A word spoken at the right moment,
How good it is!
Like a custom-made piece of jewelry.
Proverbs 15:23 and 25:11
Words of Love
Back to the Christmas story, (Matthew 1:18-25) Joseph was pledged to Mary and when she was found to be with child, he being a righteous man, did not want to expose her to public disgrace. He had in his mind to send her away secretly and divorce her quietly. But Joseph received a word from the Lord in a dream that gave him the courage to marry her. Let’s read our second Christmas script and light our second candle, the candle of LOVE.
Second Christmas Script
Narrator: Joe and Maria have been married for 10 years. Joe is married to his job, and Maria is terribly lonely. She has tried everything to fill her cup---work, volunteering at church, and socializing. Maria has become enamored with another man. He is a true, “Don Juan” and has flattered her with compliments. He has made her believe that she would be happier with him and so she decides to run off with him on Christmas Eve. Maria left Joe a note on their kitchen counter telling him her plans. While Maria waits in the bar for this man, she sees a lonely old woman sitting in a booth by herself nursing a drink. She is somehow drawn to her. She walks over to her and asks…
Maria: Merry Christmas, are you alone?
Woman at the Bar: (Looks up from her drink and says with tears in her eyes.) Yes, I’ve been alone since I walked out on my husband thirty years ago, today.
Narrator: Maria looks into the woman’s eyes and she sees herself, only 30 years older. Maria turns around and nearly flies out of the bar. She is filled with regret and remorse. She grabs her cell phone and punches in a familiar number, but she knows that by now Joe has come home and has read her note. This is their conversation…
Maria: (Crying) Joe, please pick up. I know you’re there. I beg you, please. I want to come home. I have made a terrible mistake. Oh Joe, please forgive me. I love you so much. What’s wrong with me?
Joe: (Defeated) Maria, stop. I just want to ask you…why, and why at Christmas of all times?
Maria: I know. I know. This was horrible of me. If it’s any consolation to you, I didn’t go through with it. I will never see him again. The guilt and shame that I feel right now is more than I can bear. Do you want me to leave; I wouldn’t blame you?
Joe: (Cynical) Well, at least you came to your senses.
Maria: Joe, please hear what’s in my heart. You’ve got to be honest; things have not been the greatest between us for quite a while, but somehow, we’ve been able to get through it. I feel like I’m invisible. In spite of my feelings, I have always respected you for the man that you are. I have brought shame upon you, but I will do whatever it takes to earn back the trust that you lost in me. Joe, what are you thinking?
Joe: Thinking, huh? That’s all I’ve done since I got your note. My first thought was to divorce you, but that’s not the answer. You see, this has been a wake-up call for me. Maria, I made a covenant with you and God that I would love and cherish you for the rest of our lives. But truthfully, I have fallen short of doing that. I have been so wrapped up in me, and I have taken you for granted. Maria, of course I will forgive you, if you will forgive me? Honey, please come home; it’s Christmas.
Question and Comments
Why is it so hard for us to forgive even when we have been forgiven for so much?
Asking for forgiveness can be the first step to restoring a precious relationship. Something that has really had an impact on me lately was a teaching that I heard about the encounter that Jesus had with Simon the Pharisee. This was the story of the sinful woman who loved Jesus so much that she anointed his feet with perfume and wiped his feet with her hair. Simon thought this woman to be unclean and unworthy, but Jesus said to Simon, “Do you see this woman.” “Her sins, which are many, have been forgiven, for she loved much; but he who is forgiven little, loves little.” (Luke 7:47) Our problem is that we don’t really see people the way Jesus does. He sees the helpless and wounded child while we see the sin and the sinner. Jesus thought we were all worth his forgiveness. Should we not in return, forgive others? We need to see others through Heaven’s eyes?
Words of Blessing
“Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins.
1 Peter 4:8
“There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love. We love because he first loved us.” 1 John 4:18-19
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