Name Him Jesus

Advent Day 21

Third Saturday in Advent

December 17, 2011

Reading: Matthew 1:20–21 (NRSV)

²⁰ But just when he had resolved to do this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. ²¹ She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”

Theme: Name Him Jesus

Reflection:

Naming a child is one of the great dilemmas that new parents face. What does the name mean? How does it sound with our last name? What persona will this name create for this new baby? In Biblical times, naming a child had even more significance. For the Hebrew people, a child’s name was not just a label, or the way he/she was called. The name was the essence of the person. Children were typically named after a relative who was no longer living. Some of the relative’s identity was thought to be transferred to the child.

The angel tells Joseph that the child to be born to Mary is to be called Jesus (the Hebrew version of this is Joshua) because he will save his people from their sins. Jesus’ name, given before he was born, gives his identity as the Savior. His name is derived from a Hebrew verb (yasha) which means to save, deliver or liberate.

Imagine Jesus, growing up from a young age, aware that his name means that he is to save his people. Even for a child whose is both human and divine that is a large responsibility to put on small child. Jesus’ identity was shaped by his name, and the community’s awareness of what his name would have signified.

As we come ever closer to the celebration of this child’s birth, let us thank God for sending a Savior to us—the young child who bears the responsibility of saving us.

Prayer: Loving God, we thank you for the gift of your Son, Jesus—the One who Saves. Help us to realize the magnitude of your gift and to express our gratitude in love. Amen

Son of David

Advent Day 20

Third Friday in Advent

December 16, 2011

Reading: Matthew 1:1–2 (NRSV)

¹ An account of the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham. ² Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers,

Theme: Son of David

Reflection:

What does it mean that Jesus is the son of David, and why did Matthew think it was so important to point this out in the first verse of his Gospel? Later in this same chapter of Matthew, the writer also points out that the child to be named Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit. ²⁰ “An angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, ‘Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. ²¹ She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.’ ” (Matthew 1:20-21)

There are two streams of information in these two quotes. First, Jesus is the “son” of David, and second, that he was conceived by the Holy Spirit. Obviously, Jesus is not directly David’s son since there are 28 generations between David and Jesus (Matthew 1:17). However, Jesus is in David’s lineage. Being in David’s linage is important as Hebrew prophecies have consistently predicted that God’s promised Messiah would be a descendent of David. By beginning his Gospel with Jesus’ genealogy, Matthew immediately signals to his readers that Jesus, whom he calls the Messiah has the right credentials. Additionally, by listing Jesus’ family, Matthew points out that Jesus was truly human, with a human family.

By letting his readers listen in on the angel’s announcement to Joseph that Mary’s son was conceived by the Holy Spirit, Matthew also signals that this very human baby is also divine. Before Matthew even relates the birth of Jesus and the arrival of the wise men from the east, he has revealed to his readers the paradox of Jesus’ identity. Jesus is both fully human and fully divine.

In this Advent season we have the gift of Matthew’s Gospel which reveals to us, the one for whom we pray. We call out “Come Lord Jesus, Come”, and we pray for God to come among us in a human form that we can recognize and who can identify with our struggles, but who yet has the divine power to save us.

Prayer: Come, Lord Jesus, Come. Come and be our brother. Come and be “God with us,” leading us, guiding us, and saving us.

Seeking Prophets

Advent Day 19

Third Thursday in Advent

December 15, 2011

Reading: Luke 7:24–28 (NRSV)

²⁴ When John’s messengers had gone, Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to look at? A reed shaken by the wind? ²⁵ What then did you go out to see? Someone dressed in soft robes? Look, those who put on fine clothing and live in luxury are in royal palaces. ²⁶ What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. ²⁷ This is the one about whom it is written, ‘See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way before you.’ ²⁸ I tell you, among those born of women no one is greater than John; yet the least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.”

