Advent Devotional

November 30, First Sunday of Advent


Text: Romans 13:11-14. 11 And do this, understanding the present time: The hour has already come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. 12 The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. 13 Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. 14 Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh.


Reflection: The word ‘Advent’ means “coming near” or “almost arrived.” It is a word of anticipation, of hope, as it usually referred to the expected arrival of someone with the power to change the way things were going in a positive way. Something good was about to happen. But that important arrival meant that the place to which it was coming had to make preparations. This very important person would not be coming to places where it would just be business as usual; some changes would have to be made.

When Christians adopted the Advent theme as a prelude to celebrating the coming of Christ into the world, they did so with the idea of preparation in mind. The coming of Jesus would indeed change everything; but that meant that a time of preparation would be observed. It is the kind of preparation that Paul talked about, where believers are to take a look at their own lives to see things that do not fit with the kind of life Jesus brings with him. It is a call to reject things that make us feel good physically but hinder the work of God’s spirit within us and through us. And that is what we will focus on through this Advent season--preparing ourselves for His coming to our places, our churches, our communities, so that he might change things through us.


Prayer: Lord Jesus Christ, we are not quite ready for Your coming. Lead us through this season of preparation and hope. Show us where our lives are crowding out Your presence, that we might repent and become people through whom You will come to a world in need. Turn our hearts from self to You and then to others, even as we offer food for the poor and hungry. Amen.


Monday, December 1

Text: 1 Corinthians 1:3-9. 3 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.4 I always thank my God for you because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus. 5 For in him you have been enriched in every way—with all kinds of speech and with all knowledge— 6 God thus confirming our testimony about Christ among you. 7 Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed. 8 He will also keep you firm to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 God is faithful, who has called you into fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.


Reflection: Christian life is all about two comings. The first of these is what we celebrate on Christmas Day--God the Son came into our world in the person of Jesus, starting life on earth in the same way all of us do, as a newborn child. We celebrate that coming because of what he did while he lived on earth, revealing God to the world. But that is not the coming that Advent is primarily about. Advent was formed and celebrated in order to aid Christians in looking forward to the second coming of Christ, the one the apostle Paul refers to in today’s text. His words are written to those who have already experienced a change in their lives because of their faith in what Jesus did while he was here on earth. Believers are then encouraged to remember that they have been given spiritual gifts--abilities to help them live the Christian life in what can be a difficult environment, as well as to extend the grace of God to other people. And we do this because Jesus is coming to complete our salvation--to take his people into a kingdom that is not marred by violence, oppression, persecution, corruption, sickness, distrust, etc., where we will know perfection of all that is truly human. We are reminded to prepare for that coming kingdom by resisting sinful desires.


Prayer: O Coming King, we ask You today to turn our thoughts more fully toward the things that are yet to come. Even as we stress over issues and problems in our world, turn us toward the One who alone can make all things new. Come to our aid, that we might live kingdom lives here today. Amen.


Tuesday, December 2

Text: Mark 13:33-36. 33 Be on guard! Be alert! You do not know when that time will come. 34 It’s like a man going away: He leaves his house and puts his servants in charge, each with their assigned task, and tells the one at the door to keep watch. 35 “Therefore keep watch because you do not know when the owner of the house will come back—whether in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or at dawn. 36 If he comes suddenly, do not let him find you sleeping. 37 What I say to you, I say to everyone: ‘Watch!’”


Reflection: It’s not always easy to know that something will happen without also knowing when it will happen. We know that something will have to be in place if we are going to get through the change successfully. Think of Californians, who for decades have been waiting for “the big one”--a massive, catastrophic earthquake. Everything science tells us points to the inevitability of such a thing happening, but without being able to pinpoint just when it will happen. In the meantime, normal life goes on, though preparations are made through such things as building codes, emergency preparedness shelters, rapid response teams that go through drills. Families who take the threat seriously have plans for meeting points, emergency supplies, contact strategies, etc. These plans do not control everyday life once they are made and occasionally reviewed; but they are never entirely out of mind.

The second coming of Christ is something like that--something to be ready for, even though it may not occur for a long time, possibly not in our lifetime. But there are preparations for both the Christian community and for individuals to be aware of. Within the church, each person is to be about their given task, including the leaders who must guard the door, controlling what comes in and what goes out of the church. To everyone, the command to “Watch!” goes out. Be alert, on guard for things that would keep you from being ready for Christ, the head of the house, to return.


