Christmas is in our Lives and We must live that for others too
Christmas
"The judge knew that Sgt. Joseph Serna had been through a lot.
The former Special Forces soldier did four combat tours in Afghanistan over a nearly two-decades-long career with the U.S. Army. Through those years, the Fayetteville Observer reported, Serna was almost killed three times: once, by a roadside bomb, then again by a suicide bomber.
During a tour in 2008, Serna and three other soldiers were driving down a narrow dirt road in Kandahar when their armored truck toppled into a canal, the Associated Press reported. As water filled the vehicle, Serna struggled to escape.
It was his fellow soldier, Sgt. James Treber, who saved him.
“I felt a hand come down and unfasten my seat belt and release my body armor,” Serna recalled to the AP. “Sgt. Treber picked me up and moved me to a small pocket of air. He knew there was not enough room for both of us to breathe so he went under water to find another pocket of air.”
Treber died from the accident, but Serna survived. He was the only one who did.
While Serna’s years in combat earned him three Purple Hearts and other military accolades, like many combat vets, he’s been unable to leave the battlefield behind him. Since returning to the U.S., the decorated Green Beret has suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder, WTVD reported, and been charged with driving under the influence.
He entered the veteran’s treatment court program in Cumberland County, N.C., over which state District Court Judge Lou Olivera presides.
Serna has fought to stay sober, appearing before Olivera 25 times to have his progress reviewed. He confessed to Olivera that he lied about a recent urine test last week, according to WRAL.
In response, Olivera sentenced Serna to one day in jail.
The judge drove Serna to the jail in a neighboring county.
“When Joe first came to turn himself in, he was trembling,” Olivera told the Fayetteville Observer. “I decided that I’d spend the night serving with him.”
“Where are we going, judge?” Serna asked, the Observer’s Bill Kirby Jr., reported Wednesday.
“We’re going to turn ourselves in,” the judge said.
As Serna sat down on the cot in his cell, WRAL reported, he heard the door rattle open again and saw Olivera standing before him. Olivera sat down beside him. Someone came and locked the door.
“This was a one-man cell so we sat on the bunk and I said, ‘You are here for the entire time with me?'” Serna told WTVD. “He said, ‘Yeah that’s what I am doing.'”
A Gulf War veteran himself, Olivera was concerned that leaving Serna in isolation for a night would trigger his PTSD.
The two passed the time trading stories of their experiences in the military. Serna told WRAL: “It was more of a father-son conversation. It was personal.”
“They have worn the uniform and we know they can be contributing members of society,” Olivera said. “We just want to get them back there.”
The incident, which occurred April 13, was reported Thursday in the Observer under the headline: “Judge’s unbelievable compassion for a veteran.” from the " Washington Post"
What a great account that really happened. I think it should begin the Christmas story because did not our Lord do the same thing for us? What is the Christmas story?
Luke 2 tells us Mary brought forth her first-born Son in a manger and wrapped Him in swaddling clothes or cloths. " For unto you is born this day in the city of David, a Saviour , which is Christ the Lord." The Christmas story is about the everlasting Son, Divine , coming into human flesh and being part of our world in so many ways.
John 1 tells us about this too. The Word was with God, and and Word is God. 1:14- The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. Dwelt means as in a tent, tabernacled among us. Human and Divine. WE say it every Sunday in the Nicene Creed. " He was made man." " Being of one substance with the Father."
The example is clear. If He did this and emptied Himself taking the form of a servant, so we as His disciples should as well. This is the Christmas message. The baby is God Divine, the Prince of Peace, Everlasting. He came down to become one of us that we might love one another.
I John 4 says that if God so loved us , we ought also to love one another. Christ is our Saviour . He saves us from our sins that we may be the children of God by believing in His Son Jesus Christ. Just as the Judge in our narrative above sat in the cell, our Lord does that for us too. Hebrews says ," For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities ; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin." 4:15
The first word spoken to Joseph in Matthew 1 tells us, " fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost, and she shall bring forth a Son, and thou shalt call His name Jesus: for He shall save His people from their sins." The word save means to buy out of slavery, heal, redeem. We need that.
Today's message is that we too are to take His love and grace to others in the Christmas account. Eternal became human. He did not give up His divinity but He came in our place to redeem us from our sins on the Cross. This is our example as Christians. We too are not to just say prayers for those in need. We are to come to their side and listen , assist and endeavour to understand what others needs are.
This Season is not about getting. It is about giving. We give because He first gave to us. He did not give in abstract ways. His light was manifested to all . He is the true light which came into the world. John 1:9
Merry Christmas.
" The Mood of Christmas" by Howard Thurman
" When the song of the Angels is stilled,
When the star in the sky is gone, When the kings and princes are home, When the Shepherds are back with their flock,
The Work of Christmas begins:
To find the lost, To heal the broken, To feed the hungry, To release the prisoner, To rebuild the nations, To bring peace among people, to make music in the heart."
