Advent 1
Devotional
Streams of Living Water
Lectionary Devotional for Cycle B
Object:
Isaiah 64:1-9
Yet, O Lord, thou art our Father; we are the clay, thou art our potter, we are the work of thy hand.
-- Isaiah 64:8 (RSV)
Advent holds together that tension between a faith that believes God is present to us and a world that raises questions about the absence of God. For many people, faith is based on what others say about the presence of God, and one's personal experience seems more abstract. The faith stories of God's visit on Mount Sinai, when the mountain quaked in God's presence (v. 3), seems to be but a memory for the people in Isaiah's time. They yearn for what seems like a clear sign of God's voice to again be heard among the people. The assumption for many believers is that God's absence in their lives is a sign of their own lack of faith (v. 7). While not diminishing the reality of our own sinfulness, Isaiah boldly reminds God that we are what God has made us to be. "We are all the work of your hands." Our faith lies not in our faithfulness but in God's faithfulness. Advent doesn't speak of the coming of God as a response to our goodness. Advent dares to hope that God will remember that we are all God's people. Advent dares to rest its hope on the goodness of God that can transform our lives and redeem us from our darkness. If God is the potter and we are the clay, then God can shape and reshape us until God's love is pleased with the result.
Psalm 80:1-2, 8-13
Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, you who lead Joseph like a flock! You who are enthroned upon the cherubim, shine forth.
-- Psalm 80:1
Psalm 80 is a community lament that ends in waiting for God's response. It begins with a plea using the image of God as a shepherd and Israel as a flock (v. 1). While it clearly comes after Israel has fallen as a nation (v. 12), it uses the early names of the tribes of Benjamin, who was Rachel's last son, and Ephraim and Manasseh who were the sons of Rachel's first son, Joseph (v. 2). In despair as a nation, they cry out to God for help (vv. 2-4). They remind God of Israel's suffering (v. 5) and how they have become a mockery to surrounding nations (v. 6). The psalmist rehearses God's involvement with this people using the image of a vine. God brought them out of Egypt (v. 8) and planted them in a new land (v. 9). There the expansion of the nation under David is described (vv. 10-11) and then the breakup (v. 12) and defeat as a nation (v. 13). It is on the basis of that memory of relationship that the psalmist lays claim to God's saving power (vv. 14-16). Verse 17 could well be seen as a prayer for a Messiah or a prayer that they, collectively, might be restored as a witness to what God intended for humanity. If restored, they vow to again be faithful (v. 18). The final plea is for restoration (v. 19), and then there is only waiting. In the face of despair, it is the memory of God's faithfulness that sustains us while we await God's response.
1 Corinthians 1:3-9
I give thanks ... because of the grace of God that has been given you in Christ Jesus.
-- 1 Corinthians 1:4
The church at Corinth was hardly a paragon of virtue, as Paul makes clear in this letter. There was immorality, selfishness, greed, fighting, and so forth. Yet Paul gives thanks for the grace of God in their lives. How do we discern grace in a community filled with the normal human foibles? Paul says that the people of Corinth are not lacking in any spiritual gift needed for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ. Do we discern God's grace as we recognize surprising signs of the presence of Christ among us? Are those signs discerned because we have first seen them manifested in Jesus' living and now discover them breaking out in our community? It is because we are tempted to greed that a communal decision of generosity touches our soul. It is because we are prone to bickering that an experience of the healing power of love among us is so powerful. When someone offends us in the church, we are given the opportunity to reveal Christ through our forgiveness. Advent is a time of watchfulness for the small signs of God's grace peeking through the ordinary lives of people whom God has gathered together in worship.
Mark 13:24-37
But in those days, after that suffering ... Then they will see the son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory.
-- Mark 13:24, 26
Advent is a time of expectation in the midst of a troubled world. It reveals itself in the tension between the suffering caused by evil in this world and our belief that God is working for good. It is in the "dark night of the soul," when it appears that evil has triumphed and we cry out, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" and we experience light in the midst of our darkness that reveals the triumph of God. It is when we have felt overwhelmed by forces beyond our control and recognize that our only hope is God that we recognize the power of God in our lives. Advent becomes a rehearsal of such faith so that we can cling to God in the dark times. We recall the many ways that God has walked with people in their distress and saved them from disaster so that as we experience disaster, we don't lose hope. Advent is a time of expectation, a time when we can realistically hope for the birth of saving grace in our lives.
