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Morning Devotion for the Season of Advent
December 11, 2024
Reading: Isaiah 40:25-31
To whom then will you compare me,
or who is my equal? says the Holy One.
Lift up your eyes on high and see:
Who created these?
He who brings out their host and numbers them,
calling them all by name;
because he is great in strength,
mighty in power,
not one is missing.
Why do you say, O Jacob,
and speak, O Israel,
‘My way is hidden from the Lord,
and my right is disregarded by my God’?
Have you not known? Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He does not faint or grow weary;
his understanding is unsearchable.
He gives power to the faint,
and strengthens the powerless.
Even youths will faint and be weary,
and the young will fall exhausted;
but those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength,
they shall mount up with wings like eagles,
they shall run and not be weary,
they shall walk and not faint
Meditation: Jo Ann B. Jones
In a shocking move last week, South Korea’s president declared martial law in the Asian democracy for the first time in nearly 50 years. Yoon Suk Yeol's drastic decision mentioned "anti-state forces" and the threat from North Korea. It soon became clear that it had not been spurred by external threats but by his own desperate political troubles. It prompted thousands of people to gather at parliament in protest, while opposition lawmakers rushed there to push through an emergency vote to remove the measure. Yoon emerged a few hours later to accept the parliament's vote and lift the martial law order. He now faces impeachment.
Similarly, in France, the Prime Minister resigned after receiving a Vote of No Confidence after only three months in the position. This also threatened the position of President Emmanuel Macron, who at this point says he will not resign. At the same time he will preside at the opening of the Cathedral of Notre-Dame, that was consumed by fire on Maundy Thursday in 2019.
These world events are destabilizing and one can imagine what the Israelites experienced after the defeat of their nation by Babylonia and their subsequent exile. Into these very bleak past and now present circumstances, read these passionate and uplifting words from Isaiah that speak directly into the transience of human power, set in vivid contrast with the enduring nature of God. In both instances, despite the power of the words, one can also imagine, and even now experience, the difficulty to process and accept this good news.
Isaiah’s words are powerful and bracing. God hears the cries of his people and empowers them in all circumstances— in exhaustion, in oppression, and in other moments of greatest need. God’s response is meant to encourage a strong sense of hopeful waiting. This is equally important for us today, and, in fact, always. Advent is a season that calls upon us to be cognizant of our own state of hopeful waiting. Placed in the larger context of Christianity, we find ourselves in a long season of waiting, between Christ’s resurrection and the promised gift of eternal life. During our time we must grapple with the realities of a deeply tragic world that is ravaged by human sin. At the same time, we hold onto promises that God will one day make this world right, joyful, and just. This points to a deep and fundamental tension that is at the heart of Christianity: that God is faithful and good must be asserted in the face of a daily onslaught of contradictory evidence. For God’s goodness is only hidden for a time. God’s action of returning the Israelites—at least those who desired to go—to Jerusalem is understood as an act of creation. The same power used to make the heavens and the earth will be exercised on behalf of the people to form them into a new creation. That the Creator does not faint or grow weary suggests that there is more to come. God has not finished with Israel or God’s people yet.
For us today, moving forward with joy into a newly created future that one cannot yet imagine may require strength beyond what humans may have cultivated for themselves. This passage is strengthening for people struggling to imagine what their own future holds. The promise of God’s continual creative work, with its mysterious yet life-giving power, continues to be a word of hope for God’s tired and weary people.
Collect for the Second Sunday of Advent
Merciful God, who didst send thy messengers the prophets to preach repentance and prepare the way for our salvation: Give us grace to heed their warnings and forsake our sins, that we may greet with hoy the coming of Jesus Christ our Redeemer; who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one god, now and forever. Amen.
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