Prayer: Lord, today we ask You to remind us of the tasks you assign, such as treating everyone with kindness and grace, feeding the hungry, and clothing the poor, and being attentive to Your Word. Change our hearts daily, we pray, until we love the thought of Your return more than the delights of the present world. Amen.

Wedensday, December 3

Text: John 1:1-5. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.


Reflection: The words of today’s reading are simple. There are no strange words among them, forcing us to look for a dictionary if we want to understand them. Yet their full meaning continues to challenge us because of the incredible statements these words present. It becomes obvious that “the Word” is a reference to Christ, who has always existed--though not always in a human body. And the author does not want to leave any room for a mistake in our understanding of who this “Word” truly is. It is God, in the fullest sense, a point made clear by connecting him to the creation of everything that exists. Another point on which the author wants us to be clear is that this Word is also “the light,” not just of a select few, but of all mankind. And his way of shining that light is by participating in life. Life in this world can be, and has been, played out in a very dark place for many, many people. Light helps us to see what is present and to see those things that are present for what they really are. Without light we only guess at what is there in the darkness. We’ve all been surprised at what we see when the light comes on in a room, and not just when it is a room with which we are not familiar.

When we observe Advent, our preparation means that we look to Christ to make the things we don’t see become visible, and to help see the things we already know appear as they really are. After all, He should know what these things are--He created them! We allow the life of Jesus to shine on our day, on our encounters with people, and on our challenges. As we do so, we can become the lamps, the flashlights, the candles through which his light can shine for the people around us in our daily lives.


Prayer: Jesus, Son of God, Word made flesh, shed Your light on our lives today. Keep us close to You so that we may see what is in front of us and to see it more clearly than ever before. Let the darkness disappear in our homes, in our communities, and in the lives of people who have lost their way. Amen.


Thursday, December 4

Text: John 1:6-9. 6 There was a man sent from God whose name was John. 7 He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all might believe. 8 He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light. 9 The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world.


Reflection: There’s the real thing, and then there’s the message that tells us about the real thing. And there’s someone who delivers that message. Sometimes the message is well received. Sometimes people are skeptical. Sometimes people are so accustomed to living without something that they don’t want to hear about anything that will change the way they do things, no matter how much better their condition might be if the news they don’t want to hear would be accepted. Such was the case for John the Baptist. Talk about a mixed response! Sometimes people would flock to hear his message about a coming light; yet bearing that same message eventually got him killed!

Yes, we are called to bear witness to the light that is Christ, just like John was, though in very different circumstances and before very different audiences. Some are called to preach, some to make it financially possible for others to go and preach, some are called to search out new places to send the light of Jesus, and still others are given the ability to discern how to take it there. But all of us are called to point to the light, to bring a clearer focus into the world regarding what matters in life. It’s never easy, and visible results are never guaranteed. But recognizing that there is a lot of darkness remaining in our world should not lead us to despair; rather, it should lead us to the source of light, so that we might be better suited for reminding those around us that there really is such a thing as light; there really are answers to the most perplexing questions about life. We don’t have to pretend to be the answer or know the answer in full. We just need to be willing to remind people that there is light, and it’s found in Jesus.


Prayer: Jesus, Light of the World, shine Your truth, Your goodness, and Your beauty into our world through this Advent season. Many will sing familiar songs without much knowledge of their message. Help us to live in such a way that eyes and ears will be open to hear the Word about You. Dispel the darkness remaining in our own lives, so that Your light will bring hope where it has almost died. Amen.


Friday, December 5

Text: Jeremiah 33:14-16. 14 “‘The days are coming,’ declares the Lord, ‘when I will fulfill the good promise I made to the people of Israel and Judah. 15 “‘In those days and at that time I will make a righteous Branch sprout from David’s line; he will do what is just and right in the land. 16 In those days Judah will be saved and Jerusalem will live in safety. This is the name by which it will be called: The Lord Our Righteous Savior.’


