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In the story of the nativity from Matthew, it is Joseph who is visited by an angel in his dreams.  Maybe it was Gabriel?  We aren’t told.  But we are told of a dream and an angel.  And in the dream, Jospeh is told to go through with his marriage to Mary despite the unusual circumstances.  The child will be special.  

So, Joseph is given a choice.  Does he listen to this angel visitation in his dreams?  Or was it indigestion?   We are told, “When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angel of the God commanded him. . .”  Joseph and Mary were married and Jesus was born.

This story reminds us that men, too, have a say so in child bearing and reproductive rights.  Men have a role to play and they are to take responsibility for the life of a child.  This is not for mothers alone.  

There are many paintings and renderings of Mary and Jesus.  But very few classic images that feature Joseph and Jesus alone.  And yet, the gospel of Matthew tells us of Joseph, listening to the angel and choosing to be the human father of Jesus.

Later in the gospel of Matthew, Joseph is told in another dream to take Mary and Jesus to Egypt to keep them safe while King Herod pursues the slaughter of the innocents.  Again, Joseph listens to the angel in his dreams and take the family to Egypt.  

In yet another dream, Jospeh is told when Herod has died, and the holy family returns to Palestine and makes their home in Nazareth.  

As a father, Joseph is tuned in, listening, and receptive to the directives of God so that he can be a fully functioning, responsible parent and not just abdicate all family matters to Mary.  

Prayer:  It takes so much to raise a child in these challenging times.  May we create a world that nurtures children and encourages parents and caring adults to help children thrive.  Amen.

This devotion was prepared by Rev. Kim P. Wells, pastor of Lakewood United Church of Christ in St. Petersburg, FL.

There are many cases in the Bible in which God confronts someone and presents them with a task to do, a role to fulfill.  Select a king.  Free the Israelites from Egypt.  Buy a worthless piece of land.  And on and on and on.  There are many, many examples of God dictating to people what they will do, often despite their objections.

I think it is interesting that in the case of Mary and the role of birthing the Messiah, Mary seems to be given the opportunity to consent.  God does not demand that she carry out this task.  The angel Gabriel is sent to consult her about this.  In the story, she agrees to comply.  The implication is that she could also have refused.  

Essentially, Mary is given sovereignty over her reproductive rights.  She gets to say yes or no to having a child.  She gets to make the decision that is right for her by her lights.  She is given agency over her body.  

And women are still fighting for these same rights today.  

Prayer:  Help us to respect the rights of all people to make the choices that are right for them and their circumstances.  May we especially respect the reproductive rights of women and respect the healthcare rights of women.  Amen.

This devotion was prepared by Rev. Kim P. Wells, pastor of Lakewood United Church of Christ in St. Petersburg, FL.

When we look at the economic system around us, it clearly favors the haves.  Tax rates favor the rich.  The government is set up to fund large corporations through financial incentives and regulatory concessions.  Government contracts of all kinds pad the pockets of those who are rich.  

And the poor are sent empty away.  Loss of all kinds of benefits.  Lack of access to food for children.  Loss of access to needed healthcare and healthcare supplies.  Lack of funding for schools and libraries and programs that enhance life for so many.  But then when does a rich person ever visit a library or swim in a neighborhood pool?  

I know Christians who believe that God wants everyone to be rich.  They see no problem with the biased economic system because they believe God wants to favor them through this system.  Never mind that it never actually happens. . . 

And when they read or sing something like the Magnificat this time of year:  

God has pulled the mighty down from their thrones,

and exalted the lowly;

God has filled the hungry with good things

and sent the rich away empty,

they say, that was for those people in those times.  God did that for them back then.  That is not for us today.

But, ‘a man shall not lie with a man,’ they sure think that’s for today.  

The thing is, the Bible is rife with verses about God’s concern and favoritism, even, for the poor and the oppressed.  It’s practically on every page of the Bible. That is a message from God for all time.  Justice for the poor.  

The verses about same sex behavior are few and are clearly bound to the time and cultural setting in which they were written.

Prayer:  Help us to know that as long as there are poor people, God will favor them, will have compassion upon them, will chastise those who make them poor.  That is who God is.  That is who we meet in Jesus and in his mother before him.  May we prepare for Jesus’ coming with joy!  Amen.

This devotion was prepared by Rev. Kim P. Wells, pastor of Lakewood United Church of Christ in St. Petersburg, FL.

In so many paintings of the annunciation, of the nativity, Mary looks so, well, spiffy.  She often has on some glowing gown trimmed with gold.  Her dress is often adorned with lace and embroidery.  Frankly, she looks like she is from the class of the mighty who get put down from their thrones and the rich who get sent away empty, according to the Magnificat.  

Mary was from a small town,  doubtless part of a family of some kind.  And as a woman she would be involved with chores such as doing the laundry, gardening, cooking, mending, maybe spinning wool from the sheep.  

We have a children’s book about Christmas with wonderful illustrations. When the angel Gabriel approaches Mary, she is hanging out laundry on the line out in the yard.  To me, that very much suits the Mary of Nazareth in the first century.  

The thing about making Mary ‘ordinary’ instead of rich and fancy, well, it portrays the vast power of God channeled through a regular person.  And if Mary, then why not some other ordinary person for another job God wants done.  And what if that ordinary person is you?  Or me?  Or the coworker in the cubicle beside us that we can’t stand?  Or the grocery clerk. . . .  Suddenly the world is aflame with Spirit, and we are most definitely not in control.  

Prayer:  With God, nothing is ordinary.  Everything is divine, holy, and sacred.  Especially every person.  May we create a world where every ordinary person is treated with respect and dignity.  They may be a Mary!  Amen.

This devotion was prepared by Rev. Kim P. Wells, pastor of Lakewood United Church of Christ in St. Petersburg, FL.

You may have gotten up this sleepy, cold Friday morning and headed to work or the doctor or shopping or the gym not even realizing that for millions of people this is one of the most important days of the year!!!

December 12 is the Feast Day of the Virgin of Guadalupe, probably the most well-known and widely celebrated of all the ‘Mary’s.’  Yes, she is the patron saint of Mexico, our next door neighbor, but she is so much more.  She has become the patron of people of color the world over.  Everywhere you go in Mexico, you see her.  And she is revered by all, even those with no ties to the Catholic Church.  She has become a universal symbol of the universal love of God.  

While the Catholic Church was busy colonizing Mexico and imposing their religion on the indigenous people, the Virgin of Guadalupe appeared several times to a mere peasant, Juan Diego.  Finally, the Bishop accepted Juan Diego’s stories of the appearances of the Virgin of Guadalupe and built her a church on the site she selected.  And Mexico got a brown, indigenous looking Mary who appeared to an indigenous peasant.  The white Euro Americans no longer controlled the church in Mexico.  And the Mexicans got a goddess figure in their new religion that connected them to their indigenous goddesses.  

In the Magnificat, Mary sings of lifting the lowly. The Virgin of Guadalupe has lifted up the indigenous people of Mexico generating respect for them as people and for their indigenous traditions which are life-giving and honor the sacred earth.

Today, do something to honor the Virgin of Guadalupe – light a candle, eat a burrito.  And celebrate the lifting up of the lowly.

Prayer:  May we allow our faith and our lives to be enriched by the traditions of peoples and cultures that are different than our own.  God is so much bigger than one ethnicity or color or religion.  Amen.

This devotion was prepared by Rev. Kim P. Wells, pastor of Lakewood United Church of Christ in St. Petersburg, FL.