Sunday, December 1, 2013

Anonymous

Romans 13:11-14

Besides this, you know what time it is, how it is now the moment for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we became believers; 12the night is far gone, the day is near. Let us then lay aside the works of darkness and put on the armour of light; 13let us live honorably as in the day, not in revelling and drunkenness, not in debauchery and licentiousness, not in quarrelling and jealousy. 14Instead, put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.

Devotional

The first candle of the Advent Wreath is the candle of hope. When we light the candle of hope on the wreath or in our hearts, we kindle a flame of expectant anticipation that something rich, something special , is on its way. We wake up to the season of Advent.

As we enter into this Advent journey, we already know that there is something special at the end of Advent.

“Let us then lay aside the works of darkness and put on the armour of light”

That something special is the birth of Jesus, God’s great gift to the world that brings us light and hope. But much of the richness of this season comes with the anticipation, the waiting, and the deferral of the celebration until the appropriate time. That time where we lay aside the works of darkness and we put on the armour of light to be the light in the world.

During Advent, the first season of the church year, we relive the story of Jesus, the wonder of how he came to be, the story of his birth. We don’t know yet what God has in store, but we trust God’s promises of righteousness, justice, and peace for our hurting world and our discouraged spirits. We live in hope, that despite our current struggles. Just as in Paul’s letter to the Romans, we are asked to live honorably to honor God and the gift of his son that births hope in us.

Additional Readings

Psalm 122; Isaiah 2:1-5; Matthew 24:36-44