Thursday, December 28, 2023  

---

Today’s Hymn

Gentle Mary laid her child 
lowly in a manger; 
there he lay, the undefiled, 
to the world a stranger. 
Such a babe in such a place, 
can he be the Savior? 
Ask the saved of all the race 
who have found his favor. 

Angels sang about his birth; 
wise men sought and found him; 
heaven’s star shone brightly forth, 
glory all around him. 
Shepherds saw the wondrous sight, 
heard the angels singing; 
all the plains were lit that night; 
all the hills were ringing. 

Gentle Mary laid her child 
lowly in a manger; 
he is still the undefiled, 
but no more a stranger. 
Son of God, of humble birth, 
beautiful the story; 
praise his name in all the earth; 
hail the King of glory! 

Joseph Simpson Cook’s “Gentle Mary Laid Her Child”
(tune: Tempus Adest Floridum)
from Glory to God: The Presbyterian Hymnal 

---

Reflection

Can he be the Savior? Why is it so hard for ‘the saved’ to figure this out? Can this child really be our Savior? The angels sang about it. The wise sought him out. The shepherds saw the star and heard the angels. Still, we doubt. Still, we wait. Later in his life, we asked, “Can this man of peace really be the promised Messiah?” This isn’t how we imagined it. It is, however, exactly how God imagined it. On God’s terms and in God’s time.

As I contemplated this hymn, that is what struck me. Three stanzas. One of doubt. One of evidence. One of affirmation. God came to us in human flesh to experience what we experience. Perhaps God still meets us in human flesh, the flesh of those we meet and experience daily. From Christ’s humble birth and throughout his life, he demonstrated how we should live our own lives.

The radical and inclusive love of God brought to us through weakness and humble means rather than through strength and power. As we welcome the arrival of our Messiah, that undefiled, innocent baby, let us also remember that, because of this birth, God is no longer a stranger to us. This incredible gift is for each of us. We need only realize it.

Soli Deo Gloria.

---

Prayer
Eternal God, help me more fully comprehend your radical and inclusive love for me. Today and every day, that with the entire world, I might praise your name. Amen.

---

Written by Robert Sinclair, Member of Fourth Presbyterian Church

Reflection and Prayer © Fourth Presbyterian Church

Devotion index by date | I’d like to receive daily devotions by email