A Christmas to do list

Isaiah 11:1-9
Numbers 16:1-19
Hebrews 13:7-17

I'm going to admit it. I'm stumped. I have no idea what the people who chose the liturgy readings were thinking this time. The Isaiah passage is easy, but then we go back to the story about the rebellion of Korah in Numbers and a passage in Hebrews that is clearly separated from its context. With a collection of passages like this, finding some coherence to them starts to feel a little like a parlor trick.

Here goes...

What sacrifice does God find pleasing? Well, not Korah's. That didn't work out so well for him and his followers. Grasping for power is clearly out. The writer of Hebrews is pretty clear, though. A sacrifice of praise to God, doing good to others, and sharing what we have. This is what is pleasing to God.

Imagine a world where everyone stopped grasping for what they could get... power, money, acknowledgment... and instead focused on putting God in His rightful place by doing as much good to others as they could and sharing with whoever needed it. It would be a kinder world. It would be a foreshadowing of the time that is yet to come, when all nature lives in peace and harmony and the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord.

Here's the real to do list to getting ready for Christmas:

1. Praise God
2. Do good
3. Share

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