Daily Feast: Meditations from Feasting on the Word, Year B

By Kathleen Long Bostrom and Elizabeth F. Caldwell

***NOW AVAILABLE IN PAPERBACK***

​Feasting on the Word is one of the most popular lectionary commentary series in use today. This is the first in a new series of daily devotionals that draws from the wealth of writing in the commentaries to present inspirational reflections, responses, and prayers for each day of the lectionary year.

Each day of the week contains Scripture passages for the coming Sunday from the Revised Common Lectionary, excerpts from the commentaries for reflection, a response, and a prayer. Additional material is provided for each Sunday.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Westminster John Knox Press
• Release date: Nov 7, 2011
• ISBN: 9781611641523

Book preview

THE WEEK LEADING UP TO THE

First Sunday of Advent

Isaiah 64:1–9

From ages past no one has heard,

no ear has perceived,

no eye has seen any God besides you,

who works for those who wait for him. (v. 4)

Psalm 80:1–7, 17–19

O LORD God of hosts,

how long will you be angry with your people’s prayers?

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Restore us, O God of hosts;

let your face shine, that we may be saved. (vv. 4, 7)

1 Corinthians 1:3–9

God is faithful; by him you were called into the

fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. (v. 9)

Mark 13:24–37

Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words

will not pass away. But about that day or hour no one

knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but

only the Father. Beware, keep alert; for you do not

know when the time will come. (vv. 31–33)

MONDAY

Isaiah 64:1–9

REFLECTION

The coming of Advent jolts the church out of Ordinary Time with the invasive news that it’s time to think about fresh possibilities for deliverance and human wholeness.

PATRICIA E. DE JONG

We cannot create peace through selfishness, but by opening ourselves to hope. Hope is what is left when your worst fears have been realized and you are no longer optimistic about your future. Hope is what comes with a broken heart willing to be mended.

PATRICIA E. DE JONG

At Advent, God’s people summon the courage and the spiritual strength to remember that the holy breaks into the daily. In tiny ways, we can open our broken hearts to the healing grace of God, who opens the way to peace.

PATRICIA E. DE JONG

RESPONSE

How has a broken heart brought you to a place of hope?

PRAYER

Grant me the hope I long for, so that the broken places in my heart might be healed. Amen.

TUESDAY

Isaiah 64:1–9

REFLECTION

Waiting for God is no passive endeavor; it involves painful longing and bold allegiance, in short, a passionate patience.

WILLIAM P. BROWN

The season of Advent has always held in tension the combination of God’s judgment and God’s promise.

DONALD BOOZ

Advent affords us the opportunity to look at how God interacts with humankind from ages past to the present day.

DONALD BOOZ

To hear the voice of Isaiah is to proclaim that Advent is more than a time to hear promises about God. Advent becomes a season of attentiveness to the presence of God already among us.

DONALD BOOZ

RESPONSE

Name one specific way in which you are waiting for God.

PRAYER

Startle me out of my complacency, God, this and every day. Amen.

WEDNESDAY

Psalm 80:1–7, 17–19

REFLECTION

The NRSV’s angry is an interpretation of a metaphor; the Hebrew asks how long God will fume against the prayers of the people. Certainly to fume frequently means to be furious, and to show it outwardly. Perhaps our psalmist envisions the prayers of God’s people never quite penetrating through a thick haze of divine indifference to the suffering of God’s people. The psalmist calls for God to shine forth (v. 1), and to let your face shine, that we may be saved (vv. 3, 7, 19). This divine light, a symbol of transcendent power throughout the religions of the ancient Near East, cuts through the smoke, whether of anger or indifference, restoring God’s beneficent interest and unleashing power to save.

PAUL D. BRASSEY

RESPONSE

Do you think that God is indifferent to the suffering of the world? To your suffering?

PRAYER

If I have done something to anger you, bring me to awareness that I might seek your forgiveness. Amen.

THURSDAY

1 Corinthians 1:3–9

REFLECTION

There is a theological conviction at the heart of the apostle’s gratitude: Paul trusts God to complete in the church what God has initiated in the death and resurrection of Jesus.