Theme: Seeking Prophets

Reflection:

Jesus asks the people why they have been going into the wilderness seeking John the Baptist. For millennia, people have been attracted to prophets. People today still seek prophets. What is our fascination with prophets? What is it we hope to learn? Most of us are uncomfortable with uncertainty. We would rather deal with any defined situation, even one that is uncomfortable or unpleasant, rather than wallow in uncertainty. Uncertainty has a way of driving us nuts. For instances, the time spent waiting for results from medical tests is an extremely painful time for most of us, because we just want to know! If we know, then we will figure out a way to deal with the diagnosis.

One of the reasons we seek prophets is that we hope that they will help us understand the future. We sense their connection to God, and we believe they speak God’s word to us. Many times we go into our own version of the wilderness looking for someone who will help us see what is to come. Our own dilemma is to discern who is a prophet of God and who is a false prophet.

Unfortunately for us, the prophets who offer the most certain answers, a certainty that we would like to hear, are the ones who are most likely to be false prophets. Think of the several “prophets” in the past couple of years, who have predicted, with certainty, the date of the end of the world. Jesus told us that we could not know the time or place that the end would occur. Consequently, anyone who claims to have this inside information must be a false prophet.

The people who sought future certainty by following John were not given that certainty. All John could promise was that there was one greater than him who would follow, who would baptize with the Holy Spirit. Those of us who seek future certainty by following prophets will also be disappointed. The only certainty that we are given is found in the love of God through Jesus Christ. God does not promise us any particular future, what God promises is that God will not abandon us. The one whom John prophesied has come--born in the manger, does come daily into our lives--as our Savior, and will come again in the final days. Emmanuel, “God with us”, fulfills God’s promise of accompanying us.

Prayer: Come, Lord, Jesus Come! Be with us. Walk alongside of us. Come into our lives, daily, to give us the strength and wisdom that lets us deal with the uncertainty with which we live. Amen

Doing all Things

Advent Day 18

Second Wednesday in Advent

December 14, 2011

Reading: Isaiah 45:6–7 (NRSV)

⁶ so that they may know, from the rising of the sun and from the west, that there is no one besides me; I am the Lord, and there is no other. ⁷ I form light and create darkness, I make weal and create woe; I the Lord do all these things.

Theme: Doing all things

Reflection:

This is a passage which gives us a fragmented glimpse into what God is like. As humans we have a very limited comprehension of God—because any attempt to fully know God, is an attempt to cut God down to human scale. We hear in God’s own words, in this text, a sense of the full breadth of God. And frankly, what we hear is difficult to comprehend.

Even if we understand the meaning of all the words, their scope eludes us. (I had to look up the meaning of weal—it has two very different definitions. The first is: ‘a red swollen mark’; and the second is; ‘that which is best for someone’.) I presume the author of this text meant the second one, implying that God does the full range of things from that which is best for someone to that which creates grief.

Reading this passage in The Message translation (a translation that attempts to help us understand, in contemporary English, what the original listeners heard) gives additional insights into God’s nature:

Isaiah 45:6–7 (The Message)

⁶ So that everyone, from east to west, will know that I have no god-rivals. I am God, the only God there is. ⁷ I form light and create darkness, I make harmonies and create discords. I, God, do all these things.

We simply don’t have the scale and depth to understand how God can do all things. My own theology teaches that God does not deliberately set out to hurt us, but that because we are given free will, we do have occasions where things go wrong or we are deeply hurt. It is difficult to reconcile a God who does all things with a God that doesn’t set out to hurt us. I don’t have an easy answer.

In Advent, we hear many things we don’t full understand, but ultimately have to accept on faith. We hear of a baby being born to a woman well past child-bearing age; we hear of a woman who conceives by the Holy Spirit, and we hear of angels announcing these births. None of these things can be discerned with human logic. Perhaps this passage from Isaiah is just one more passage that reminds us of God’s greatness and our smallness.

May your Advent devotions give you a glimpse of the God, who is so great that we can’t comprehend God, and so loving that God’s own Son is sent as a gift to us.