Reflection: Belief that a promise will be fulfilled is only as strong as our trust in the one who makes the promise. We want to know by our previous experience with the one making a promise whether we will count on what he or she tells us to expect now--or not. We don’t want to be disappointed by an unfulfilled promise, particularly if the promise requires us to make a significant effort that sacrifices things we might want to do. We don’t want to be left empty-handed, left with neither the things we would have done, nor the good thing that was promised to us.

When God made His promises to Israel the fulfillment was a long time in coming. But throughout the Old Testament, there are repeated examples of God delivering on what He had said, and it is because of that faithfulness to His word that new generations of Israelites were asked to trust Him with future promises. “The days are coming.” They came. We celebrate the coming of that Lord. And it is on the basis of this past performance of God and on His Spirit placed within us that we believe in the promise that Christ will return to make all things new. And so we invest ourselves in the work of the kingdom, in showing kindness to all, in giving what we have to offer to those in need, in keeping ourselves from being drawn away from the promise by the distractions around us.


Prayer: Sometimes waiting is hard, O God. We see many things that are not as they should be in our world, where leaders are more interested in gaining than in ruling with justice; where there are too many who are oppressed, too many who are hungry, too many who have given up on life. Increase our confidence that the days are coming when all shall be right. And until that day, make it so in our own lives by guiding us to do justice, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with our God. Amen.


Saturday, December 6

Text: Isaiah 6. In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne; and the train of his robe filled the temple. 2 Above him were seraphim, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. 3 And they were calling to one another:

“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.”

4 At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke. 5 “Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.” 6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. 7 With it he touched my mouth and said, “See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.” 8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I. Send me!” 9 He said, “Go and tell this people:

“‘Be ever hearing, but never understanding; be ever seeing, but never perceiving.’

10 Make the heart of this people calloused; make their ears dull and close their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed.” 11 Then I said, “For how long, Lord?” And he answered:

“Until the cities lie ruined and without inhabitant, until the houses are left deserted and the fields ruined and ravaged, 12 until the Lord has sent everyone far away and the land is utterly forsaken. 13 And though a tenth remains in the land, it will again be laid waste. But as the terebinth and oak leave stumps when they are cut down, so the holy seed will be the stump in the land.”


Reflection: There are times when we need to stop talking and listen, and sometimes what we must listen to is something we do not wish to hear. Isaiah’s vision is one that reminds us of just who God is, and He’s not the doting grandfather who continually overlooks our misdeeds. Why not? Because His work in this world is done by His people. If they will not do it, and turn instead to doing things just like everyone else in the world, He is left without a witness. Or His word will go out as something other than what it really is, misleading rather than inviting others to come to Him and know Him. Do we hear Him; do we perceive the things around us as He does?


Prayer: O Holy and Righteous God, forgive our tendency to forget just how holy You are. We want to make You more like us, rather than become more like You. We need to see You high, and lifted up, that we might see all else more clearly--our needs, our wants, our neighbors, and our purpose. Amen.


Second Sunday of Advent, December 7

Text: Romans 15:4-13. 4 For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope.

5 May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you the same attitude of mind toward each other that Christ Jesus had, 6 so that with one mind and one voice you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. 7 Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God. 8 For I tell you that Christ has become a servant of the Jews on behalf of God’s truth, so that the promises made to the patriarchs might be confirmed 9 and, moreover, that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. As it is written:

“Therefore I will praise you among the Gentiles; I will sing the praises of your name.”

10 Again, it says, “Rejoice, you Gentiles, with his people.” 11 And again, “Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles; let all the peoples extol him.”

12 And again, Isaiah says, “The Root of Jesse will spring up, one who will arise to rule over the nations; in him the Gentiles will hope.”

13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.


Reflection: Hope. It’s a really good thing, isn’t it? It’s hard to feel good without it, at least not for an extended time. Living without hope leads to despair, a condition that in turn leads to apathy--an attitude of not caring, not feeling. But when there is hope, there is greater joy, greater excitement about life, greater concern for the welfare of others. God designed us to live in hope, in joy, in fellowship with one another. And they all work together.

Jesus came to restore us to that condition, one we forfeit when we turn from God’s ways to follow our own. God’s way, demonstrated so clearly in Jesus, is the way of acceptance of other people; our way is to discriminate and exclude other people whom we do not deem to be like us. We try to justify ourselves by identifying those who are different, and therefore inferior to us. We’ll never know true hope or true joy if that is our way.