E. ELIZABETH JOHNSON

Paul’s approach to thanksgiving, however, is carefully chosen. He does not simply celebrate the human efforts of the community. In fact, he does just the opposite. Everything for which Paul gives thanks is a gift of God’s grace in Jesus Christ. His opening word of greeting in this text sets the tone: grace (v. 3).

CHARLES L. CAMPBELL

RESPONSE

What does grace mean to you?

PRAYER

I long to be a person who knows and shows grace. Amen.

FRIDAY

1 Corinthians 1:3–9

REFLECTION

The futurity of resurrection and the reality of death make right ethical relations essential in the church.

E. ELIZABETH JOHNSON

The grace of Jesus Christ encompasses the entirety of the community’s life—past, present and future—not simply as the forgiveness of sins, but as the power for faithful living.

CHARLES L. CAMPBELL

Grace here has radical social implications; it is not simply a word spoken to individuals or a power at work in individuals. Grace creates a new kind of community—one in which the divisions and hierarchies of the world no longer function because the grace of Jesus Christ, not human accomplishment or status, is the source of the community’s life.

CHARLES L. CAMPBELL

RESPONSE

Where have you seen grace in action this week?

PRAYER

O Christ, may your grace and peace truly be with us this Advent season! Amen.

SATURDAY

Mark 13:24–37

REFLECTION

By contrast, of course, those who lived before the birth of Jesus did not know the day or the hour of his arrival, so they needed to live in a continual state of watchfulness. The birth of the Messiah could only be celebrated as a surprise party that could take place on any day, at any moment. By anticipating the return of the Son of Man here, at the beginning of Advent, we wait in the same way those who lived before Jesus was born waited, not knowing the day or the hour when the Messiah would appear. We also join them in hearing—and needing—the same exhortation to be watchful and to keep awake.

MARTIN B. COPENHAVER

Jesus does not intend for us to predict when he will return. Rather, he is urging us to live as if his return were just around the corner.

MARTIN B. COPENHAVER

RESPONSE

If you knew for certain that Christ’s return would happen within the next twenty-four hours, what would you do?

PRAYER

I pray, dear God, to be one who waits for you actively and with great joy! Amen.

SUNDAY

Isaiah 64:1–9

REFLECTION

God hides in order to deconstruct a distorted set of beliefs and practices, thereby opening Israel to receive again (as gift and event) their calling to be God’s people. Hiding is a form of divine judgment that ultimately serves divine mercy, a No that clears the ground for a more profound Yes.

SCOTT BADER-SAYE

This is not a season for passive waiting and watching. It is a season of wailing and weeping, of opening up our lives and our souls with active anticipation and renewed hope. . . . And so we do not lose heart; rather, we live with our hearts broken open so that compassion, caring, and God’s reckless love can find a way into our hearts and the heart of the world.

PATRICIA E. DE JONG

Psalm 80:1–7, 17–19

REFLECTION

God’s energizing radiance brings not only illumination or the assurance of favor, but life itself.

CHARLES M. WOOD

Psalm 80 is an incredible confession, not of sin, but of faith. It confesses the people’s trust in a God who is big enough to hear their hurt, strong enough to handle their anger and pain. It also identifies the congregation as a people who, even in their suffering, have the courage to call on the Lord God of hosts to help them . . . while we may look back, God always looks ahead.

TALITHA ARNOLD

In lamentation the people and their leaders maintain a dialogue with God. That dialogue is always better than giving up on God.

CHARLES L. AARON JR.

1 Corinthians 1:3–9

REFLECTION

Unlike a tangent to a circle, the grace of God in and through Jesus Christ flows not only between God and the Christian community, but also in the Christian community’s daily experience and history.

CARLOS F. CARDOZA-ORLANDI

When we tend to the task of blessing, to first words and last words, a benediction becomes so much more than familiar words intoned by rote. Such a moment is laden with possibility. God’s presence can become palpably present.

MARTIN B. COPENHAVER

Mark 13:24–37

REFLECTION

While the world’s busyness may seem to be pointed toward Christmas, it is seldom pointed toward the coming Christ child. As Advent progresses, the number of shopping days left before the big day offers a countdown that stresses us out and keeps us up late.