Prayer: All powerful and omnipotent God, keep me humble by continuing to remind me that you depth and breadth exceed my comprehension. Amen

Humble and Lowly

Advent Day 17

Second Tuesday in Advent

December 13, 2011

Reading: Zephaniah 3:12–13 (NRSV)

¹² For I will leave in the midst of you a people humble and lowly. They shall seek refuge in the name of the Lord— ¹³ the remnant of Israel; they shall do no wrong and utter no lies, nor shall a deceitful tongue be found in their mouths. Then they will pasture and lie down, and no one shall make them afraid.

Theme: A People Humble and Lowly

Reflection:

I think that very few of us would typically like to think of our ourselves as humble and lowly. We might be OK with humble, but lowly just doesn’t fit most of our self-images. In fact, such an opinion of ourselves might result in our being labeled as having “low self-esteem”! We are more likely to favor descriptions such as self-confident or assured or poised.

Why does the prophet Zephaniah claim that God will leave a people lowly and humble? The remnant of Israel, to whom Zephaniah is referring, are the people left after the Babylonian invasion, exile and return. They had been a proud people, who at one point had been world leaders in the Middle East. Their pride resulted in a haughty self-confidence that led them away from God and God’s laws. Their wealth was no longer shared or used responsibly, and they began to worship the gods of neighboring countries rather than the ONE GOD.

After their experience in exile and their return, facilitated by God, to their homeland, the remnant of Israel have been humbled. They no longer have their swagger or self-assurance, and they have returned to a dependence on God. They have been humbled and are now able to think of themselves as lowly.

In this Advent season, perhaps we, who like to think of ourselves as self-confident, should reflect on the humbleness and lowliness of the one for whom we wait. In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus is born in the animals’ feeding trough, because there was no room for his lowly parents at the inn. In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus refers to himself in saying “I am gentle and humble in heart.” (Matthew 11:29) Jesus’ mother Mary also refers to lowliness twice in her song in Luke: “For he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant. Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed;” (Luke 1:48) and “He has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly;” (Luke 1:52) Coming from Jesus and Mary’s mouths, the words humble and lowly have taken on a new respect.

Perhaps, we who profess to be followers of Jesus need to look for the role of humbleness and lowliness in our own lives. Perhaps in waiting for Jesus, we will learn how to be the servant of the one who served others.

Prayer: All powerful God, help me to depend on you and take refuge in you, rather than depending on my own self-confidence. Help me to be your servant, lowly and humble. Amen

Giving Service

Advent Day 16

Third Monday in Advent

December 12, 2011

Reading: Psalm 72:11–12 (NRSV)

¹¹May all kings fall down before him, all nations give him service. ¹²For he delivers the needy when they call, the poor and those who have no helper.

Theme: Giving Service

Reflection:

May all nations give God service. What does service to God look like? Is it worship, respectfully coming on regular occasions to give praise and thanks to God? Is it doing community service in the name of God? Yes and Yes!

In the Gospels (Matthew 22:37-40 and Luke 10:27), Jesus tells us: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.” We can serve God by honoring, loving and worshipping the Lord, and by showing, love, respect and service to our neighbors. The two are inseparably linked. Loving God, frees us to love our neighbor, and serving neighbor without loving God may turn into self-serving service, rather than a God-grounded love of neighbor.

In this Advent season, as we watch and wait, preparing for Jesus to come, preparation of our hearts opens us to full spectrum of service to God. The Christmas season is also a time when service to neighbors is desperately needed. As Charles Dickens writes in “A Christmas Carol”, this is a time when “want is keenly felt.” The secular Christmas season is a terribly difficult time to be poor in our culture. The media continually display extravagant “Christmas” celebrations, reminding those “without” just how little they really have.

Keep both aspects of service to God in your Advent preparations. Spend time in worship, prayer, meditation and praise to God. Then, look on your neighbors through Jesus’ eyes and heart. See where there is need and pray about how you might meet that need.

