Advent Devotional: Christmas

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

There was a man sent from God whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all might believe. He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light.

The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

(John testified concerning him. He cried out, saying, “This is the one I spoke about when I said, ‘He who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’”) Out of his fullness we have all received grace in place of grace already given.

John 1:1-16

GOOD NEWS FOR A WEARY WORLD

Throughout this season of Advent we have explored so many well-known, well loved, and incredibly powerful stories. Stories that prepared the way for the Divine’s intervention into a wounded world. Stories of how God chose to invite the most unexpected people to be a part of the most unexpected, yet hoped for, plans to redeem this whole entire wounded world.

I find that these words from the beginning of John’s gospel poetically usher in the Good News—the Logos, theLife, the Light has arrived, Jesus has been born. The Logos or Word chose to become flesh and to live life among us to bring life and bring it abundantly. 

John’s words weave in the mystery that is Emmanuel, the Logos (or Word), the Light. Yes, he is here. Yes, he has come. And yes, he has always been present. And yes, he shall surely come again. 

John’s flowing words in this text speak of God in a variety of ways—revealing just a bit more about who God is. As we celebrate the Good News of a Savior born to us today, Light in the world, let us rejoice that this Savior, this Light, this God of love brings “grace upon grace.” 

This truly is good news for a weary world. Thanks be to God! 

Merry Christmas—may God’s peace and blessings abound!
- Margaret

Advent Devotional: Love

And Mary said, “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant. Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed; for the Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name. His mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation. He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts. He has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly; he has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty. He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, according to the promise he made to our ancestors, to Abraham and to his descendants forever.”

Luke 1:46-55
 

And that is what the soldiers did. Meanwhile, standing near the cross of Jesus were his mother, and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing beside her, he said to his mother, “Woman, here is your son.” Then he said to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” And from that hour the disciple took her into his own home.

John 19:25-27

LOVE, FAITH AND TRUST

Years ago, I read the wrong text for my devotional. Instead of reading the text that was set earlier in John, I read one of the hardest parts of the story, Jesus on the cross. The Gospel of John names Mary, his mother at the foot of it. This is a hard story to include in an Advent devotion yet it is powerful to read where this incredible story begins and a powerful middle part—for we know Jesus on the cross is not where this story ends.

This accidental read led me to see Mary in a different light. Often times we do not know quite what to do with Mary. She was a fourteen year old girl and these two texts give us a glimpse into what kind of woman of faith she was. You see, Mary was brave. She said a bold “yes” to a Divine plan that was not fully explained and flushed out to her. She said “yes” knowing she would most likely be shamed by her community for being pregnant out of wedlock. She said “yes” not knowing that years later, she would stand at the foot of a cross, seeing her son hanging there. 

I have wondered time and time again about this bold woman. About the hopes she had for herself and for her son and the many ways they most likely went against her plans. Yet, this woman still said “yes” and she chose to be present there when her son was crucified, and was probably one of the women who went to the tomb that ultimately stood empty. 

This week we lit the Advent candle of love and Mary embodies this love. The love, faith and trust she had in God and God’s divine plan to redeem God’s people is evident in her Magnificat. And the love this woman has for her son is evident throughout her entire story. May we be bold and brave with our yeses and may we open our hearts to love even when it is hard.

Peace and Joy,
Margaret

Advent Devotional: Joy

After this his wife Elizabeth became pregnant and for five months remained in seclusion. “The Lord has done this for me,” she said. “In these days he has shown his favor and taken away my disgrace among the people.”
At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea, where she entered Zechariah’s home and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. In a loud voice she exclaimed: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!”

Luke 1:24-25, 39-45

FINDING JOY IN THE UNCERTAINTY

Elizabeth was an older, faithful woman of the Lord, who was unable to have children. When Elizabeth miraculously conceives, there are two things verses 24-25 tell us to be of significance—one, she gives thanks to God for what God has done, is doing, and how God has redeemed her amongst her people and the text tells us she was in seclusion for five months.

We have lived in a world for nearly two years now, where we still hesitate to get close to one another, to open our arms wide and fully wrap ourselves in the warm embrace of loving hugs. Even now, we hesitate to get too close, frightened of the next variant that might take away our chances of being together.

Up until now, I had never comprehended the line of the text that tells us Elizabeth was secluded for five months of her pregnancy. In the sixth month her cousin, Mary, is visited by an angel announcing her own miraculous conception and immediately she goes to be with Elizabeth whom she has learned is also expecting.

I can imagine both women were experiencing anxiety, fear, shock, and uncomfortable uncertainty for their futures and the futures of their children. Yet, in the midst of all of that uncertainty, the text writes of joy. The joy of this relationship, the joy of two very special babies growing, the joy of knowledge (no matter how limited) that God is at work in this world and has created a way and has chosen them to be a part of it.

I wonder if we might be able to find joy in the uncertainty we constantly live in? As we sit in the flickering lights of the candles of hope, peace, and now joy, may we remain open to the holy moments of joy that can be found even in the darkest of places.