LILLIAN DANIEL

We may not be physically asleep; quite the opposite. But in our wakefulness to worldly ways, we fall asleep to the spiritual season, and so we need a wake-up call.

LILLIAN DANIEL

Jesus reminds us now, as he reminded them then, that he will come again. We need not get lost in the details. Better to concentrate on being ready.

JUDY YATES SIKER

RESPONSE

What resolution do you make as this year begins?

PRAYER

May I stay awake to the possibilities of this Advent. Amen.

THE WEEK LEADING UP TO THE

Second Sunday of Advent

Isaiah 40:1–11

He will feed his flock like a shepherd;

he will gather the lambs in his arms. (v. 11)

Psalm 85:1–2, 8–13

Steadfast love and faithfulness will meet;

righteousness and peace will kiss each other. (v. 10)

2 Peter 3:8–15a

The Lord is not slow about his promise, as some think of slowness, but is patient with you, not wanting any to perish, but all to come to repentance. (v. 9)

Mark 1:1–8

"See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you,

who will prepare your way;

the voice of one crying out in the wilderness:

‘Prepare the way of the Lord,

make his paths straight.’" (vv. 2–3)

MONDAY

Isaiah 40:1–11

REFLECTION

On one hand, God will come with might and God’s arm will rule; on the other hand, God will feed this flock like a shepherd. Both are pastoral words to a people whose long exile has found them questioning both God’s power and God’s love.

CYNTHIA A. JARVIS

Though everything else fails, God’s word endures forever, and God comes to lead them home.

KATHLEEN M. O’CONNOR

God wills comfort and consolation to those in the very depths of despair and depends upon human as well as divine agency to bring that message from God’s royal realm.

RICHARD F. WARD

RESPONSE

Are you more inclined to find your consolation from God or from other people?

PRAYER

Let my hope be in your Word, which never fades. Amen.

TUESDAY

Psalm 85:1–2, 8–13

REFLECTION

Both Bethlehem’s manger and Calvary’s cross are signs of salvation for us. But so is the life lived in between, in all the ways Jesus made flesh those words of love, faithfulness, righteousness, and peace. Moreover, for Christians, salvation is not just believing in Jesus Christ, but embodying what he embodied in this world. When steadfast love and faithfulness meet in our lives, when righteousness and peace embrace in our business practices, our family relations, or our nation’s policies, God’s salvation is near at hand. When we work for justice, we make way for God in our world.

TALITHA ARNOLD

Salvation never happens in a vacuum; it is always salvation from something.

CHARLES L. AARON JR.

RESPONSE

From what do you need to be saved?

PRAYER

As I live between the manger and the cross, may the Word made flesh dwell in my spirit. Amen.

WEDNESDAY

Psalm 85:1–2, 8–13

REFLECTION

The shalom that humans desire depends upon their truthful faithfulness to the steadfast love and righteous justice of God. . . . The image of truthful faithfulness springing forth from the earth would indicate that humanity’s obligation toward God demands faithful and righteous stewardship of the earth, as well as truth and justice in all our affairs.

PAUL D. BRASSEY

Similarly, to be true shalom—meaning not just the absence of conflict but the fullness of life—peace needs righteousness (tsedeq). Not the puffed-up morality the word has come to connote, but righteousness in its original meaning, that is, right relations, be they with God, with others, in our families, or among nations. Sometimes we call it justice. But for that righteousness or justice to be more than legalistic fairness, it needs the breadth of vision found in God’s shalom.

TALITHA ARNOLD

RESPONSE

When you practice stewardship of the earth, do you think about how you are bringing God’s shalom into being?

PRAYER

God of justice, fill me to overflowing with your shalom. Amen.

THURSDAY

2 Peter 3:8–15a

REFLECTION

In the meantime, we have to rename the meantime. This is not the time of despair, but the time of waiting (v. 14). This is not the time of our frustration, but of God’s patience (v. 15). This is, thank God, not yet the fire next time. Because this is the time of God’s patience, this is—still—the time of our salvation. . . . What seems to be a long delay in Christ’s return is really God’s gracious way of saying to us, from generation to generation, it is not too late. Wait in penitence and hope.

