January 5th - Reflection

Reading
Jeremiah 31:7-14 (NRSV)
Joy as God's scattered flock gathers

For thus says the Lord:
Sing aloud with gladness for Jacob,
and raise shouts for the chief of the nations;
proclaim, give praise, and say,
"Save, O Lord, your people,
the remnant of Israel."
See, I am going to bring them from the land of the north,
and gather them from the farthest parts of the earth,
among them the blind and the lame,
those with child and those in labor, together;
a great company, they shall return here.
With weeping they shall come,
and with consolations I will lead them back,
I will let them walk by brooks of water,
in a straight path in which they shall not stumble;
for I have become a father to Israel,
and Ephraim is my firstborn.

Hear the word of the Lord, O nations,
and declare it in the coastlands far away; say,
"He who scattered Israel will gather him,
and will keep him as a shepherd a flock."
For the Lord has ransomed Jacob,
and has redeemed him from hands too strong for him.
They shall come and sing aloud on the height of Zion,
and they shall be radiant over the goodness of the Lord,
over the grain, the wine, and the oil,
and over the young of the flock and the herd;
their life shall become like a watered garden,
and they shall never languish again.
Then shall the young women rejoice in the dance,
and the young men and the old shall be merry.
I will turn their mourning into joy,
I will comfort them, and give them gladness for sorrow.
I will give the priests their fill of fatness,
and my people shall be satisfied with my bounty,
says the Lord.

Reflection
Oh what joy! After wandering through this life on my own and aimless and without purpose, God has chosen Jesus to gather me in. Jesus, to come in human flesh and find me a lost sinner in the midst of the wilderness and lead me home. Oh what great joy, that God would reach out to me a sinner and save me from sin, death and myself. Not only save me in some miraculous way, but save me in a way that is beyond understanding. A way that is grace upon grace. God saves me by gathering me in with the others lost to sin all around me and walking me safely home. Grace upon grace and a love upon love. Something way beyond human understanding happens here. Oh what joy! Oh what a response I have built up inside of me, just waiting and itching to be released full of that same grace and love that Jesus has overfilled me with. To be released to all the world. Oh what joy! Thanks be to God!

Prayer
Lord, You not only came to me in flesh, but You hunted me down in the midst of my sin and changed me. You filled me with grace and love...grace upon grace and love upon love until my cup overflows into all the world. Oh what joy! Thanks be to God! ---Amen