December 25 Rev. Allie Utley, PhD

Pondering

Luke 2:(1-7), 8-20

So they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph and the child lying in

the manger. Luke 2:16

Can you imagine giving birth in an outdoor stall? And then, as you begin to re-

cover, a group of shepherds show up and tell you that an angel told them that

your baby is the Son of God and Messiah?

You aren’t surprised by the announcement. The angel has come to you as

well. But every time someone says it out loud—you are the mother of the Holy

One—it feels shocking and overwhelming.

Can you imagine mothering this child? An all-powerful, all-knowing deity, now

fully dependent on you for shelter, nourishment, care?

This is the mystery of Advent: God comes as a vulnerable baby. The Son of

God is also the son of Mary. Then and now, God entrusts the work of love to

human hands. God needs us—our arms to cradle, our voices to sing, our lives

to bring grace and mercy to a weary world.

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December 24 Rev. Allie Utley, PhD

You Are Family

Titus 3:4-7

This Spirit he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so

that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs according to

the hope of eternal life. Titus 3:6-7

We are a people born of water and the Spirit. In our baptism we are claimed

by God and grafted into a family of faith. One of my favorite songs for worship

is Mark Miller’s “Child of God.”

In the last verse, he writes, “No matter what the world says… you are a child,

you are a child of God… There is nothing and no one that can separate you

from the truth that you’re someone—you are family; you are meant to be a

child of God.”

Baptism is historically associated with the seasons of Lent/Easter/Pentecost

rather than Advent/Christmas/Epiphany. But I love that the daily lectionary

includes this passage about being heirs of God, being part of the family of

God, because in Advent, we do think a lot about genealogies and generations.

I think the inclusion of this passage invites us to think about the communities

that hold us—our chosen families.

How might we draw closer to one another in this season of waiting? What

relationships need tending, mending, or nurturing? How does belonging to

God’s family help us prepare to receive Christ’s love? And how might this fam-

ily work toward the fulfillment of God’s kin-dom of love and justice?

In this season and the next, may your belonging be deep, your connections

tender, and your waiting full of love.

That’s a Christmas celebration comprising proclamation of God’s jus-

tice-working actions and a celebration of what God is doing.

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December 23 Rev. Allie Utley, PhD

Who am I?

2 Samuel 7:18, 23-29

Then King David went in and sat before the Lord and said, “Who am I, O

Lord God, and what is my house, that you have brought me thus far?”

2 Samuel 7:18

This chapter of 2 Samuel opens with King David pondering how to best play

host to God: “Here I am, living in a house of cedar, while the ark of God re-

mains in a tent.” David plans to build a house for the Lord. If you know your

Bible well, you will not be surprised that God isn’t interested in a permanent

dwelling place.

God declares to David, You will not build me a house; I will build you one. God

promises to establish David’s family line, to make his name great, and to plant

his people in a home of their own.

David’s response is a performance of humanity: “Who am I, O Lord God, that

you have brought me this far?” He might have been wondering: Who am I to

be held by your promises? Who am I to bear a legacy of faith? Who am I to be

given a place in your unfolding story?

As we approach Christmas, many of us are thinking about homes and houses

too. Where will we gather? For whom will we make space? What traditions will

we tend? Making plans for Christmas brings up questions of place and identi-

ty.

I recently spoke with a group of young adults trying to navigate the pressure

of holiday expectations: how to honor family traditions while creating their

own rhythms, how to choose where to dwell and whom to prioritize.

Perhaps David’s story invites us to hold our own questions about home lightly.

God reminds David—and us—that the truest “house” is the one God is build-

ing: a household of promise, presence, and peace that transcends cedar walls

and travel plans.

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December 22 Rev. Allie Utley, PhD

The Turning

Luke 1:46b-55

…indeed, his mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation.

Luke 1:50

There is a group of researchers at Samford Center for Worship and the Arts

studying the experiences of young people in worship. According to their web-

site, “the purpose of the Young People and Christian Worship (YPCW) study

is to listen deeply to how young people, including teenagers and emerging

adults (aged 13–29), experience public Christian worship in a range of liturgi-

cal contexts—Roman Catholic, mainline Protestant, evangelical, and charis-

matic.”

In a recent survey, they found that one of the favorite songs among young

people in the Roman Catholic and Mennonite traditions is Canticle of the

Turning, a hymn text based on the song of Mary*.