DAVID L. BARTLETT

RESPONSE

How does the thought of Advent as a time of God’s patience change the way you view this season?

PRAYER

Be patient with me, God, and give me patience as I wait for you. Amen.

FRIDAY

Mark 1:1–8

REFLECTION

By starting with an adult John awaiting an adult Jesus, Mark reminds us that Jesus grew up.

It is an important reminder for such a time, when it is a temptation to linger too long at the manger. A baby can be demanding, but in the case of this baby, the adult he will become is infinitely more so.

MARTIN B. COPENHAVER

Had John not prepared the way, and then admitted it, Advent would be a season not of waiting but of mistakenly believing it has all been accomplished by the latest guru.

LILLIAN DANIEL

RESPONSE

Imagine a conversation between John and Jesus. What do you think they would talk about upon meeting as adults for the first time?

PRAYER

When I tend to linger at the manger, nudge me forward to a deeper understanding of the demands you make upon my life. Amen.

SATURDAY

Mark 1:1–8

REFLECTION

The Holy Spirit is a gift to anticipate even at the beginning of the liturgical year, because it is the culmination of the whole story. In his own life and ministry, Jesus also pointed beyond himself to one who is to come—in this instance, to the Spirit who will follow and be a continuing presence in the world and among the people of God.

MARTIN B. COPENHAVER

Clearly, this is not the birth story of Matthew or Luke. No manger scenes derive from this Gospel. Yet, here in the opening lines of Mark we have a birth story of sorts. On this second Sunday in Advent, it is good to tell of new beginnings, to tell about a God who breaks into our time with good news. In this Advent season he comes. Perhaps not as might be expected; perhaps not in the time frame desired—but he comes.

JUDY YATES SIKER

RESPONSE

Have you ever considered the opening lines of Mark to be the birth story of Jesus?

PRAYER

Thank you for the gift of the Holy Spirit. May the Spirit be born anew in all the world. Amen.

SUNDAY

Isaiah 40:1–11

REFLECTION

God’s mighty arm is not that of an arbitrary tyrant but that of a gentle shepherd who carries her flock in her bosom. Her gentle nurture is indeed mighty, and her might is her gentle nurture. This is no ordinary shepherd.

GEORGE W. STROUP

God’s strength appears in the barely thinkable power of gentleness, in tender and caring presence, in intimacy such as a shepherd expresses when gathering the wounded, scattered flock.

KATHLEEN M. O’CONNOR

In the face of derision and indifference, we are to speak of this God whose fierce compassion and care for humankind trumps the power of the other gods who seem to enjoy sovereignty in human relationships.

RICHARD F. WARD

Psalm 85:1–2, 8–13

REFLECTION

Our joy in God and in creation is a mirroring of the joy and delight of the Father in the Word and the Spirit and in their shared life.

CHARLES M. WOOD

The basis for salvation is blessing, not terror of divine judgment. . . . Salvation is more than deliverance from one’s enemies or release from captivity. It is the presence of God . . . an active presence, one that defines salvation as a dynamic process, not a one-shot I’ve-been-saved experience. Steadfast love and faithfulness don’t just coexist; they meet.

TALITHA ARNOLD

2 Peter 3:8–15a

REFLECTION

There is a reason that God has delayed the final act of the cosmic drama. The reason is to allow time for repentance. What looks like tardiness is really mercy.

DAVID L. BARTLETT

Good news needs to be proclaimed during Advent. It is more than some hindrance or slowdown before the real season begins.

W. C. TURNER

Mark 1:1–8

REFLECTION

As in the past, Jesus may shock us when he comes and shows us who we really are before God.

CHRISTOPHER R. HUTSON

Waiting for the savior is humbling. It forces us to admit that the world does not operate on our schedule.

LILLIAN DANIEL

Repentance and confession entail facing the truth about ourselves and changing the direction of our lives. And who wants to do either of those things? So the good news can often sound like bad news, at least at first. Repentance and confession both require a searching and honest look back. There are no shortcuts.

MARTIN B. COPENHAVER

RESPONSE

Look in the mirror—not to criticize or praise your own reflection; instead, think about how you mirror God’s creative power and love when you are faithful to Christ.