Peace and Joy,
Margaret

Advent Devotional: Peace

And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, to give knowledge of salvation to his people by the forgiveness of their sins. By the tender mercy of our God, the dawn from on high will break upon us, to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.

Luke 1:76-79

PREPARE THE WAY OF THE LORD

The overarching theme for this Advent series is waiting with hopeful anticipation for the coming of the Lord. There are many different ways of waiting and many of them are not very pleasant. We can wait with anxiety and impatience, we can waste our time waiting, we can do everything and anything to distract ourselves from what we are waiting to happen, or we can do nothing. This Advent, what if we found another way to wait? 

I recently listened to a podcast, the host, Jen Hatmaker, interviews one of my favorite authors, the ordained Lutheran pastor Nadia Bolz-Weber. Bolz-Weber spoke of how Advent is a season of preparation; we are preparing ourselves and our hearts for the way of the Lord. 

Our text today is a brief section of Zechariah’s song of praise and prophecy after the birth of his son, John. John is proclaimed to be a prophet of the Most High and he is set apart to prepare the people for the coming of their Lord. 

Yesterday, we lit the second Advent candle, the candle of peace. Lighting the wreath is a way of being intentional in preparing ourselves for the coming of the Lord. We are gifted with a theme to focus on throughout our week and invite the Spirit to soften our hearts, to prepare them. 

As we go into this week, living in a world that seems to be anything but peaceful may we take comfort in Frederick Buechner’s beautiful definition of peace. He writes in his book of daily meditations, Listening to Your Life, “…for Jesus, peace seems to have meant not the absence of struggle but the presence of love.” 

Grace and Peace,
Margaret

Advent Devotional: Hope

The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will fulfill the promise I made to the house of Israel and the house of Judah. In those days and at that time I will cause a righteous Branch to spring up for David; and he shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. In those days Judah will be saved and Jerusalem will live in safety. And this is the name by which it will be called: “The Lord is our righteousness.”

Jeremiah 33:14-16 

WHAT DO WE HOPE FOR?

Today, on this first Sunday of Advent, we sit in the glow of the candle of hope. In a world that is filled with so much violence and hatred it can be difficult to lean into hope. Honestly, it can feel as if hopelessness is trying to consume us. In the face of this despair, it is not mere wishful thinking that will help. No, hope is an act of faith that requires our whole selves. Recently, when I have slipped into that state of hopelessness, I have taken great comfort in the scriptures. Stories that remind us that humans time and time again have slipped into hopelessness and God has continued to find them and offer them hope. 

In the book of Jeremiah, there is a rich historical context that provides context for the above verses. The Israelites have found themselves exiled to a foreign land, Babylon, after a failed rebellion and the punishment was not simply exile. The temple had been destroyed and the Davidic king stripped from the throne. These blows, I can imagine, left God’s people reeling and wondering if God had abandoned them. Then comes a message of hope: God is not finished yet, God will fulfill the promises God has made, and those days are surely coming. 

When this world wants us to slip into hopelessness, I pray we have the courage to hope in the God who is faithful. May we be willing to join in with God in reimagining how this world can be. May hope and peace be with you all this week. 

If you are interested in further delving into the theme of hope this week follow along at theversatilegirl.com.  

Grace and Peace,
Margaret

2021 Advent Devotional Introduction

WAIT FOR THE LORD 

Wait for the Lord; Be strong, and let your heart take courage. Wait for the Lord!

Psalm 27:14

The liturgical year provides a rhythm to our lives. The different seasons help us to focus or refocus so we might be able to be fully present to each moment, sensing where God is at work in our lives, the world, and what God might be calling us to do. The season of Advent is an invitation to live into the beautifully uncomfortable tensions as we wait for the Lord. We sit in the tension of what has already happened: God breaking through into our world in the humblest of ways, a human baby, and we live into the present where we proclaim and trust that God is with us here and now, even as we anticipate, hope, and wait for Jesus to come again. 

The refrain “wait for the Lord” continued to crop up as I prepared for this season’s devotion. It particularly jumped out at me as I read Psalm 27:14: “Wait for the Lord; Be strong, and let your heart take courage. Wait for the Lord!” 

I found in the footnotes of my Harper Collins Study Bible scholar Patrick Miller explain that to “wait for the Lord means to expect the Lord’s deliverance.” We are a people of hope, we wait on the Lord, expecting, trusting, daring to believe and daring to hope that God has acted, does act, and will continue to act. For God is a God of action; a God of deliverance. 

As we journey through this season of Advent together in hopeful anticipation, may we go as a people of bold hope; hope in a loving, faithful, and gracious God who has acted, who is acting, and who will continue to act. For Christ has died, Christ has risen, Christ will surely come again. For now, let us wait on the Lord. 

If you are signed up, each Monday you will receive an email with the Advent devotion for the week, and I plan to expand on each of the four Advent themes and weekly devotions on my personal blog, theversatilegirl.com. I would love for you to follow along.

Grace and Peace,
Margaret

The Rev. Margaret Fleming and Ken Carrington, our Director of Children and Youth, discuss their memories of Advent and what they are looking forward to in this season of hopeful anticipation.