Prayer: May the attitudes of our minds and our hearts toward those we encounter today become more and more like the heart and mind of Christ, who accepted all who came to him.


Monday, December 8

Text: Psalm 43:3-5. Send me your light and your faithful care, let them lead me; let them bring me to your holy mountain, to the place where you dwell.

4 Then I will go to the altar of God, to God, my joy and my delight. I will praise you with the lyre, O God, my God.

5 Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.


Reflection: There are a lot of things in this world that can get us down. Despair is an easy trap into which to fall when we realize how many things are out of our control, and seem to be out of anyone’s control. We lose sight of God’s care for us, His provision for us; we trust in our ability to struggle through the temporary difficulties we face. Sometimes it works for a while. But it seldom works for great lengths of time.

The psalmist recognizes through many painful experiences that if he wants a peace that overcomes his tendency toward despair, it is to be found in the Lord’s presence. He also knows that he sometimes doesn’t feel like going there, even when he knows that’s what he needs. Does that sound familiar? Have you ever been in a state of mind such that you know where an answer is, but you don’t feel like going there to get it? The request in the psalm is that God’s faithful care, His light, will bring the despairing one to the place God dwells. He’s asking God to do what he cannot at present do for himself--take him to where God can work in him and draw out the faith and the trust and the praise that are deep inside, but are covered over at the moment. It’s as though there is a lid on top of the faith that has to come off; and he cannot seem to budge it, no matter how much he wants the contents. He needs the Lord to come near; he needs an Advent. Do you?


Prayer: Father, it’s sometimes difficult to come to You when we most need to do so. We trust You, yet we resist You. We long for what Your coming to us will provide, yet we hesitate to come and ask. At such times, send Your Spirit to overwhelm our resistance, take us to the place where You can heal our broken spirits, encourage our downcast lives, and receive the praise we long to give You. Come to us, O Lord. Amen.


tuesday, december 9

Text: Psalm 27:1-4. The Lord is my light and my salvation—whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life—of whom shall I be afraid?

2 When the wicked advance against me to devour me, it is my enemies and my foes who will stumble and fall.

3 Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear; though war break out against me, even then I will be confident.

4 One thing I ask from the Lord, this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple.


Reflection: What makes you fear? Personal enemies, neighborhood violence, financial collapse, sickness, injury, family break-up, political change? Actually, none of those can “make” you or anyone else fear. They are real enough forces, for certain. But they are things that happen regardless of how we respond to them. Fear is a response to things and events, not the thing or event itself. And it is not a necessary response, although we are so accustomed to responding to pending or threatened circumstances with fear that we don’t easily separate the cause from the response.

The psalmist, presumably David, has to remind himself that there is another option when faced with hard, challenging circumstances. That option is to seek refuge in the Lord’s care. He knows that there are no circumstances more powerful than God. No matter what might happen, David wants to be in the place where he can see God, the Almighty, more clearly than he sees his circumstances. This remains the best antidote to the fear that cripples us all too often. To see God for us today is to find Him in Jesus, to watch him through all the threats and all the violence that came upon him, and to see him not only on a cross, but on his way to the throne after his resurrection. To gaze upon him is to put other things into a totally different perspective, one that allows a sense of calm under trying times.


Prayer: Your care for us, O God, is never changing. Thank You for Your constant presence, wisdom, and compassion. Keep us focused on the things You have called us to do, allowing Your light to shine on us and through us. Let the kingdom of Christ come in our trials. Amen.


wednesday, December 10

Text: Psalm 119:105-106. Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path. 106 I have taken an oath and confirmed it, that I will follow your righteous laws.


Reflection: Simple. A short text, little interpretation required before we know what to do with it. But how are we doing with that?

We like to believe that we are indeed using the Word of God, by which we mean the Bible, to light our way. It guides our behavior and our decisions. At least, we believe so when there is something said directly about our situation. But of what help is that in a world of social media, 24/7 coverage of news stories from all parts of the world, threats of violence carried out by our own fellow citizens, offenses real and imagined being at every turn, . . .. The list of things in contemporary life that are not found in the Bible is a long one, and it seems to grow every day.