PRAYER

I am sometimes afraid to be your messenger, God. Peel away that fear. Let me proclaim your good news with joy. Amen.

THE WEEK LEADING UP TO THE

Third Sunday of Advent

Isaiah 61:1–4, 8–11

The spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me,

because the LORD has anointed me;

he has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed,

to bind up the brokenhearted,

to proclaim liberty to the captives,

and release to the prisoners. (v. 1)

Psalm 126

May those who sow in tears

reap with shouts of joy.

Those who go out weeping,

bearing the seed for sowing,

shall come home with shouts of joy,

carrying their sheaves. (vv. 5–6)

1 Thessalonians 5:16–24

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. (vv. 16–18)

John 1:6–8, 19–28

"I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness,

‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’"

as the prophet Isaiah said. (v. 23)

MONDAY

Isaiah 61:1–4, 8–11

REFLECTION

So long as Christians live as divided people, known to the world as those who judge, fight, and exclude, the church will fail to be missional, no matter how much money it gives and how many missionaries it sends.

SCOTT BADER-SAYE

Mission is not primarily something that goes out from God’s people—by sending money or sending missionaries—but something that defines God’s people, as existing for the sake of the oppressed, brokenhearted, imprisoned, and mournful.

SCOTT BADER-SAYE

RESPONSE

In what ways has your life aided or diminished the work of the church?

PRAYER

Have I been a hindrance to your work, O God? If so, give me the courage to make the changes I need to make. Amen.

TUESDAY

Psalm 126

REFLECTION

The psalm looks for signs of God’s promise in dark and difficult times. It first finds them in the remembrance of things past, in the joy and the laughter the people knew when God brought them home from exile and even their neighbors acknowledged God’s mighty deeds on their behalf (vv. 1–3).

TALITHA ARNOLD

But Psalm 126 is not an exercise in nostalgia. The remembrance of things past has a present purpose. Recalling God’s deliverance long ago leads directly to the call for God to use that same transforming power now.

TALITHA ARNOLD

The weeping sowers weep, let us suppose, because they are afraid. They are putting the seed into the ground under quite unpromising circumstances, not knowing what to expect. God will turn their tears to laughter, we might then imagine, not because they have been properly penitent or properly diligent (this is not a fable about ants), nor because they have grown spiritually through adversity, but because they are needy creatures and because God is God.

CHARLES M. WOOD

RESPONSE

What past memory brings you joy when you are struggling with dark and difficult times?

PRAYER

May the actions of today become a joyful memory in the future. Amen.

WEDNESDAY

Psalm 126

REFLECTION

The natural power of God to turn seeds into grain would be miracle enough. But Psalm 126 makes an even greater statement. The seeds are not ordinary seeds, but seeds of sorrow. The fruit they bear is not grain or wheat, but shouts of joy.

TALITHA ARNOLD

This is no jingle-bells joy bought with a swipe of a credit card. The seeds of this joy have been planted in sadness and watered with tears. This is the honest joy that often comes only after weeping has tarried the night.

TALITHA ARNOLD

RESPONSE

Where and in what ways have you planted seeds of sorrow? Seeds of joy?

PRAYER

Turn my sorrows into joy; and let me do that for someone else this week. Amen.

THURSDAY

1 Thessalonians 5:16–24

REFLECTION

It is telling that verse 18b, this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you, is without fail applied only to negative and disheartening life events—illness, death, and so on—so that the exhortation in verse 18a, "Give thanks [eucharisteite] in all circumstances, is seen as a challenging demand rather than a gracious invitation. Paul, a masterful rhetorical craftsman, knew exactly what he was doing by beginning, Rejoice always!" Sometimes, believe it or not, the good things in life are God’s will too.

WILLIAM BROSEND

On the one hand, the church is called to live in full expectancy of the Lord’s return. This is what keeps us ready, busy, on the post of duty. The expectation has the world and all to do with the urgency in ministry and mission, or lack thereof. . . . On the other hand, the church must live as if the Lord is depending on it indefinitely. For its ongoing life it must care for matters that are mundane, like seeing to it that the servants receive their care, that the altar is tended to, that property is kept up, that schedules are made and observed. No one fit of piety, emotion, or sincerity takes the place of such vigilance.

