“You are more righteous than I,” he said. “You have treated me well, but I have treated you badly. – 1 Samuel 24:17

Today’s Scripture Reading (December 25, 2012): 1 Samuel 24

Once again, it is Christmas Day - the day that God left his throne and stepped down into our world. It is the day that, if we are honest with ourselves, just does not make sense. Why would God come here? And why would he enter into our space and time with such – well, gentleness. The Messiah had long been expected, but the idea was that he would come as the head of the angel armies. On the day that the Messiah entered into our world, the whole world was supposed to stand up and take notice. But that is not what happened. Instead, the night of his entrance was witnessed only by a carpenter and his wife and a few shepherds – even the traditional wise men did not show up until later. When what we deserved was an army from heaven – heaven sent a child in a manger.

Saul had fallen under the judgement of God. He had failed God, his nation and himself. But one of the wonders of the story is that God did not come with the angel army, he sent David who would gently give Saul every chance to make things right. But Saul never took advantage of the chance that he was given. Oh, he would briefly stop what he was doing and recognize the chance – but the moment always quickly passed.   

Our response to the God of the manger should be the same as Saul’s. God, you are more righteous than I – You have treated me well, but I have treated you badly. You have honored me, but I have not honored you. 

And, maybe, the legacy of this Christmas is that, like Saul, we are being given a chance to change all of that - not just for the moment, but for all of the Christmas’s (and all the days in between our Christmas’s) that we have left to us.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: 1 Samuel 25