But what if we understand “Thy Word” as the Word made flesh? What if we understand the One who came and lived among people, and whose Spirit is given to dwell with his people through all ages? That Word is alive at all times, through all ages and all changes. It is he who takes words written many ages ago and speaks new life into them as we read and ponder what we might do that honors him now. We also learn how to walk by following this Word as he meets all manner of people in the pages of the gospels. He loves so many people in so many ways! Finally, he shows us that the greatest strength is discovered in the darkest of times, that kindness is never weakness, that love is the greatest power, and that resurrection follows apparent loss.

Following Jesus is not a part-time job. We’ve signed on, we’ve taken an oath. And that oath is nothing other than to follow the Lord’s lead through life.


Prayer: Jesus, Light of the World, shine upon our lives and our pathways. Forgive us for striving after other guides, pretending You have nothing to say about the complexities of our lives today. Lead us to trust in Your wisdom and purpose for this day and the next. Amen.


thursday, december 11

Text: John 12:35-36. 35 Then Jesus told them, “You are going to have the light just a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, before darkness overtakes you. Whoever walks in the dark does not know where they are going. 36 Believe in the light while you have the light, so that you may become children of light.” When he had finished speaking, Jesus left and hid himself from them.


Reflection: Did you ever hear this: “I wish I had listened better in school when they were talking about . . ..” It’s a belated admission that an opportunity had been squandered. Some knowledge that might be helpful in the present had been ignored in the past. Too many of us, probably most of us, have had experiences in which it would have been wise for us to have paid better attention because the situation before us calls for that information. Or maybe it was a person we did not bother with whom we now see as someone whose acquaintance or friendship would be valuable. If we had only known!

The words of Jesus in today's text were spoken to “the crowd.” In that crowd would be many people who would either forget or simply ignore what they had heard. To underscore the importance of listening to him while he was there, he slipped out of sight. Once he was gone, would they seek him out again? Jesus comes in many ways today, one of them being in the preaching of His word. While he’s there, present in the word, the light is before us. Will we walk in it, or ignore it until the darkness overtakes us? It is by believing it enough to walk in it--to do what it says--that we become its children. That’s quite an identity to bear. Children of light become bearers of light, helping others to see. In a sense, they become the means by which the Lord comes again.


Prayer: Lord Jesus, we thank you for the light you have brought into our lives. Thank you for coming with wisdom, with insight, with understanding. You know what it is to live in dark places in this world; You know the pain caused by people walking in darkness. Guide us by your Holy Spirit, that we might hear and obey, receive and walk in the light, that may truly become children of light for the sake of the world. Amen.


friday, december 12

Text: Ephesians 5:6-14. 6 Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things God’s wrath comes on those who are disobedient. 7 Therefore do not be partners with them.

8 For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light 9 (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) 10 and find out what pleases the Lord. 11 Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. 12 It is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret. 13 But everything exposed by the light becomes visible—and everything that is illuminated becomes a light. 14 This is why it is said:

“Wake up, sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.”


Reflection: I don’t like darkness; do you? Unless it’s time to sleep, I want to be able to see what I’m doing, where I’m going, where the obstacles are, and who else might be up and about. Things are too difficult without light.

It’s hard not to notice the frequency with which the image of light is used in the Bible. It happens in all the types of literature included in the Scripture. We’ve already seen it in the Psalms, the Prophets, the gospels, and the epistles. Why is it so prevalent? Why do the writers continue using this metaphor?

Perhaps it is because there is no better way to express the difference between the ways of God, the creator, and all other ways of life. The one who first created light, then separated it from darkness, is the one who created humankind, and gave direction to us. In this given way we can see things as they were created to be, we can live as we were created to live--as living images of our Creator. In light, we see; in darkness, we do not. In light we can find our way and distinguish between one kind of thing and another; in darkness, we cannot. All of this is given in the earlier portions of the Bible. But Paul takes it a little farther in this text. He tells us that we not only walk (live our lives on a daily basis) in light or in darkness, but that we actually become light or darkness. That is, we lighten the way for someone, or we darken the way. No wonder he calls on those who claim to know Christ to awaken, so that Christ will shine on them, and they in turn will shine for others--so they won’t trip over things they cannot see, and be struck by things they cannot identify as dangers.


Prayer: Jesus, shine fresh light onto my path and into my life today, that I might become the light which someone I know may need. Amen.

saturday, december 13

Text: 1 Peter 2:5-9. 5 you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 6 For in Scripture it says:

“See, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and precious cornerstone, and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame.”