W. C. TURNER

RESPONSE

Make a short list of the good things that are happening in your life right now.

PRAYER

I give thanks to you, O God, with my whole heart! Amen.

FRIDAY

1 Thessalonians 5:16–24

REFLECTION

Imagine using Paul’s vision of openness based on the triad of faith, hope, and love to speak to a fearful member of the congregation. Imagine painting a scene of the Christian life balanced like a three-legged stool. First, we might say to those we are called to serve that if we can express thankfulness in all things, then we can say yes to whatever Is, and we can embrace the reality of our lives rather than live in conflict with it. Second, if we can accept the notion that God uses everything, then we can enter into the now. Third, we discover in this process that God makes all things new.

LEE W. BOWMAN

Paul addresses and implicitly raises again for the reader the question of what life lived out in response to the gospel, a life worthy of God (1 Thess. 2:12), looks like. For Paul such life is joyous, prayerful, eucharistic (in the multiple meanings of that word), Spirit-filled, prophetic, and tested. How that looks for each brother and sister will differ. Asking the question is the important thing, and it is a question too rarely asked.

WILLIAM BROSEND

RESPONSE

Is there a word of comfort you need to speak to a family member, neighbor, or friend?

PRAYER

Use me, Lord, use even me, to bring your presence into the now. Amen.

SATURDAY

John 1:6–8, 19–28

REFLECTION

The pastoral temptation of Advent is to turn from attention to our waiting for Christ and to focus instead on our waiting for Christ. Are we sufficiently prepared for the events of the days ahead? Are we sufficiently content to enjoy them? Faithful anticipation can turn quickly into frenzied activity and anxious self-examination. Advent turns from waiting to scurrying. Just when we should be looking forward to the manger, we are looking inward, taking our own spiritual temperature.

DAVID L. BARTLETT

Deep into Advent, this Gospel text does not offer images of a young family on a holy trek to Bethlehem. Readers will see no shepherds and hear no cantatas in the fields. There are no villainous innkeepers and no sage magi in John’s prologue. In fact, there is little in today’s text or the entire prologue that supports a tendency in the church to obscure Advent and romanticize Christmas. On the contrary, John 1:6–8 is a signature Advent text, as it reminds careful readers that the first witness to Jesus arrived on the earthly scene before Jesus did. He arrived not to get everything decorated and everyone ready for Christmas, but to prepare the way of the LORD (Isa. 40:3). He came to bear witness to the coming Light of God, reminding all who would listen that the darkest forces in the world are not finally as powerful as they appear.

GARY W. CHARLES

RESPONSE

What activity could you cut out of your life to ease the stress that often fills this pre-Christmas time?

PRAYER

Christ of Advent, slow me down. Slow me down. Amen.

SUNDAY

Isaiah 61:1–4, 8–11

REFLECTION

If salvation is not another place and time but the reality of this world as it should be (what Christians have come to call the reign of God), then Isaiah asks us to think about how we might participate in ushering in what is, theologically speaking, the real world. Being missional, in light of this passage, means profoundly challenging all forms of cultural Christianity that would make church an end in itself, a community of the saved devoted to maintaining a building, a set of programs, and a fellowship of the like-minded.

SCOTT BADER-SAYE

Psalm 126

REFLECTION

The connection between the two (tears and joy) in this case is simply the steadfast love of God. It is a sense of human vulnerability that is evoked by the image of the sowers’ weeping (and if there is anything behind the hints of ancient rituals of seedtime associated with these verses in some commentaries, it may be just the reality of human vulnerability before the uncertainties and mysteries of our existence); and it is that same vulnerability, that mere need, which is addressed here by the psalmist’s final confident avowal, which might also be taken as God’s promise.

CHARLES M. WOOD

1 Thessalonians 5:16–24

REFLECTION

It is in this sense that we better understand the call for unceasing joy, prayer, and thanksgiving—not as hyperbole or temporal impossibility, but as unrestrained action. We are to rejoice, pray, and give thanks (eucharisteite) (5:18) unreservedly and absolutely, just as the whole of our being, spirit and soul and body, are to be unblemished. The shape of the Christian life is not contoured in measured apportionment—one part work to one part prayer, or some other recipe for spiritual fulfillment—but in unreserved and all-consuming self-giving.

