Advent 1
Devotional
Water From the Rock
Lectionary Devotional for Cycle C
Object:
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.
-- Jeremiah 33:14
Advent begins not only with promise but also with the very real question, made even more urgent with the passing of time, as to whether God will be faithful to the promises of scripture. Jeremiah stood at the point of destruction of his nation of Judah, long after the destruction of Israel in the north, and was bold enough to proclaim that God was faithful and would fulfill God's promises. What type of faith does it take to "see beyond touch and sight some sign of the kingdom"? This was not some vague promise beyond the reaches of time but a concrete promise that would be fulfilled here on earth. "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." As Christians we have focused on the "Branch" and applied it to Jesus, but we still await the execution of justice and righteousness in the land.
Jeremiah was quite definite in what he believed the promises of God to be. It would be hard in our own time to say, "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.' " Our hope rests with our expectation of Christ coming again to complete the reign of God. Therefore, in Advent, we are not just looking back and remembering the birth of a baby 2,000 years ago. Rather, we are looking forward, and, in the face of all the evidence to the contrary, like Jeremiah, we are proclaiming hope for the world. Advent confronts us with the weakness of our trust in God to fulfill the promises of scripture. Far too often we have slipped into cynicism and do not really expect anything new to happen. It takes courage to fully celebrate Advent and to look forward and say, "The days are surely coming...."
-- Jeremiah 33:14
Advent begins not only with promise but also with the very real question, made even more urgent with the passing of time, as to whether God will be faithful to the promises of scripture. Jeremiah stood at the point of destruction of his nation of Judah, long after the destruction of Israel in the north, and was bold enough to proclaim that God was faithful and would fulfill God's promises. What type of faith does it take to "see beyond touch and sight some sign of the kingdom"? This was not some vague promise beyond the reaches of time but a concrete promise that would be fulfilled here on earth. "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." As Christians we have focused on the "Branch" and applied it to Jesus, but we still await the execution of justice and righteousness in the land.
Jeremiah was quite definite in what he believed the promises of God to be. It would be hard in our own time to say, "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.' " Our hope rests with our expectation of Christ coming again to complete the reign of God. Therefore, in Advent, we are not just looking back and remembering the birth of a baby 2,000 years ago. Rather, we are looking forward, and, in the face of all the evidence to the contrary, like Jeremiah, we are proclaiming hope for the world. Advent confronts us with the weakness of our trust in God to fulfill the promises of scripture. Far too often we have slipped into cynicism and do not really expect anything new to happen. It takes courage to fully celebrate Advent and to look forward and say, "The days are surely coming...."
