First Sunday after Christmas Day
December 27, 2009
1 Samuel 2:18-20, 26 • Psalm 148 • Colossians 3:12-17 • Luke 2:41-52
18 But Samuel, though he was only a boy, served the Lord. He wore a linen garment like that of a priest. 19 Each year his mother made a small coat for him and brought it to him when she came with her husband for the sacrifice. 20 Before they returned home, Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife and say, “May the Lord give you other children to take the place of this one she gave to the Lord.”
26 Meanwhile, the boy Samuel grew taller and grew in favor with the Lord and with the people.
It’s been interesting so far to look at Old Testament scriptures in light of the first two seasons of the church year. As I was reading the last first of our passage, it struck me that I had heard the phrase similar to that before. The last verse of the gospel reading in Luke reads like this: 52 Jesus grew in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and all the people. Now I knew why it sounded familiar. Many years ago, The Wesleyan Church had something called CYC or Christian Youth Crusaders. It was a great program based loosely on scouting. There were other programs such as Pioneer Girls and so on out there, but this was our own curriculum. As part of the exercises, there was a pledge and it ended with “and Jesus grew in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and man.”
Samuel was the son of Elkanah. He was promised to his mother after she pleaded with God to have a son. In return, Samuel’s mother pledged him in service to her Lord. Obviously this was a smart boy and he followed the Lord and it pleased God and the people. Over this next week, I encourage you to seek the Lord. While most of us over the age of 20 are done growing physically, we can continue to grow spiritually. We can continue to grow in favor with our God and with others. My favorite verse is “Hear O Israel, the Lord your God is one and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your mind, and with all your strength. Jesus added and you should love your neighbor as yourself. As we begin this new year, that is a great challenge!