Prayer: Lord Jesus Christ, help me to serve God through worship, prayer, and praise to God and through meeting the needs of my neighbors in God’s name. Amen

Devotion for the Saturday of the Third Week in Advent

Theme for the week: Joy

Devotion for the saturday of the third Week in Advent (Day 21)

Reading: Philippians 4:4–7 (NRSV)

⁴ Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. ⁵ Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. ⁶ Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. ⁷ And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

REFLECTION:

On this last Saturday in Advent, which is also the last Saturday before Christmas, what are you feeling? Do you have a sense of Advent delight? Are you feeling happiness because the coming of the baby in the manger is near? Is the growing light of the Advent wreath, signifying the growing strength of Light in the world giving you an unquenchable joy? Is the peace that is Christ giving you a sense of calm? May it be so for you!!

OR…is the annual Christmas frenzy wearing you down? Are you feeling heart palpitations because there are more items on your to do list than you have energy to do, or because you have more commitments than there are minutes in the day between now and Christmas morning? Are you moving so fast that perhaps you really don’t have time to even take a deep breath, much less read this devotion?

OR…is the melancholy of Christmas past weighing you down? Are you lonely because you have outlived many of your friends and family? Are you mourning someone who is no longer in this life, or missing someone whom you will not see this holiday season? Are you worried about a child, friend or other relative far away, perhaps serving our country in a troubled place in the world? Are you filled with fear because someone you love has taken a wrong turn in his or her life? Are you filled with anguish over a broken relationship?

Is there any stress, worry, grief or loneliness that is keeping you from feeling pure joy at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ? Rather than trying to give you any “computer distance” pastoral counseling, I suggest you re-read the passage from Philippians. Focus particularly on verse 6: “Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” Take a few minutes this morning and pour out your heart to God. Listen for God’s “pastoral counseling.”

PRAYER:

My prayer for you this morning, is that you will be able to open your heart, mind, body and soul to God, handing over to God anything that is weighing you down or stressing you out. May God hear your prayers. May God give your comfort and counsel. May God give you the peace that only God can give. Amen

Devotion for the Friday of the Third Week in Advent

Theme for the week: Joy

Devotion for the Friday of the third Week in Advent (Day 20)

Reading: Matthew 28:1–10 (NRSV)

¹ After the sabbath, as the first day of the week was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. ² And suddenly there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord, descending from heaven, came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. ³ His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. ⁴ For fear of him the guards shook and became like dead men. ⁵ But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid; I know that you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. ⁶ He is not here; for he has been raised, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. ⁷ Then go quickly and tell his disciples, ‘He has been raised from the dead, and indeed he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him.’ This is my message for you.” ⁸ So they left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. ⁹ Suddenly Jesus met them and said, “Greetings!” And they came to him, took hold of his feet, and worshiped him. ¹⁰ Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.”

REFLECTION:

I have to admit, I am using this text only because I committed to reflect on the texts that are part of the devotions in the Advent devotional book “I Wonder as I Wander.” Personally I find using last supper and resurrection texts in the Advent season to be so out of sync with the church year, that I find it hard “to go there.”

But given this text, in this time, what does this passage have to say to our work of Advent waiting, and the joy that awaits us. There is waiting, fear and joy in this text. Waiting and joy are both characteristic of Advent, and Advent has a bit of fear as well. (Just ask Mary, the Mother of Jesus what she felt when the angel showed up to inform her that she was to be a mother!)

In this Easter text, clearly Mary Magdalene and the other Mary have been waiting. Jesus was buried at the start of the Sabbath on Friday night. They were not permitted to do any burial rites on the Sabbath, and when the Sabbath ended after dark on Saturday night, I imagine that they might have been too afraid to go to the tomb in the dark. Imagine that waiting! Their teacher and hero had just died at terrible death and had been buried, and they couldn’t even go to the tomb over the Sabbath. They had that long day of waiting and wondering of what had happened to Jesus in death. A day of waiting and mourning, filled with fear. Were they to be next? Would the authorities come after Jesus’ followers. If they were killed also, what would happen to their families? Now that Jesus was gone, what were they going to do with their lives? The meaning of life had seemed to evaporate with Jesus’ death.