It inspires me that young people connect with Mary’s vision of a God who

subverts the world order. From generation to generation, God casts down the

proud and powerful and shows preferential love to the marginalized. From

generation to generation, God promises that the tyrants of this world will fail

and fall.

But even if we trust in this promise, we can struggle to see beyond the evils of

our day. We might remember that Mary sings about the mighty work of God

while she is still pregnant. She embodies expectancy and hope. Advent is a

season of tension for us as well: God’s love is breaking in, and still, we wait for

its fullness.

Where might you catch a glimpse of that turning today? And as you wait, how

might you live as though God’s love is already reshaping the world?

________________________________

*Emily Snider, “Young People and Christian Worship: Seeing the Liturgical Assembly through

the Eyes of Teenagers and Emerging Adults” (Societas Liturgical, Paris, July 30, 2025).

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December 21 Rev. Allie Utley, PhD

The Origins of Love Incarnate

John 1:1-18

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word

was God.” John 1:1

The poetic first verse of the Gospel is something of an origin story. We often

read this passage on or around Christmas as we celebrate the birth of Jesus:

God taking the form of a baby. Christ comes to us, fragile, small, dependent.

But the writer of John reminds us that Jesus’ life doesn’t begin at Christmas;

it reaches all the way back to the beginning of the cosmos. His very being is

eternally woven together in the very being of God our creator.

In advent, we wait for the coming of the Son of God through whom the love of

God was, is, and will be revealed. That doesn’t mean the Hebrew people didn’t

know God’s love, or that Jesus is the only way God makes love known. But

one reason I claim Christianity as my faith is that I am moved by this mystery:

that God would become human, that God would take on vulnerability, tempta-

tion, even suffering.

In Christ’s coming, God draws close not only to reveal love, but to know our

lives fully. There is no part of you, no part of me, that is hidden from that

knowing love. This knowing can make us feel loved, but it can also make us

feel vulnerable and exposed.

Advent is a season of anticipation and preparation. What might it look like to

open ourselves to that love and to allow ourselves to be truly known?

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December 20 Rev. Jenny Wynn

Between Memory and Hope

Psalm 126

Then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with shouts of joy.

Psalm 126:2a

Rituals are an important part of our faith. They provide structure and meaning

in our lives while helping to manage anxiety and stress. When we feel disori-

ented, rituals can help reorient us to what matters most.

Rituals connect us to our faith story. They remind us of who we are, where

we have been, and where we are going. Most importantly, rituals remind us of

God’s presence in our lives and that we belong to God.

Psalm 126 reflects a period after exile. Joy erupts in the Psalm as the com-

munity looks back on their deliverance. The psalm goes beyond an exercise

in longing for “the good old days.” It remembers the joy of the past, but it also

orients the readers toward anticipating joy. It engages both rituals of celebra-

tion and lament, using them to point to an ever-present God who meets us in

our sorrow and our joy.

How can you engage in the rituals embodied in this psalm by acknowledging

the pain while also celebrating what has been lived?

You might consider lighting a candle and naming a loss that you have expe-

rienced this year, then name a hope for the coming year. As you engage in

these rituals, remember that you are not alone.

Remember the promise of the psalmist: “Those who go out weeping, bear-

ing the seed for sowing, shall come home with shouts of joy, carrying their

sheaves (v. 6).”

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December 19 Rev. Jenny Wynn

Joy Breaks Through

Isaiah 52:7-9

Break forth; shout together for joy, you ruins of Jerusalem, for the Lord has

comforted his people; he has redeemed Jerusalem… Isaiah 52:9

Advent draws us into a liminal space, a threshold between what is and what is

yet to come. Advent invites us to voice our longings along with our bold decla-

rations that our broken and fragmented world can be made whole.

Advent draws our attention to those who have existed and continue to exist in

difficult and painful liminal spaces. It is into such places that the prophet Isa-

iah spoke. The prophet knew the deep pain that the Judeans in exile voiced

when they cried, “The Lord has forsaken me, my Lord has forgotten me” (Isa-

iah 49:14).

Yet into this despair, God speaks words of hope, words brimming with joy. Isa-

iah responds to their fears with profound assurance that God was still moving,

still working toward renewal. “Break forth; shout together for joy, you ruins of

Jerusalem, for the Lord has comforted his people; he has redeemed Jerusa-

lem (v. 9).”

This is Advent’s promise: our whispered prayers in uncertainty are not the end

of the story. We are not alone, God still has need of us, not as passive waiters,

but as joyful, active participants working for the peace we long to see through

acts of compassion, justice, and love.

