Jude 2 
“May God give you more and more mercy, peace, and love.” (NLT)

Relax, everything’s going to be all right; rest, everything’s coming together; open your hearts, love is on the way! (The Message)

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We significantly rearranged our vacation time this year. I am typically on vacation during the week that is coming to an end and leading up to Christmas Day, followed by the week leading up to New Year’s Day. That’s a lot of time off in one big lump!

This year, however, we moved from one side of the county to the other. That took some energy and time. My bride and I decided to take a week away in September after Labor Day so that the crowds at our destination would be smaller and our relaxation would be enhanced. It worked just like we planned.

Today is my last vacation day of the year. Family will arrive later today for the weekend. I will also deliver my mother to our niece in a location about halfway between our two homes. I have a dozen things to do today to help get everything staged for merriment. 

Like every Christmas, there are details and delays that refuse to fit in the time and space allotted. My bride ordered a gift a few weeks ago. She checked to see why it had not yet appeared. Apparently, it is on a boat somewhere in the Pacific Ocean. 

Details, details, details. 

Jude, one of Jesus’ little brothers, wrote the Bible verse above as part of his introductory remarks. In verse 1 he calls himself, “a slave of Jesus Christ and a brother of James.”

“Slave” is a strong term. Whereas he and James and their other brothers once thought Jesus might be a bit off his rocker, now they knew they were the crazy ones. In a world where some people are too good to be true, Jesus actually was as good as advertised. 

Jude came to know this truth after the crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus. Something about a man dying the worst of deaths and publicly, only to be seen and confirmed alive a few days later, will definitely rearrange your thinking. 

Because of who Jesus is and what he did for us, Jude wishes for his readers, “more and more mercy, peace, and love.” Or as The Message paraphrases it so delightfully,

And so we come to this Christmas season and the Big Day itself. Challenges lie ahead. There will be a problem or two. The internet may go out again, like it did earlier this morning. Even so,

Relax, everything’s going to be all right;
rest, everything’s coming together;
open your hearts, love is on the way!

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I will receive and extend more and more of God’s mercy, peace, and love.

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Our Father, may we see your words of truth and life amplified in our hearts and homes in this Christmas season. May we see more and more of your mercy, peace, and love. May it be true that we can relax and know everything is going to be all right. May we rest and know everything is coming together. May we open our hearts to receive all the love coming our way. Amen.