You can listen to this week’s Devotional here
Author: Karen Hoover
As you read this meditation, we will be anticipating our worship together on the Third Sunday of Advent. Christmas Day is fast approaching and the season of waiting, so excruciating for children and harried for adults, will too soon come to a close. But before it does, have we taken a moment to consider what it is that we, as Christians, are watching for? What is it that we are waiting for?
After all, we know this story! We learned the story of the Nativity early in our lives and we’ve experienced the Christmas season every year of our lives. Yet with each re-telling of the story, I encounter different nuances which deepen and enrich the meaning of Jesus’s birth in my own life. Perhaps it is the same for you.
My faith understanding is that God sent Jesus to us in human form to show God’s love for us and closeness to us. Jesus is not a deity on high. He was a human man who dwelt among us and became our teacher, teaching us how to love one another and how to embody that love through serving others, by responding to the needs of others with mercy, and by creating peace by working for justice. And when Jesus gave his life as the ultimate sacrifice, he did not leave us. In the opening words of the Gospel of John, Jesus is the Light of the World.
I’ve come to think of Advent as a kind of annual refresher course. The celebration of Jesus’s birth is my opportunity to renew my commitment to follow his teachings throughout the coming year. To do so, I must remain actively “watchful” for opportunities to act on my faith and not “wait” to respond. In this way, “watching” and “waiting” are no longer passive activities. They become alive with possibility!
Light Giver, thank you for lighting our way by sending Jesus, the Light of the World, to us. Strengthen us to be your Light of service, mercy, justice and peace in a weary world. Amen.
