Christmas Lection: The Epistle (Letter) of Titus 2:11-14; 3:4-6

11 For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all,
training us to renounce impiety and worldly passions, and in the present age to live lives that are self-controlled, upright, and godly,
13 while we wait for the blessed hope and the manifestation of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. 14 He it is who gave himself for us that he might redeem us from all iniquity and purify for himself a people of his own who are zealous for good deeds. 3:4-6
3:4 But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, 5 he saved us, not because of any works of righteousness that we had done, but according to his mercy, through the . . . renewal by the Holy Spirit. 6 This Spirit he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior,

An “epistle” is more than a letter. It, like the four Gospels is a religious tract. The Gospels were written to introduce people to the Good News of God’s second and free offer of life to the world through Jesus-a man who lived the same life we live in real space-time history (of Nazareth), and one who fulfilled the messianic promise of Israel (the Christ). The epistles, including those of the Apostles James, Jude, Paul and Peter were written to encourage and guide those early Jewish and later Gentile communities of faith that emerged in response to the former.

Titus summarizes the Christmas message thusly for the church: the grace of God appeared. It came in human form—Jesus demonstrated unconditional acceptance and love for human beings, forgiveness, piety, holiness, patience, fairness and understanding. He gave himself, as an example of what love requires of all of us. It is not always painless and pleasant, almost never EASY, but we are enabled by a release of the spiritual power and gifts that is in each of us through God’s very act of creation..

We are purified for a purpose. Not so we can run around celebrating how pure we are, or how much better we are than those who do not believe and adhere and trust in and rely on God. We are set apart and called to a discipline life of living for the well being of others and not just ourselves, because we live with the joy of knowing that we are forgiven and accepted and loved and embraced by God even though were are just as prone to evil and selfishness as anyone else. In this joy we become a people “zealous for good deeds!”

So let’s make Christmas real by claiming our power and experiencing that power through individual and collective acts that enhance the lives of others.