The Marys were in a time of waiting—waiting without being clear as to what the end would be. We have lots of examples of this uncertain waiting in our lives. Just ask anyone who has been diagnosed with cancer, but has to wait a month to see the doctor. In contrast, the Advent kind of waiting is a waiting which looks ahead with more joy than the waiting the Marys experienced during that long Sabbath, or which we experience as we await what we think will be bad news.

Then there is the trip, on that first Easter, to the tomb, which turned out to be empty. First the fear! It is kind of ironic that the angel says to the women, “Do not be afraid.” Angels always say that when your first impulse is either to melt in fear or take off running. These are the same words that the angel said to both Joseph and Mary. Of course the women at the tomb were afraid. The tomb was empty. Either Jesus’ body had been stolen, or something had happened that defied human reason. And now they were seeing an angel, and they were not supposed to be afraid. Not likely! Although “Fear NOT” is a powerful command, it is not one that is easy to follow. Sometimes we just have to flow with the fear to work through it.

After the women at the tomb experience fear, they also experience joy. Joy at finding out that Jesus has defied death and evil and risen from the dead. Theirs was a joy that transcends human reason. The Easter message, “He is Risen!” brings us a joy that is both unexpected and defies reason.

Our Advent joy also transcends human reason. There is joy at the birth of baby, joy that a Savior has been born, even if he doesn’t look like what we expect a Messiah to look like. There is joy at all the mystery surrounding this birth, and there is joy that Mary, Jesus’ mother can only ponder in her heart. The Christmas birth brings us joy because it is so unexpected.

What joy have you experienced recently? Is it a joy that you expected? Is this joy mixed with any other emotion?

PRAYER: Pray that joy may rise out of the fear and waiting in your life.

Devotion for the Thursday of the Third Week in Advent

Theme for the week: Joy

Devotion for the thursday of the third Week in Advent (Day 19)

Reading: John 15:7–11 (NRSV)

⁷ If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. ⁸ My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples. ⁹ As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love. ¹⁰ If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. ¹¹ I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete.

REFLECTION:

“Your joy may be complete.” Jesus is speaking these words to the disciples in the context of his last supper with them. He has already washed their feet, served them a meal and now is beginning to prepare them for life without him. Jesus is giving to the disciples his own joy so that their joy may be whole and complete. Jesus is giving them the inner peace, serenity, fear of the Lord and focus that leads to complete joy. Jesus wants them to be able to accomplish their work joyfully, without fear, worry or concern. Jesus is giving them this joy as a kind of inoculation against what he knows they are going to face. In a very short while, they are going to be leaderless and in mourning. Jesus wants the disciples’ inner joy to protect them against the inevitable mourning and possible despair they will face.

Is your own joy complete? Is it whole and holy? If not, in what part of your life is your joy incomplete? What is stopping your joy from being complete? Jesus promises that we will abide in his love. Abiding in his love is like setting up a home with Jesus’ love spread over us like a tent.

What does knowing and feeling surrounded by Jesus’ complete love do for your sense of joy? What incompleteness do you want to share with Jesus? In describing this incompleteness to Jesus in prayer, try to visualize what it would look like if your joy were completed. Visualize Jesus love coming to you and filling out this incomplete place in your life. As Jesus’ has commanded, ask him for what it is that you need to feel complete joy.

PRAYER: Pray that you and those you love may always abide in Jesus’ love, feeling Jesus’ love spread over your entire life. Pray that Jesus’ love may heal and fill those incomplete spots where joy is blocked. Pray for all those who are lonely, in despair, unable to pray, or have no one to pray for them. Pray that Jesus may bring joy into their lives. Amen

Devotion for the Wednesday of the Third Week in Advent

Theme for the week: Joy

Devotion for the Wednesday of the third Week in Advent (Day 18)

Reading: Jeremiah 15:15–21 (NRSV)

