Advent 3
Devotional
Streams of Living Water
Lectionary Devotional for Cycle B
Object:
Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-11
They shall repair the ruined cities, the devastation of many generations.
-- Isaiah 61:4b
Those who had returned from exile in great expectation found the cities of their land in ruin and utter poverty among the peoples. The prophet proclaims that the Spirit of the Lord has anointed him to bring good news to the afflicted. The fruits of the Spirit of the Lord resting on him were the practical ministering to those who had been devastated by conditions in their life. It included not only attending to their personal needs but to the repair of their cities. Jesus would later take this passage as a text that demonstrated that the spirit of the Lord rested on him as well. He healed the sick, fed the hungry, and raised the dead as an expression of God's care for those in need. Later, the early church would also be moved to attend to the practical needs of their neighbors as a sign of the Spirit moving among them. They went out into the street and cared for those who others had abandoned. Today we seek the Spirit in repairing the ruins of our cities devastated by the spiritual poverty of many generations. In what way do you sense the Spirit of God resting on you and urging you in a particular direction of ministry?
Psalm 126
Then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongues with shouts of joy.
-- Psalm 126:2
Psalm 126 is an almost giddy response to the totally unexpected experience of good fortune. Israel had been in exile, and though they yearned for the land of Israel, the political realities made that seem an impossible dream. Then in one of those impossible twists of fate, they were free to go home. It all seemed so unreal -- like a dream (v. 1). The only response possible was sort of a giddy laughter and the deep joy of being confirmed in the eyes of the nations (v. 2). The response to God's blessing was joy (v. 3). Like the water in the Negeb, which in a flood seems so out of control and then is returned to the banks that control its flow, so Israel had direction returned to their lives (v. 4). The lesson in life was one of patient trust in God's care. Those who sow in tears but patiently trust in God's faithfulness reap with shouts of joy (v. 5). The agricultural metaphor of the sweat and tears of planting and cultivating with only the silent trust that such effort will bear fruit would later be used by the church to understand the cross and the resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:35 ff). Like the farmer, one has a responsibility to plant the seed, but it is an offering to God. There is an interval between planting and harvest that we do not control (Matthew 13:1-9), but at the harvest we are glad (v. 6).
Luke 1:47-55 (Psalm alternate)
For he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant.
-- Luke 1:48
The song of Mary is a strong reminder of the passionate freedom of God to disrupt history in favor of the disenfranchised. For all the tradition that has been built around Mary, scripture is silent about her pedigree and suggests that she is simply a young virgin who is responsive to the voice of God in her life. She is a woman in a man's society, she is young in a world where age is respected, and she is a virgin in a society that honors a woman's fertility.
Yet out of her anonymity, she experiences God's blessing in the form of her pregnancy. It is this experience of God's blessing in her life that causes her to erupt in song. From her personal blessing, she perceives the pattern of God's intervention in history. Her song quickly moves from praise of God in her life to a praise of God's grace as it continues to be experienced in the world. God blesses the poor and oppressed and hungry, and God is a counterforce to the proud and the powerful. And most of all, this is a God who keeps promises and expresses mercy to the children of Abraham.
Mary's song is a song of hope for all who sense defeat or experience brokenness in this world. It is an advent hope that interrupts darkness and causes each Advent to be a season of expectation in our own lives. It is also a caution for those who might get lost in the celebration and forget that God is most likely to be experienced where we are joining God in responding to the needy in our society.
It is important to note that Mary celebrates God's actions on behalf of the needy in the past tense and not as a future expectation. As you look back on this past year, where can you identify the work of God that you can celebrate in a manner that gives you courage for the future?
1 Thessalonians 5:16-24
Rejoice always, pray constantly, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
-- 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
There is a continual thrust in the Christian faith toward a positive trust in the sovereignty of God. "Rejoice always," Paul says, and we want to respond, "Life is not always good." Paul continues: "Give thanks in all circumstances," and we want to challenge that we are not thankful for everything. But that is why Paul admonishes us to "pray constantly." It is not that life is always rosy or that "positive thinking" conquers all. Rather, it is that God is sovereign and can redeem any circumstance. We are to rejoice in the sovereignty of God in the darkest of circumstances and give thanks for God's redeeming power exactly where we least see it. The only way we can prevent ourselves from being defeated by the tragic in life is to stay in contact with the transcendent. It is precisely because life is not always positive that we need to rejoice and give thanks to God in every circumstance. Call to mind a dark moment in your life that you can now give thanks for because out of that circumstance God worked a good result. Let that memory give you strength for the future.
John 1:6-8, 19-28
I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness.
-- John 1:23
The story of John the Baptist is a story of the word of God coming to us from the fringe of our lives. The center of religion in Israel was Jerusalem, the temple, and the religious leaders. This would have been where people would have expected to hear the word of God proclaimed. But it was in their encounter in the wilderness that they heard God's word proclaimed. Too often, we expect God to come to us at the points of our strength and places where we are in control and comfortable. Yet God's voice is often that which speaks in the desert of our lives. Think of those spaces where we are least in control or the spaces that are empty of the busyness that fills our lives. Advent is an invitation to explore the empty corners of our lives in anticipation that we might hear the Lord. It is in the person or the experience that we do not know that we are likely to discover God addressing us. Advent is a time for listening to our wilderness. Where do you need to listen this Advent?
