In the church calendar, December 26 marks the second day of the season of Christmas and the feast day of St. Stephen, the first recorded account of a Christ-follower dying for his faith. Beyond the life of the church, it is more commonly known as Boxing Day – a day once associated with compassionate giving, now characterized by great deals, excessive shopping, and gift returns. In a world where it is all to easy to get caught up in consumerism and choices that center only ourselves, what does it look like to clothe ourselves with “compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, patience…and love”? How does this clothing prepare us to meet one another with generosity and grace?

Speaker: Sherri Guenther Trautwein

Scriptures:

• 1 Samuel 2:18-20, 26
• Psalm 148
• Colossians 3:12-17
• Luke 2:41-52

Colossians 3:12-17

As God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience. Bear with one another and, if anyone has a complaint against another, forgive each other; just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in the one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; teach and admonish one another in all wisdom; and with gratitude in your hearts sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.