¹⁵ O Lord, you know; remember me and visit me, and bring down retribution for me on my persecutors. In your forbearance do not take me away; know that on your account I suffer insult. ¹⁶ Your words were found, and I ate them, and your words became to me a joy and the delight of my heart; for I am called by your name, O Lord, God of hosts. ¹⁷ I did not sit in the company of merrymakers, nor did I rejoice; under the weight of your hand I sat alone, for you had filled me with indignation. ¹⁸ Why is my pain unceasing, my wound incurable, refusing to be healed? Truly, you are to me like a deceitful brook, like waters that fail. ¹⁹ Therefore thus says the Lord: If you turn back, I will take you back, and you shall stand before me. If you utter what is precious, and not what is worthless, you shall serve as my mouth. It is they who will turn to you, not you who will turn to them. ²⁰ And I will make you to this people a fortified wall of bronze; they will fight against you, but they shall not prevail over you, for I am with you to save you and deliver you, says the Lord. ²¹ I will deliver you out of the hand of the wicked, and redeem you from the grasp of the ruthless.

REFLECTION:

“Your words became to me a joy and the delight of my heart.”

What images come to your mind when you think of the Word of God? Do you think of comfort, sustenance, judgment, promise, fear, or all of the above? Would you use the word ‘joy’, as the prophet Jeremiah does, when he describes what God’s Word means to him?

God’s Word can act on us in many ways. In fact the same Biblical passage can affect us in different ways on different days in our lives. One of the blessings of God’s Word is that is that it acts on us, in the ways that we need at a particular point in time. God’s Word does sometimes challenge us, particularly when we are feeling complacent. We can also be comforted by God’s Word, at a time when perhaps we feel that there is no hope. In the psalms we certainly find words of comfort for difficult times in our lives. There are also times when God’s Word does judge or convict us, when we need to be brought face to face with things that we have done wrong. There are other times when we are in dire need of strength or uplifting. At these times, God’s Word comforts us and saves us.

Martin Luther wrote that all of the Bible consists of God’s Law and God’s Promise or Gospel. The Law convicts us and kills the sinner within us, driving us to need the Gospel. Just when we are feeling terribly convicted, we are driven to the comfort of the Gospel, which brings us back to life again. When the Gospel acts on us, we are filled with joy—the joy of the knowledge that God has forgiven us and saved us, even when we have done nothing to deserve God’s forgiveness.

In this passage, Jeremiah can depend on God’s promise that God will deliver him out of the hand of the wicked. No wonder Jeremiah can speak of the joy of God’s Word—a joy in the promise God has made to keep him from slipping into the grasp of the ruthless.

When have you experienced joy from the way that God’s Gospel or Promise has acted on your life? Has God ever pulled you out of the grasp of evil? What Bible story or quote most means joy to you?

PRAYER:

Pray that you might experience God’s Law showing you when you are going in the wrong direction. Pray that you might feel yourself being driven to need the comfort of the Gospel or God’s Promise. Pray that the joy of Gospel might permeate your life. Amen

Devotion for the Tuesday of the Third Week in Advent

Theme for the week: Joy

Devotion for the tuesday of third the Week in Advent (Day 17)

Reading: Proverbs 10:27–32 (NRSV)

²⁷The fear of the Lord prolongs life, but the years of the wicked will be short.

²⁸The hope of the righteous ends in gladness, but the expectation of the wicked comes to nothing.

²⁹The way of the Lord is a stronghold for the upright, but destruction for evildoers.

³⁰The righteous will never be removed, but the wicked will not remain in the land.

³¹The mouth of the righteous brings forth wisdom, but the perverse tongue will be cut off.

³²The lips of the righteous know what is acceptable, but the mouth of the wicked what is perverse.

REFLECTION:

How does the fear of the Lord prolong life? The fear of the Lord does not imply a terror, but rather respect and awe. Have you ever known someone who lives what we might call a God-fearing life? A person like this typically lives a prayer-filled life and knows how to call on God. Someone living a God-fearing life tries to live life in a way that best fulfills God’s expectations as he or she understands them. A God-fearer also knows that as a human he or she will never be able to fully measure up to God’s standards and will inevitably have to fall back on God’s grace.

Someone who is comfortable in prayer, easily able to call on God, and living a life directed by God is someone who is usually living a serene life. Such serenity is often characterized by generosity and is accompanied by a sense of living into God’s abundance, rather than stressing about getting the latest and best things.