7 Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe,

“The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone,”

8 and, “A stone that causes people to stumble and a rock that makes them fall.” They stumble because they disobey the message—which is also what they were destined for.

9 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.


Reflection: It is one of the glaring characteristics of our culture today. It separates and classifies people. It accents differences and minimizes commonalities. It encourages pride and fosters distrust. It creates divisions that are virtually impossible to reunite. It minimizes the success of the others and faults them for the failures of those who belong to the group.

What is it? Identity politics. According to this way of thinking, people are identified by their presumed membership in a subgroup of society with which they share a certain characteristic. It can be race, religion, interests, sexual orientation, or lifestyle choices. Whatever it is, it becomes the means by which a person most firmly establishes his or her identity. Whatever else one may be, he or she is a _____. It is the primary means for distinguishing the person and his/her group from everyone else. That group then stakes its claims to political rights based on that identity, which everyone else is bound to recognize. The truth is, we all do need an identity--we need to know who we are and to whom we belong.

For Christians, that identity is given by Christ. And Peter has some amazing things to say about that identity, and how it differs from all other forms of claiming one’s status in the world. It’s an identity independent of any political recognition or even any political opposition. Claim it. Rest in it. Today.


Prayer: Lord, You are the only one who can give me a name and a hope. Grant Your Spirit to rest upon me that I may live into this hope. Amen.

third sunday of advent, december 14

Text: Isaiah 60:1-3. “Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you. 2 See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the Lord rises upon you and his glory appears over you. 3 Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn.


Reflection: Christmas lights fascinate people of all ages. They always have. If that were not true, we wouldn’t have so many of them. When I was a child it was a highlight of the season for our dad to take a drive in the evening to the city of Bethlehem, PA, to see the rather extensive arrangements of lights around the town. The family would crowd into the car, Dad would drive, and we’d feel like the holiday season was a little more complete. We were not alone. The closer one came to the city, the more traffic became a bit of an issue. Everyone, it seemed, wanted to see the glory of a city decked in lights of many colors.

That’s what God’s people are to become in the world around them. In a world that is dark, very dark, a light is to go out to the extent that everyone will want to see it. They will go out of their way, pause, take notice, and wonder. It’s not a geographic place on the map; it’s a community within the world, a different looking community. It attracts because of the different way its people live and relate, both to one another and to those outside. Jesus would refer to it as a city on a hill that cannot be hidden. The glory--the utter attractiveness, the beauty, the winsomeness--of the Lord himself goes out from this community of faith. If that is not happening, perhaps someone has turned off the power, quenching the Spirit. Let’s ask Him to turn it on again. If it’s on, but not shining brightly, let’s ask for more power.


Prayer: Lord, we want You to be seen in us, in our churches. We want the people to notice that we are here for all the right reasons. We want to shine in a way that acknowledges what is true and good and beautiful in relations toward you and among one another. Forgive us for allowing that light to fade. We have not listened attentively to Your Word and Your Spirit; we have not loved one another as we should; we have not been as kind toward our neighbors as we should. In Your mercy, shine upon us once more, that Your light would again be seen in a dark world.

Show us Your face in the stranger and the alien, that we might embrace them rather than ignore them or turn the other way. Draw us to the sick, the addicted, the neglected. Let us seek the comfort of the lost rather than the ease of life for ourselves. Amen.

monday, december 15

Text: 2Corinthians 4:3-6. 3 And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. 4 The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. 5 For what we preach is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. 6 For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ.


Reflection: Accusers aren’t always right. While there may be some element of truth in accusations brought against persons, churches, organizations, nations, it is also possible that the accuser is being less than truthful, sometimes with malice in mind toward the accused. Sometimes the mindset of the opposition is so different from the mindset of one charged with wrong doing that there doesn’t seem to be any possible middle ground.

