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Morning Devotion for the Season of Advent
December 23, 2022
The Invitatory
The glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son: and to the Holy Ghost;
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be: world without end. Amen.
Reading: Luke 1:57-66
Now the time came for Elizabeth to give birth, and she bore a son. Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown his great mercy to her, and they rejoiced with her.
On the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they were going to name him Zechariah after his father. But his mother said, ‘No; he is to be called John.’ They said to her, ‘None of your relatives has this name.’ Then they began motioning to his father to find out what name he wanted to give him. He asked for a writing-tablet and wrote, ‘His name is John.’ And all of them were amazed. Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue freed, and he began to speak, praising God. Fear came over all their neighbors, and all these things were talked about throughout the entire hill country of Judea. All who heard them pondered them and said, ‘What then will this child become?’ For, indeed, the hand of the Lord was with him.
Meditation: Jo Ann B. Jones
There are times in our lives, when problems seem overwhelming and it is difficult to see a way forward, when it seems as though all hope for the future has reached a dead end. (At such times, in an attempt to bargain with God, I have asked God, not for a burning bush, but a postcard showing me the way forward.) In our encounters with God there We are encountered by a God for whom there are no dead ends—detours, perhaps—but not dead ends. We are encountered by a God who always works for good, even when we mess things up, a God who specializes in making a way in the wilderness, opening up a future when none seems possible.
Often we don’t understand God’s ways or God’s timing. Often we are filled with doubt and tempted to despair. Yet our story of faith reminds us that God always proves faithful in the end, turning despair to hope, doubt to faith, sorrow to laughter and rejoicing. God proves faithful by working in unexpected ways and through unlikely candidates, even such unlikely candidates as you and me. God works against all odds—despite our weaknesses, despite our doubts, despite our resistance, to create faith in us and to accomplish God’s purposes.
From the outset, the biblical story is one of God choosing unlikely people and unexpected ways to accomplish God’s purposes. Both Abraham and Sarah laughed when they first heard the promise that they would have a son. Similarly, Zechariah and Elizabeth are rather unlikely candidates to play a crucial role in the fulfillment of God’s promises. They, too, are old and childless, and Elizabeth is thought to be barren. Gabriel appears to Zechariah to announce that Elizabeth will conceive and bear a son, to be named John, who will bring them joy and gladness. He will be filled with the Holy Spirit and set apart for a special purpose—to prepare the way of the Lord, and to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.
Zechariah is skeptical when he hears the promise of a son to be born. His questioning results in Zechariah being rendered mute until the time when these things will be fulfilled—perhaps not exactly the sign that Zechariah was hoping for! It is not until his son is born, circumcised, and named that Zechariah is able to speak again. In his long silence, Zechariah has had plenty of time to ponder Gabriel’s words. And when he does finally speak again, the first words out of his mouth are words of praise, the words known as Zechariah’s song.: “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has looked favorably upon his people and redeemed them”
Zechariah recognizes that in the birth of his son John, God has looked with favor not only upon him and Elizabeth, but upon the whole people of Israel, to fulfill the promises made long ago to their ancestors.
In this Advent season, we look for God to come once again in the unlikely form of an infant born in a stable, through an unlikely mother and a birth against all odds. And against all odds, we look for God to bring forth new life in the barren places in our lives, our community, and our world.
The Lord's Prayer
Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy Name,
thy kingdom come,
thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those
who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
and the power, and the glory,
for ever and ever. Amen.
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