Yet, O Lord, thou art our Father; we are the clay, thou art our potter, we are the work of thy hand.
-- Isaiah 64:8 (RSV)
Advent holds together that tension between a faith that believes God is present to us and a world that raises questions about the absence of God. For many people, faith is based on what others say about the presence of God, and one's personal experience seems more abstract. The faith stories of God's visit on Mount Sinai, when the mountain quaked in God's presence (v. 3), seems to be but a memory for the people in Isaiah's time. They yearn for what seems like a clear sign of God's voice to again be heard among the people. The assumption for many believers is that God's absence in their lives is a sign of their own lack of faith (v. 7). While not diminishing the reality of our own sinfulness, Isaiah boldly reminds God that we are what God has made us to be. "We are all the work of your hands." Our faith lies not in our faithfulness but in God's faithfulness. Advent doesn't speak of the coming of God as a response to our goodness. Advent dares to hope that God will remember that we are all God's people. Advent dares to rest its hope on the goodness of God that can transform our lives and redeem us from our darkness. If God is the potter and we are the clay, then God can shape and reshape us until God's love is pleased with the result.
Psalm 80:1-2, 8-13
Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, you who lead Joseph like a flock! You who are enthroned upon the cherubim, shine forth.
-- Psalm 80:1
Psalm 80 is a community lament that ends in waiting for God's response. It begins with a plea using the image of God as a shepherd and Israel as a flock (v. 1). While it clearly comes after Israel has fallen as a nation (v. 12), it uses the early names of the tribes of Benjamin, who was Rachel's last son, and Ephraim and Manasseh who were the sons of Rachel's first son, Joseph (v. 2). In despair as a nation, they cry out to God for help (vv. 2-4). They remind God of Israel's suffering (v. 5) and how they have become a mockery to surrounding nations (v. 6). The psalmist rehearses God's involvement with this people using the image of a vine. God brought them out of Egypt (v. 8) and planted them in a new land (v. 9). There the expansion of the nation under David is described (vv. 10-11) and then the breakup (v. 12) and defeat as a nation (v. 13). It is on the basis of that memory of relationship that the psalmist lays claim to God's saving power (vv. 14-16). Verse 17 could well be seen as a prayer for a Messiah or a prayer that they, collectively, might be restored as a witness to what God intended for humanity. If restored, they vow to again be faithful (v. 18). The final plea is for restoration (v. 19), and then there is only waiting. In the face of despair, it is the memory of God's faithfulness that sustains us while we await God's response.
1 Corinthians 1:3-9
I give thanks ... because of the grace of God that has been given you in Christ Jesus.
-- 1 Corinthians 1:4
The church at Corinth was hardly a paragon of virtue, as Paul makes clear in this letter. There was immorality, selfishness, greed, fighting, and so forth. Yet Paul gives thanks for the grace of God in their lives. How do we discern grace in a community filled with the normal human foibles? Paul says that the people of Corinth are not lacking in any spiritual gift needed for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ. Do we discern God's grace as we recognize surprising signs of the presence of Christ among us? Are those signs discerned because we have first seen them manifested in Jesus' living and now discover them breaking out in our community? It is because we are tempted to greed that a communal decision of generosity touches our soul. It is because we are prone to bickering that an experience of the healing power of love among us is so powerful. When someone offends us in the church, we are given the opportunity to reveal Christ through our forgiveness. Advent is a time of watchfulness for the small signs of God's grace peeking through the ordinary lives of people whom God has gathered together in worship.
Mark 13:24-37
But in those days, after that suffering ... Then they will see the son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory.
-- Mark 13:24, 26
Advent is a time of expectation in the midst of a troubled world. It reveals itself in the tension between the suffering caused by evil in this world and our belief that God is working for good. It is in the "dark night of the soul," when it appears that evil has triumphed and we cry out, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" and we experience light in the midst of our darkness that reveals the triumph of God. It is when we have felt overwhelmed by forces beyond our control and recognize that our only hope is God that we recognize the power of God in our lives. Advent becomes a rehearsal of such faith so that we can cling to God in the dark times. We recall the many ways that God has walked with people in their distress and saved them from disaster so that as we experience disaster, we don't lose hope. Advent is a time of expectation, a time when we can realistically hope for the birth of saving grace in our lives.