The fact is that there are people who are so opposed to Christ that they will not tolerate his light. Even when the church is doing its job well, there will be some who refuse to look, some who hurl unwarranted accusations against it. It has always been so. In the early years of the church in the Roman Empire the church was accused of cannibalism! Some who were opposed to the growth of Christianity deliberately distorted the words of Jesus when he said that those who do not eat his flesh or drink his blood have no part in him. Everyone understood that it was not a literal word that was to be followed by doing that with the flesh and blood, not just of Jesus, but of others as well. But that didn’t stop the opposition from spreading rumors to stunt the growth. Over time, however, the church grew and the charges were silenced--not because they held a public debate over the charges, but because the people in the church continued to live by the light of Christ. We should do the same in today’s world when false claims are made against us. Let the truth become known as we walk in the light, all the while praying that the veil be lifted from the eyes of the accusers.


Prayer: From the beginning, O Lord, there have been those who oppose Your will and Your way. Grants us the wisdom to know when charges are false, the courage to live faithfully in spite of the challenge, and grace toward those who do not and cannot understand. Take away that veil from the eyes of the lost. Amen.


tuesday, December 16

Text: 1 John 1:4-7. 4 We write this to make our joy complete. 5 This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. 6 If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.


Reflection: Do you like team sports? Or perhaps you enjoy theatrical performances, played out on “the big screen” or on stage. Maybe you like musical performances, either by a symphonic orchestra or a rock band, complete with dazzling lights and lasers, smoke and mirrors. There’s something in common among these different forms of entertainment. In order for them to be done successfully, everyone involved must have the same script and be on the same page at the same time. The performers, whether athletes, musicians, or actors, and the support staff, whether dealing with fields, stages, lights, or sound, must all be following the same plan. If anyone involved decides to do his or her own thing while the others are doing what is prescribed, the performance is diminished.

When Jesus comes, he brings a new script, a new playbook with him. The old scripts, that is, the old rules and principles by which we conduct our lives and our relationships, have to be set aside, left behind, forgotten. His script has everyone walking in the same direction, the direction of love. His one commandment was that we love one another. That command, when followed faithfully by a community of believers, is a light that the world cannot miss. When the command is not followed, we are off script, or zigging when we should have been zagging. And it happens. As you look around your congregation, your spiritual family, do you see anyone toward whom you feel little or no love? Is there a tinge (or more) of jealousy or envy or outright disdain? That’s darkness. It’s not in the playbook. It keeps us from the true fellowship that Jesus came to bring to us.


Prayer: Lord, as we prepare for Your coming, show us those attitudes and actions in us that have no place in the fellowship of Your people. Grant us the grace of true repentance that Your light will shine brightly among us. Amen.


wednesday, december 17

Text: John 3:16-21. 16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. 19 This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. 20 Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. 21 But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God.


Reflection: One of the most loved verses of the Bible heads today’s text. It has been called the Bible in a nutshell. Certainly, it packs a lot of punch when understood in terms of the rest of the story, from creation (Genesis) to new creation (The Revelation). The verses that follow John 3:16 bring greater clarity to the conditions in place when the Son of God came into the world. The conditions continue. A dark world has become a comfortable place for people who want to do their own thing. When Christ comes toward that comfort and threatens it with light, people have a choice to make. They can continue in their own way, leading to death, or they can come to the light, leaving the darkness behind and finding light that brings true life.

The light isn’t what condemned the world. Think about that for a moment. Jesus doesn’t come to sentence people to death; death is the road they are already on. He came to give them the possibility of life, the opportunity to get off the road they had been traveling and head in the opposite direction, toward life as God intended it to be. Christians, as ambassadors of light, have the same basic purpose. It’s not our job to name all the sins other people are committing and pronounce judgment on them; rather, it is our job to let the light of redemptive love shine upon the world. Like Jesus, it is a task not only of words, but one that is primarily accomplished by actions.


Prayer: Lord, You came that we might be saved from the destruction our sins brings upon us. How grateful we are! Keep us in Your light, we pray, so that the many who are still living in the delusion of darkness may see and turn toward Your love. Amen.


thursday, december 18

Text: Isaiah 40:1-11.

Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. 2 Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her that her hard service has been completed, that her sin has been paid for, that she has received from the Lord’s hand double for all her sins. 3 A voice of one calling:

“In the wilderness prepare the way for the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. 4 Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain. 5 And the glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all people will see it together. For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.” 6 A voice says, “Cry out.” And I said, “What shall I cry?”

“All people are like grass, and all their faithfulness is like the flowers of the field. 7 The grass withers and the flowers fall, because the breath of the Lord blows on them. Surely the people are grass. 8 The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God endures forever.”