"The judge knew that Sgt. Joseph Serna had been through a lot.
The former Special Forces soldier did four combat tours in Afghanistan over a nearly two-decades-long career with the U.S. Army. Through those years, the Fayetteville Observer reported, Serna was almost killed three times: once, by a roadside bomb, then again by a suicide bomber.
During a tour in 2008, Serna and three other soldiers were driving down a narrow dirt road in Kandahar when their armored truck toppled into a canal, the Associated Press reported. As water filled the vehicle, Serna struggled to escape.
It was his fellow soldier, Sgt. James Treber, who saved him.
“I felt a hand come down and unfasten my seat belt and release my body armor,” Serna recalled to the AP. “Sgt. Treber picked me up and moved me to a small pocket of air. He knew there was not enough room for both of us to breathe so he went under water to find another pocket of air.”
Treber died from the accident, but Serna survived. He was the only one who did.
While Serna’s years in combat earned him three Purple Hearts and other military accolades, like many combat vets, he’s been unable to leave the battlefield behind him. Since returning to the U.S., the decorated Green Beret has suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder, WTVD reported, and been charged with driving under the influence.
He entered the veteran’s treatment court program in Cumberland County, N.C., over which state District Court Judge Lou Olivera presides.
Serna has fought to stay sober, appearing before Olivera 25 times to have his progress reviewed. He confessed to Olivera that he lied about a recent urine test last week, according to WRAL.
In response, Olivera sentenced Serna to one day in jail.
The judge drove Serna to the jail in a neighboring county.
“When Joe first came to turn himself in, he was trembling,” Olivera told the Fayetteville Observer. “I decided that I’d spend the night serving with him.”
“Where are we going, judge?” Serna asked, the Observer’s Bill Kirby Jr., reported Wednesday.
“We’re going to turn ourselves in,” the judge said.
As Serna sat down on the cot in his cell, WRAL reported, he heard the door rattle open again and saw Olivera standing before him. Olivera sat down beside him. Someone came and locked the door.
“This was a one-man cell so we sat on the bunk and I said, ‘You are here for the entire time with me?'” Serna told WTVD. “He said, ‘Yeah that’s what I am doing.'”
A Gulf War veteran himself, Olivera was concerned that leaving Serna in isolation for a night would trigger his PTSD.
The two passed the time trading stories of their experiences in the military. Serna told WRAL: “It was more of a father-son conversation. It was personal.”
“They have worn the uniform and we know they can be contributing members of society,” Olivera said. “We just want to get them back there.”
The incident, which occurred April 13, was reported Thursday in the Observer under the headline: “Judge’s unbelievable compassion for a veteran.” from the " Washington Post"
What a great account that really happened. I think it should begin the Christmas story because did not our Lord do the same thing for us? What is the Christmas story?
Luke 2 tells us Mary brought forth her first-born Son in a manger and wrapped Him in swaddling clothes or cloths. " For unto you is born this day in the city of David, a Saviour , which is Christ the Lord." The Christmas story is about the everlasting Son, Divine , coming into human flesh and being part of our world in so many ways.
John 1 tells us about this too. The Word was with God, and and Word is God. 1:14- The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. Dwelt means as in a tent, tabernacled among us. Human and Divine. WE say it every Sunday in the Nicene Creed. " He was made man." " Being of one substance with the Father."
The example is clear. If He did this and emptied Himself taking the form of a servant, so we as His disciples should as well. This is the Christmas message. The baby is God Divine, the Prince of Peace, Everlasting. He came down to become one of us that we might love one another.
I John 4 says that if God so loved us , we ought also to love one another. Christ is our Saviour . He saves us from our sins that we may be the children of God by believing in His Son Jesus Christ. Just as the Judge in our narrative above sat in the cell, our Lord does that for us too. Hebrews says ," For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities ; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin." 4:15
The first word spoken to Joseph in Matthew 1 tells us, " fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost, and she shall bring forth a Son, and thou shalt call His name Jesus: for He shall save His people from their sins." The word save means to buy out of slavery, heal, redeem. We need that.
Today's message is that we too are to take His love and grace to others in the Christmas account. Eternal became human. He did not give up His divinity but He came in our place to redeem us from our sins on the Cross. This is our example as Christians. We too are not to just say prayers for those in need. We are to come to their side and listen , assist and endeavour to understand what others needs are.
This Season is not about getting. It is about giving. We give because He first gave to us. He did not give in abstract ways. His light was manifested to all . He is the true light which came into the world. John 1:9
Merry Christmas.
" The Mood of Christmas" by Howard Thurman
" When the song of the Angels is stilled,
When the star in the sky is gone, When the kings and princes are home, When the Shepherds are back with their flock,
The Work of Christmas begins:
To find the lost, To heal the broken, To feed the hungry, To release the prisoner, To rebuild the nations, To bring peace among people, to make music in the heart."
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