WILLIAM BROSEND

John 1:6–8, 19–28

REFLECTION

Like John we are to witness to the light of Christ as a voice in the wilderness of twenty-first-century consumerism. As voices in the wilderness, we must make a countercultural claim that dislocates the consumption of things, even when we offer these things as Christmas gifts. . . . As we testify to the light, we also embody that light as believers who reveal the life of Christ anew in the world this Advent season. To embody the light and reveal the life of Christ anew means that we are to live so as to nurture our humanity—especially the capacity to love our enemies—and to act humanely, offering compassionate and restorative justice.

MARCIA Y. RIGGS

The separation between evangelical and mainline or old-line Christians is entirely artificial. All of us are Christians because we have been evangelized—have heard and believed the gospel. All of us are under orders to bear witness to others.

DAVID L. BARTLETT

RESPONSE

What would you say if asked to describe who Jesus is not?

PRAYER

Lead me not into the temptation to trivialize the incredible good news of your birth into the world, O Christ. Amen.

THE WEEK LEADING UP TO THE

Fourth Sunday of Advent

2 Samuel 7:1–11, 16

Your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me; your throne shall be established forever. (v. 16)

Luke 1:47–55

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. (vv. 46b–48a)

Romans 16:25–27

To the only wise God, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever! Amen. (v. 27)

Luke 1:26–38

Then Mary said, Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word. (v. 38)

MONDAY

2 Samuel 7:1–11, 16

REFLECTION

When we speak of an uncontained God from well-contained places, an electing God from seats of power, a graceful God from positions of plenty—we don’t miss the point of the gospel that inheres in these things so much as we miss some of its power.

MARK DOUGLAS

It may be easy for Christians, worshiping on this Sunday, to see how the promise of a house for David and a kingdom that will be forever has been fulfilled in a surprising way by the gift of God in Christ. Far more challenging—and perhaps of more benefit to those as familiar with the Christmas story as were David and Nathan with the story of Israel—would be to wonder where today God is moving ahead of us and acting in ways that will catch us by surprise.

EUGENE C. BAY

RESPONSE

How has God caught you by surprise?

PRAYER

Light of the world, find a home within me, but even more, let me find a home within you. Amen.

TUESDAY

Luke 1:47–55

REFLECTION

The content of the new work of God is not given in lofty theological images but as the ethic of a changed world order. In concrete and specific terms, Mary sings in the language of revolution (a turning around) to record her understanding of the great reversals that have unfolded, albeit, we must add, in a hidden way.

ANDREW PURVES

Through her song of justice, Mary calls us to be change agents for a better world for all.

TRISHA LYONS SENTERFITT

We need one another’s affirmation, just as Mary needed Elizabeth’s, to live into God’s plan for the world.

TRISHA LYONS SENTERFITT

RESPONSE

What gift do you offer to help those who are oppressed?

PRAYER

Make me an instrument of change in some small way; and grant me the courage to think in grander terms. Amen.

WEDNESDAY

Luke 1:47–55

REFLECTION

All of us, men and women, are included in Mary’s and Elizabeth’s times of expectancy, calling us together in partnership with God in God’s plan for this world. This song addresses all the ways we set ourselves apart from one another, which is the excuse we need to set us over and against one another. We are all uniquely made in the image of God, meaning that we are to see God in one another and are called to say yes to justice for all.

TRISHA LYONS SENTERFITT

One has to explore whether liberation of one group has to be predicated on the oppression of another group. Would not a theology of relinquishment, where those who benefit from the oppression relinquish the privileges that come from sinful social orders, serve better as a model?

RANDALL C. BAILEY

RESPONSE

What excuses do you use to keep from risking your own security for the sake of someone else?

PRAYER

Dispel my tendency to hide from the need of the world. Amen.

