Advent Devotional 11-29-21

Luke 1: 26-38

The Birth of Jesus Foretold

²⁶ In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, ²⁷ to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. ²⁸ And he came to her and said, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.”^[a] 29 But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. ³⁰ The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. ³¹ And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. ³² He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. ³³ He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” ³⁴ Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?”^[b] 35 The angel said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born^[c] will be holy; he will be called Son of God. ³⁶ And now, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month for her who was said to be barren. ³⁷ For nothing will be impossible with God.” ³⁸ Then Mary said, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.” Then the angel departed from her.

Each Advent season, we are reminded of four pillars in the Christian tradition: Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love. These values are interwoven throughout our daily lives. Yet, we notice an intensifying presence as we await the birth of Jesus the Christ. Morning routines are made more cheerful as Christmas music plays in the background and the stores in our neighborhood beam with festive holiday lights. Maybe our classrooms and offices are filled with delicious (and free!) homemade sweets.

Why are we filled with such during this season? Perhaps the chilly air and toasty fireplaces are enough to promote one feeling generally content. Still, something tells me this overwhelming cheerfulness is not derived from a peppermint mocha and a nice pair of slippers. Perhaps this feeling–much like the child-like wonderment of bolting down the hall on Christmas morning to see if Santa “really” ate the cookies the family left out–is a feeling of anticipation.

The anticipation of Advent is what brings excitement into the air and hope into our hearts. As we eagerly await celebrating the birth of the Christ child, we anticipate a new reality as promised by God. I like to think that God’s intention for this new reality is a world where all people fully experience the anticipation of Advent and all of its hope. This means people can anxiously await the look on their child’s face when opening a long-expected gift on Christmas morning instead of anxiously opening the eviction notice placed on their front door. I believe God’s intended world is one where the local food banks are not overfilled with volunteers on Christmas morning, because all people are eating in the comfort of their own home and in the presence of their families. God’s intended world includes hope for all people.

Let us pray.

As we experience hope in this season of Advent, may we ask God to help us remain aware of those whose anticipations are fearful. May we seek to provide these beloved people with hope instead of fear, so God’s desired world may be closer to fruition. May we do this in anticipation of the Christ’s birth and God’s prevailing love. Amen.