9 You who bring good news to Zion, go up on a high mountain. You who bring good news to Jerusalem, lift up your voice with a shout, lift it up, do not be afraid; say to the towns of Judah, “Here is your God!”

10 See, the Sovereign Lord comes with power, and he rules with a mighty arm. See, his reward is with him, and his recompense accompanies him 11 He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those that have young.


Reflection: It’s a beautiful picture, isn’t it? Well, the closing part is peaceful; the part about people being like grass and being blown away isn’t so nice. Here today, gone tomorrow. And as has been noted by nearly every person who ages, the years go faster as they go by. We acknowledge the truth of our brief time on earth.

But God’s Word will be the same from one generation to another. Those who follow it are like the appearance of fully bloomed wildflowers on a sun-splashed field in spring or summer. And the Lord will come and remember them and reward them for faithfulness. So bloom where you are. It matters to the world now and to you when the Lord returns.


Prayer: As we anticipate Your coming, Lord, grant us to be those who make the earth more full of Your glory, more beautiful than it would be without us. Amen.

friday, december 19

Text: John 9:1-7. As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. 2 His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” 3 “Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him. 4 As long as it is day, we must do the works of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. 5 While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”

6 After saying this, he spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man’s eyes. 7 “Go,” he told him, “wash in the Pool of Siloam” (this word means “Sent”). So the man went and washed, and came home seeing.


Reflection: It’s hard for some of us to rid our minds of the idea that everything in the world operates on a strict payback model. If you do x, you will get y. If you get a, you must have done b. It seems people have always thought this way. East Asian philosophies and religions do it. Job and his friends started out with this model, and only through Job’s insistence that he hadn’t done things that could have resulted in his calamities did he learn otherwise. Apparently, the disciples of Jesus still thought this way, too. When they saw a blind man, they immediately asked what went wrong, or rather, who went wrong? Was it the man himself, or was the blindness a punishment for sins of his parents?

We still fall into the same (wrong) way of thinking. “Everything happens for a reason.” It’s often heard, spoken by Christians and non-Christians alike. But is it helpful? Note how Jesus turned the question in a whole new direction. And we can learn to do the same when we are faced with personal tragedies of our own or in the lives of people around us. Instead of asking why such and such happened, we might ask how can the love of God be demonstrated in the situation before us. This turns us from being idle speculators into agents of wholeness and hope. Far better!


Prayer: Lord Jesus, when you encountered people you looked for their wholeness, not for their past. Teach us to do the same, to work for the good in the lives of those who are hurt and tired. Extend your grace and forgive our unwarranted attempts at explaining the ills in the lives of others. Amen.

saturday, december 20

Text: Luke 3:1-6. In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar—when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea and Traconitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene— 2 during the high-priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness. 3 He went into all the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 4 As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet:

“A voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him. 5 Every valley shall be filled in, every mountain and hill made low. The crooked roads shall become straight, the rough ways smooth. 6 And all people will see God’s salvation.’”


Reflection: Luke’s gospel gives an account of the coming of the Lord in such a way that should dispel any notion that the story of Jesus is just that--a story, one which may be compelling, interesting, or a lot of other things, but fictional. Luke doesn’t allow that option. He ties the birth and ministry of Jesus to the history of Israel and to the history of the Roman Empire. The former is recalled by connecting Jesus to the words of the ancient biblical prophets; the latter is connected by placing the timing within the flow of recorded history. He names names.

The concluding line is a more inclusive line than Israel might have been expecting for its savior. All people will see God’s salvation, not just the Jewish people. What God has in mind is the redemption of humanity. While Israel played a critical role in the history of that redemption being realized, Israel was never intended to be the sole beneficiary. The blessing of God is intended for everyone. We who have received the good news do not have the option of making the blessing of God an “in-house” sort of blessing. It is meant to be shared with the world. It isn’t just a story we like to hear, especially at this time of the year. It’s real history, the world’s own history.


Prayer: Lord, You came into the very world You had made, among the very people created to bear Your divine image. We are amazed by that every year as we listen again to the stories of Your birth. As we hear once more, as we read it over again and again, let it fill and expand our minds until it is lived out in our bodies, given to You as our reasonable act of service. Amen.