THURSDAY

Romans 16:25–27

REFLECTION

The wonder of Christmas includes the humbling recognition that God came to humanity (and continues to come) in weakness as a vulnerable child. Nothing is more amazing than the gift of unmerited grace. Therefore, whatever gifts are brought to the manger in thankful obedience, whatever sacrifices are made for the Lord, whatever praise is uttered, no human responses to God can compare to the gift of God’s grace that redeems human beings, adopts us into God’s family, reconciles us to God and one another, and atones for our sin, enabling and empowering us to faithful obedience.

DONALD W. MUSSER

God continues to be astonishingly inclusive; and we have learned to read and reread our Bible in light of the evidence of God’s Spirit breaking out in the lives we assumed were not qualified. God’s goal is unchanging: that all should join in the obedience of faith, that all should experience a being-redeemed way of life.

SALLY A. BROWN

RESPONSE

If you had to sum up your expression of gratitude for the wonder of the incarnation in one word, what would that word be?

PRAYER

I am shocked beyond words with the thought of your magnificent love. Amen.

FRIDAY

Romans 16:25–27

REFLECTION

It is important not to confuse joy and happiness. The New Testament says a great deal about joy and very little about happiness. The root of the word happiness is hap, which means chance (as in happenstance). Happiness is a mood, an emotion that changes as circumstances around us change. It is like a thermometer that goes up and down as it interprets the events around us, making us vulnerable to happiness one minute and despair the next. Joy, on the other hand, sets the temperature of our environment, rather than responding to it.

CATHY F. YOUNG

Glory is an attribute of God (Rom. 3:7, 23; 9:23) and virtually the power or force by which God accomplishes God’s aims, including the raising of Jesus from the dead (6:4).

SUSAN R. GARRETT

RESPONSE

How do you define the difference between joy and happiness?

PRAYER

I praise you with a happy and joyful heart! Amen.

SATURDAY

Luke 1:26–38

REFLECTION

The best discussions of Mary’s response recognize the pitfalls inherent in rendering Mary either a passive participant, who has no choice but to submit to God’s will, or an autonomous individual, who can choose differently than to bear God to the world. The doctrine of Christian vocation offers clarity. Mary’s obedience is neither optional nor forced. Mary acts freely when she offers herself as a servant of the Lord. To embrace her identity as the Mother of God is the only choice that is true to her calling, because it is consistent with who she actually is.

CYNTHIA L. RIGBY

The selection of Mary to be the mother of Jesus is an occasion to spur Christians to exit the realm of predictability and open themselves up to the unexpected and the unimaginable.

ASHLEY COOK CLEERE

RESPONSE

Are there certain characteristics of Mary that you most admire?

PRAYER

Turn the tables of my expectations upside down, and let me be an active participant in your grace. Amen.

SUNDAY

2 Samuel 7:1–11, 16

REFLECTION

Where in the world, where in our life as a congregation, where in one’s personal life, may God be wanting to do something that is being blocked by human aspirations and agendas, however seemingly noble? How receptive are we to the God who will not be confined or enshrined but retains and cherishes the freedom to surprise us—as in the coming of Christ down the back stairs of Bethlehem, to be born of Mary, grow up in the hick town of Nazareth, spend his time with the least, the lowly, and the lost, and, most surprising of all, become obedient to the point of death—even death on a cross? Could that same God be leading the church in new and unthought-of directions?

EUGENE C.BAY

We may not be kings, but we too are tempted to make our plans without God, even on a holiday that celebrates God taking flesh. We need the history lesson as much as David. We too need to be reminded where God found us and what we would be without God’s grace. We too need to be reminded that God saved more than just us, but is reconciling the world to God’s self.

BETH LANEEL TANNER

Luke 1:47–55

REFLECTION

For years Mary has been portrayed as submissive because of her yes to God at the annunciation. Today it is time to recognize that this prophetic woman also says no to all that negates God’s purposes in human history. First, Mary celebrates the greatness of God, and then she proclaims God’s liberating compassion for the poor. Mary sings the joy that she is feeling and sings blessing for the oppressed, whether that oppression comes from being underprivileged or overprivileged.

TRISHA LYONS SENTERFITT

Romans 16:25–27

REFLECTION

Advent is a season of