for sheep, “glorifying and praising God for all the things they heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.”

Matthew tells us that Magi traveled a great distance to find this child who was “born king of the Jews” to worship him. Guided by a star, they eventually found the child with his mother Mary. Being “overjoyed” they bowed down and worshiped him, and then gave him gifts.

From its beginning, the Christmas story is a story of JOY. Repeatedly, fear and bewilderment become joyous rejoicing in song and worship. And down through the years of time, this good news of a Savior born to us, has been carried on the wings of song and carols.

So, if anyone of us is not experiencing the JOY promised by the angel, maybe we need to ask ourselves if we really believe the Christmas story; and maybe, more importantly, have we personally claimed and opened the gift of salvation that this baby, named Jesus, brought down to earth from heaven for each one of us.

Occasionally we read of someone who lived like a pauper, virtually starving themselves to death, even while they had thousands of dollars stashed away. We think this is tragic. But even more tragic is the person who celebrates Christmas, singing the familiar carols, listening to the Christmas story being retold, yet missing its JOY of because they either feel no need of a Savior, or have their life so cluttered with other “gods” that they have “no room” for the “holy Child of Bethlehem.”

If this be you, I enthusiastically invite you to find and experience the JOY of Christmas by sincerely singing the prayer printed as the last verse of “O Little Town of Bethlehem.”

               O holy Child of Beth-le-hem, descend to us, we pray,

               Cast out our sin, and enter in, be born in us today!

               We hear the Christmas angels  the great glad tidings tell.

               O come to us, abide with us, our Lord Em-man-u-el.

I urge all of us to pray this prayer humbly, sincerely, and fervently, during every year’s celebration of our Savior’s birth. If we do, I assure you that we will find and experience the JOY of Christmas throughout the days and weeks that follow.

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“The Healing Rays of Righteousness” – December 21, 2022

www.geigler13.wordpress.com

Ray M. Geigley

CHRISTMAS LITANY

For Family Christmas Dinner Gatherings

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

May your family be blessed as you join in these songs of Christmas joy.

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“Healing Rays of Righteousness” – December 14, 2022

 www.geigler13.wordpress.com

Ray M. Geigley

Tis the Season to be Jolly – or Not

Now is the wondrous Christmas season and everywhere we hear ‘Tis the season to be jolly. But you ask, “How can I be jolly, when I am feeling so sad, heart-broken, grieving the death of a loved one. For me, my pain of loss is even more severe during this time. Why should I and how can I be jolly when I am struggling just to cope with my pain of loss and loneliness?”

If this is your painful thoughts during this time of the year, please allow me to offer you a few encouragements from my own journeying experience through bereavement grief that may encourage and help you cope with the harsh realities of a significant loss in your life.

There is no questioning that your world has been turned upside down. Your life has been shattered by the death of a loved one. Everything is now uncomfortably and fearfully different. And the holiday celebrations of Thanksgiving and Christmas, only further maximize the pain of loss you feel.

Added to the deep hurting of significant loss, is the pain of other’s expectations. Friends, and maybe your own children, often do not understand the necessary journey through grief, or possibly do not want to deal with nor be reminded of its pain. And so, they strongly advise you to participate in family and church traditions as you always have done in previous years. For them, your need to grieve may be threatening and uncomfortable for them, and so they wish you would act as if nothing has changed.

Unfortunately, in response to these misguided expectations of others, you may be tempted to choose either to ignore your pain and do as others wish you to do, or to ignore the holiday altogether and withdraw into your own little world. However, neither of these ways are an appropriate response toward your coping with the reality of severe loss, nor do they enable you to move forward toward healing of your grief and renewed joy of living. In fact, both choices have very harmful consequences to your health and well-being.

There is no way to ease the pain, nor detour around it. But there are ways to deal with pain, that is, to cope with the reality of grievous loss. I recommend that you think of your bereavement grief as a painful experience of journeying through and toward healing and a new reality of joy and happiness.

First, allow yourself to feel what you feel, because what you permit yourself to feel can heal. Do not try to hide or bury your pain.  Acknowledge your sadness and allow yourself to cry, even in public places and church, but do not wallow in self-pity. Seize every opportunity to share memories with those who will listen. Talk about former holiday experiences and look at pictures.

Secondly, be realistic about what you want and need from the holiday season, remembering that you need both grieving time and celebration time during these days. Be kind to yourself and beware of being pressured by others. Separate holiday tasks and feelings. You can choose to address and send Christmas cards, but you cannot choose the feelings that will erupt when you do so.

Also, if you choose a change of scenery, such as distant travel or cruise, for the holidays, remember that grieving emotions will not only accompany you, but they will also be waiting for you when you return home. More importantly, in whatever you choose to do, beware of abusing medications, alcohol, or excessive eating to escape the pain. Remember to live only one day at a time.

Thirdly, choose to be active and around people. This may often be difficult but is important in combating loneliness. Try to exercise physically every day as it releases the body’s natural painkillers and gives you a sense of well-being. Spend time with children because they can remind you of the wonder and joy of life. Volunteer to help in a ministry to those less fortunate than you.

And most importantly, renew and affirm your HOPE for the future. Hope is essential to coping with bereavement loss. Remember that hope is both a future-oriented framework of expectations and a present-oriented framework of possibilities. Without hope it is almost impossible to mobilize your energy and potential healing of grief. Hope for a better tomorrow enables you to cope with today and will infuse you with peace and joy on Christmas Day.

Above all, believe and be assured that God loves you, will provide for you, and has planned a good future for you. Under His loving grace and care, you will again be able to sing the carols of Christmas, but in the meantime, listen to the angelic carolers.

“It came upon the midnight clear, that glorious song of old, from angels bending near the earth to touch their harps of gold: “Peace on the earth, goodwill to men, from heav’n’s all-gracious King.”  The world in solemn stillness lay, To hear the angels sing.

Still thro’ the cloven skies they come, with peaceful wings unfurled, and still their heav’nly music floats o’er all the weary world. Above its sad and lowly plains they bend on hov’ring wing, and ever o’er its Babel sounds the blessed angels sing.

And you, beneath life’s crushing load, whose forms are bending low, who toil along the climbing way with painful steps and slow: Look up! for glad and golden hours come swiftly on the wing. O rest beside the weary road, and hear the angels sing.”  (Edmund H. Sears, 1849).

I pray that you will let God bless you during this Christmas season with His comforting, enabling grace. AMEN!

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“Healing Rays of Righteousness” – December 7, 2022

www.geigler13.wordpress.com

Ray M. Geigley