The serenity and the sense of living into God’s abundance means a lower stress lifestyle. Current medical practice encourages people to reduce the tension in their lives in order to reduce the incidence of diseases induced or aggravated by stress. Living a prayer-filled life, coupled with contentment and an awe of the Lord will most likely mean a higher quality, joyful life. The lower stress associated with this lifestyle may also lead to an increase in length of a person’s life.

PRAYER:

Pray that God may help you to learn to love and fear the Lord. Pray that your fear of the Lord will lead to a prayer filled life and a sense of abundance, contentment, and joy.

Devotion for the Monday of the Third Week in Advent

Theme for the week: joy

Devotion for the monday of the third Week in Advent (Day 16)

Reading: Psalm 30:1–5 (NRSV)

¹I will extol you, O Lord, for you have drawn me up, and did not let my foes rejoice over me.

²O Lord my God, I cried to you for help, and you have healed me.

³O Lord, you brought up my soul from Sheol, restored me to life from among those gone down to the Pit.

⁴Sing praises to the Lord, O you his faithful ones, and give thanks to his holy name.

⁵For his anger is but for a moment; his favor is for a lifetime. Weeping may linger for the night, but joy comes with the morning.

REFLECTION:

“Weeping may linger for the night, but joy comes with the morning.”

Have you ever had the experience of worrying and stressing about something at night? Worries and dreaded things seem to take on superhuman proportions at night. Bad stuff seems to weigh more heavily at night and there often seem to be no solutions. Tears that start in the evening often seem to continue long into the night. Loneliness and grief seem to be more powerful at night.

Likewise on a sunny morning, worries seem much more manageable. Some of the stresses seem to evaporate in the daylight and sunshine. It is so much easier to be joyful on a sunny morning than on a rainy night. A summer sunrise gives the whole world a new start, a fresh slate on which God can write new design.

God gives each us a new day and a new start each morning. God’s anger does not last, and neither should our anger, stress, or tears. Let God’s favor help you to start each day anew. Martin Luther wrote how each morning, a new you rises from the waters of baptism--renewed and forgiven. When you wake up and wash your face, remember with joy that you have been baptized and forgiven.

PRAYER:

Gracious God, help me to have joyous mornings and fresh starts. Help me to remember that I have been washed clean in the waters of baptism. Help my relationships with others to have fresh starts each new day. Amen

Devotion for the Sunday of the Third Week in Advent

Greetings Blog Community,

I am posting the devotion for Sunday a bit early. We are expecting bad weather in northern New England tomorrow. I may have to head out to church early, so I am getting a head start on tomorrow's work! For all of you dealing with bad weather, may God keep you safe, warm and dry.

Theme for the week: joy

Devotion for the sunday of the third Week in Advent (Day 15)

Reading: Luke 2:8–15 (NRSV)

⁸ In that region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. ⁹ Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. ¹⁰ But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for see—I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: ¹¹ to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord. ¹² This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger.” ¹³ And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying, ¹⁴ “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favors!” ¹⁵ When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go now to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us.”

REFLECTION: At this point in Advent, at the beginning of the third week, we are poised to hear Good News and to be joyful. It may seem to be rushing the season a bit, to have a devotion that includes the heart of the Christmas message, but it is certainly a joyful message. I have often wondered how the shepherds felt when the angel appeared to them. Sitting out in their fields, on a hill outside of Bethlehem under a star studded sky, the appearance of an angel was probably the last thing they expected.

When she says to them that she brings message of great joy, particularly great joy for all the people, what went through their heads. Did they feel elated? Did joy run through their bodies? Did they think, “What kind of joy could an angel bring to shepherds like us—our lives are the same no matter what happens?”

How does the Good News of a Messiah bring joy to you? How would your life be different if the Messiah had never been born, or if you had never heard of the birth of Jesus?

PRAYER: Pray that I might feel in my soul and body how the news of a Messiah is joyful Good News for me. Amen