Foreign.

Hello my friend Dr. Brad Miller here with the Daily Bible Refresh.

This is your daily reading of the Bible from a progressive point of view.

In a bit I will read the New Testament lessons selected from the Revised Common Lectionary for this very day.

The reading is understandable.

I use the message version Relatable.

Please listen to the points to ponder and applicable with action steps you can take.

We pray and are done in less than 10 minutes.

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Here's today's reading and the reading today is from the Gospel of Luke 2:15 21 reading from the Message as the angel choir withdrew into heaven, the shepherds talked it over.

Let's get over to Bethlehem as fast as we can and see for ourselves what God has revealed to us.

They left running and found Mary and Joseph and the baby lying in the manger.

Seeing was believing.

They told everyone they met what the angels had said about this child.

All who heard the shepherds were impressed.

Mary kept all these things to herself, holding them dear deep within herself.

The shepherds returned and let loose, glorifying and praising God for everything they had heard and seen.

It turned out exactly the way they'd been told.

Blessings.

When the eighth day arrived, the day of circumcision, the child was named Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived.

Well my friends, that concludes the reading.

Let's sit down for a minute today as we think about the role of the shepherds here in this passage of the Nativity scene of the birth of Jesus.

They are sprinting to Bethlehem to see this holy amazing thing that has happened that's kind of interrupted their normal routine of caring for the sheep.

And it just reminds me that there's oftentimes that kind of interrupt our lives and burst into our lives when we least expect it.

I know one of the things that happened in my life is my grandchildren will come bursting into a room.

They're 8 and 5 years old version of the room laughing and giggling and jumping on you.

And they love to laugh and giggle, but it's sometimes a big surprise as well.

They are wonderful and give me great joy.

Their joy feels like God tapping me on the shoulder in the ordinary moments in this scene.

Here in this biblical passage, we have the angels who are singing, the shepherds who are running, and Mary is treasuring things in her heart quietly.

Then it Sundays, on the eighth day, the baby named Jesus is, Has, says circumcision, which is a ritual in the Jewish tradition which was marking him as a part of a people and of a story.

It's a small part of the story in a way, but it is so really major to know that he is marked with this incredible story, this incredible meaningfulness of great joy.

So let's talk about three points to ponder.

The first one is that God shows up in the margins and the margins matter.

The first people to hear the good news aren't kings or clergy.

They're the night shift workers out of the.

In the.

Taking care of the sheep, where they were the men and I suppose women too, who were just dirty and grimy and they were dealing with, you know, the sheep and the animals and everything goes with that.

And that's a progressive hint about how God chooses his priorities.

If God chooses shepherds, what does it say about who gets included, who is listened to, who is dignified in our world?

Hope grows when we see people who are usually sidelined, offered center stage, and faith that follows.

Jesus will keep bending towards people who are overlooked.

Another point to ponder is ponder and praise are both faithful and both needed.

The shepherds let loose praising God, and Mary kept all these things into her heart and pondered them.

Some of us were wired for loud gratitude and celebration and singing and other things like that.

And others are wired up or more situated for quiet reflection and meditation.

Progressive faith doesn't prescribe a one right way.

It honors diverse temperaments and practices.

My wife and I love to take hikes in wooded parks and on those trails you can move between loud gratitude, you know, dogs barking, birds chirping, squirrels jumping from down the trees, and quiet pondering, just kind of hearing the wind go through the trees.

My question to you is, what is stirring in you and what causes you to stir?

Where is God in your week?

Both ways are worshiping make space for hearing.

A third point to ponder is about bodies and belonging.

Jesus is named into a real community.

That's where this ritual of circumcision comes into play.

Jesus is circumcised and named, given the name Jesus, which means he's part of a group, part of a culture, part of a sign of group that he belonged to.

So this is not we're talking about here is not some abstract spirituality.

It is the God with us story lived in real flesh, real tradition, in real time and with real humanity.

In a progressive way of thinking, we can affirm covenant and community while also practicing compassion, consent and justice around bodies and other traditions that we are part of.

Your name matters, naming matters, blessing matters.

All this matters.

We're called to a faith that doesn't float above real life but actually is interceding into the life of real people with dignity.

Let's talk about an action step you can take this week.

Practice, ponder and tell.

That is choose some ordinary thing that you do.

Having a cup of coffee, your commute to work in the car perhaps, or a walk or maybe some ball game on tv and first thing to do is ponder it.

That is think about it and take a couple minutes to kind of notice what is stirring in your heart about curiosity or grief or gratitude or just noticing what is happening in some circumstances you may have just overlooked prior.

The second part is to tell share a brief word of hope or blessing with somebody.

Text them, call them, Facebook post face to face.

Keep it simple.

Just say something.

I'm really grateful for you today.

Or maybe it's this small event gave me hope.

You know, I am really grateful for my wife and my three adult children, my two grandchildren and all the other people in my community, including my church community.

And they each are carving out beautiful lives together.

This is a part of my life.

What are you grateful for in your life as you embark in any new chapter that you're facing?

I'm convinced that God loves to meet us in the ordinary and move us like those shepherds towards joyful witness.

We're going to pray here in just a moment.

I did want you to know we have a great resource for you called the ABC 1, 2, 3 Bible study method.

You can head over to our website voiceofgoddaily.com that's where you can pick it up for free.

Let's pray.

God of ordinary nights and unexpected songs.

Meet us in our real lives, our work, our homes, hospital rooms, a trail, a living room.

Teach us to notice joy and honor sorrow.

Give us Mary's courage to ponder and the shepherd's energy to praise.

Bless our bodies, our names, our communities, especially those in the margins.

Help us share the small word of hope today with someone who needs it.

And when that laughter comes, let it remind us that remind us that you are near.

Amen.

My friend.

I am delighted you chose to join me for today's reading.

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My name is Dr. Brad Miller and I'll be right here tomorrow with your daily Bible refresh.

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Remember, God's loyal love doesn't run out.

His merciful love hasn't dried up, it's created new every morning.