They shall repair the ruined cities, the devastation of many generations.
-- Isaiah 61:4b
Those who had returned from exile in great expectation found the cities of their land in ruin and utter poverty among the peoples. The prophet proclaims that the Spirit of the Lord has anointed him to bring good news to the afflicted. The fruits of the Spirit of the Lord resting on him were the practical ministering to those who had been devastated by conditions in their life. It included not only attending to their personal needs but to the repair of their cities. Jesus would later take this passage as a text that demonstrated that the spirit of the Lord rested on him as well. He healed the sick, fed the hungry, and raised the dead as an expression of God's care for those in need. Later, the early church would also be moved to attend to the practical needs of their neighbors as a sign of the Spirit moving among them. They went out into the street and cared for those who others had abandoned. Today we seek the Spirit in repairing the ruins of our cities devastated by the spiritual poverty of many generations. In what way do you sense the Spirit of God resting on you and urging you in a particular direction of ministry?
Psalm 126
Then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongues with shouts of joy.
-- Psalm 126:2
Psalm 126 is an almost giddy response to the totally unexpected experience of good fortune. Israel had been in exile, and though they yearned for the land of Israel, the political realities made that seem an impossible dream. Then in one of those impossible twists of fate, they were free to go home. It all seemed so unreal -- like a dream (v. 1). The only response possible was sort of a giddy laughter and the deep joy of being confirmed in the eyes of the nations (v. 2). The response to God's blessing was joy (v. 3). Like the water in the Negeb, which in a flood seems so out of control and then is returned to the banks that control its flow, so Israel had direction returned to their lives (v. 4). The lesson in life was one of patient trust in God's care. Those who sow in tears but patiently trust in God's faithfulness reap with shouts of joy (v. 5). The agricultural metaphor of the sweat and tears of planting and cultivating with only the silent trust that such effort will bear fruit would later be used by the church to understand the cross and the resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:35 ff). Like the farmer, one has a responsibility to plant the seed, but it is an offering to God. There is an interval between planting and harvest that we do not control (Matthew 13:1-9), but at the harvest we are glad (v. 6).
Luke 1:47-55 (Psalm alternate)
For he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant.
-- Luke 1:48
The song of Mary is a strong reminder of the passionate freedom of God to disrupt history in favor of the disenfranchised. For all the tradition that has been built around Mary, scripture is silent about her pedigree and suggests that she is simply a young virgin who is responsive to the voice of God in her life. She is a woman in a man's society, she is young in a world where age is respected, and she is a virgin in a society that honors a woman's fertility.
Yet out of her anonymity, she experiences God's blessing in the form of her pregnancy. It is this experience of God's blessing in her life that causes her to erupt in song. From her personal blessing, she perceives the pattern of God's intervention in history. Her song quickly moves from praise of God in her life to a praise of God's grace as it continues to be experienced in the world. God blesses the poor and oppressed and hungry, and God is a counterforce to the proud and the powerful. And most of all, this is a God who keeps promises and expresses mercy to the children of Abraham.
Mary's song is a song of hope for all who sense defeat or experience brokenness in this world. It is an advent hope that interrupts darkness and causes each Advent to be a season of expectation in our own lives. It is also a caution for those who might get lost in the celebration and forget that God is most likely to be experienced where we are joining God in responding to the needy in our society.
It is important to note that Mary celebrates God's actions on behalf of the needy in the past tense and not as a future expectation. As you look back on this past year, where can you identify the work of God that you can celebrate in a manner that gives you courage for the future?
1 Thessalonians 5:16-24
Rejoice always, pray constantly, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
-- 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
There is a continual thrust in the Christian faith toward a positive trust in the sovereignty of God. "Rejoice always," Paul says, and we want to respond, "Life is not always good." Paul continues: "Give thanks in all circumstances," and we want to challenge that we are not thankful for everything. But that is why Paul admonishes us to "pray constantly." It is not that life is always rosy or that "positive thinking" conquers all. Rather, it is that God is sovereign and can redeem any circumstance. We are to rejoice in the sovereignty of God in the darkest of circumstances and give thanks for God's redeeming power exactly where we least see it. The only way we can prevent ourselves from being defeated by the tragic in life is to stay in contact with the transcendent. It is precisely because life is not always positive that we need to rejoice and give thanks to God in every circumstance. Call to mind a dark moment in your life that you can now give thanks for because out of that circumstance God worked a good result. Let that memory give you strength for the future.
John 1:6-8, 19-28
I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness.
-- John 1:23
The story of John the Baptist is a story of the word of God coming to us from the fringe of our lives. The center of religion in Israel was Jerusalem, the temple, and the religious leaders. This would have been where people would have expected to hear the word of God proclaimed. But it was in their encounter in the wilderness that they heard God's word proclaimed. Too often, we expect God to come to us at the points of our strength and places where we are in control and comfortable. Yet God's voice is often that which speaks in the desert of our lives. Think of those spaces where we are least in control or the spaces that are empty of the busyness that fills our lives. Advent is an invitation to explore the empty corners of our lives in anticipation that we might hear the Lord. It is in the person or the experience that we do not know that we are likely to discover God addressing us. Advent is a time for listening to our wilderness. Where do you need to listen this Advent?