Where might God be calling you to participate in bringing wholeness to bro-

ken places this Advent?

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December 18 Rev. Jenny Wynn

More than Crumbs

Matthew 15:21-28

She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their

masters’ table.” Matthew 15: 27

Mary Oliver wrote in her poem “Don’t Hesitate,” “Joy is not meant to be a

crumb.” This wisdom echoes Matthew 15:21–28, where a Canaanite woman

seeks mercy for herself and her daughter, who is tormented by a demon. She

cries out loudly to Jesus. Her cries are met by Jesus’ silence. Annoyed the

disciples urge him to send her away for being too loud.

Jesus finally speaks, saying, “I was sent only for the lost sheep of the house

of Israel.” Undeterred, she kneels and pleads. His reply is harsh and cuts

deep, “It is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.”

Nevertheless, she persisted. This outsider refused silencing, even by Jesus.

With an expansive vision of God’s household, she fought for her and her

daughter’s place in it. Her bold reply, “Even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall

from their masters’ table.” opened his eyes. He praised her faith. Her daughter

was healed. This woman helps Jesus to see how wide God’s welcome ex-

tends.

In Advent, this brave woman teaches us. Standing between what was and

what could be, she joined the endless chorus crying out to Emmanuel. She

clung to a crumb of hope, believing her world and her daughter’s world could

change.

Her voice joins countless others still crying for a different way, namely the way

of justice. She reminds us never to settle for crumbs. God’s welcome, mercy,

and joy were never meant to be mere crumbs for anyone.

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December 17 Rev. Jenny Wynn

Tending Toward Justice

John 15:1-11

I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you and that your joy

may be complete. John 15:11

As a child, I was heartbroken watching my dad remove flowers and tomatoes

on brand new plants before planting. I couldn’t understand why he would do

this to the plant. Eventually, I learned about pinching, deadheading, and prun-

ing. Each requires removing parts of plants at specific growth stages. This

allows for redirection of energy for fuller growth and better tasting fruits. I

learned careful tending leads to deep joy at harvest time.

John 15:1-12 uses the metaphor of a gardener and a vine to illustrate an abid-

ing relationship with God and Christ that is rooted in love. This relationship

produces fruitful discipleship. When the vine branches stop producing fruit,

they need some pruning to redirect energy toward what truly matters, love.

In Advent, as we long for a fruitful future free from violence, scarcity, and

death-dealing systems, we must ask: what needs pruning in our lives and

communities? Perhaps our tendency to judge rather than love, our impulse to

hoard resources instead of sharing with those in need, or our silence when

facing injustice?

Pruning may be difficult, but when harvest comes, when everyone has enough,

communities are healed and restored, joy is made complete. Just as my fa-

ther’s careful removal of early fruit led to abundant tomatoes, spiritual pruning

redirects our energy toward love and justice, and toward cultivating the world

that we seek.

Take time to notice moments when you’re tempted to judge, hoard, or stay si-

lent. In those moments, ask: “How can I redirect this energy toward love?” Let

these redirections be your pruning practice.

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December 16 Rev. Jenny Wynn

A New Heart

Ezekiel 36:1-37

A new heart I will give you, and a new spirit I will put within you; and I will

remove from your body the heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.

Ezekiel 36:26

It may be cliché, but when I read Ezekiel’s words, I can’t help but think of the

Grinch. The Grinch is a curmudgeonly character whose heart is famously “two

sizes too small.” He hated everything about Christmas, so he plotted to steal

Christmas.

When the Grinch realizes that Christmas couldn’t be stolen because Christ-

mas was more than food, presents, and decorations, his heart begins to grow.

What strikes me the most is when Cindy Lou Who invites this former enemy to

join their Christmas feast. In that moment, the Grinch must become vulnerable

and release the protective barriers he had built around his wounded heart.

The Grinch had allowed hatred, distrust, and fear to isolate and harden him.

Sound familiar? We live in times when it’s easy to be consumed by fear and

distrust. Our hearts can become numb to it all.

This is where Ezekiel’s ancient promise becomes deeply personal. Speaking

to God’s people in exile, the prophet envisions complete heart transformation.

God promises to remove hearts of stone and replace them with hearts of

flesh: hearts that beat for justice, hearts dedicated to God’s dream for cre-

ation, hearts renewed in covenantal relationship with God.

This Advent, we are invited to examine our own hearts. Like the exiles in Eze-

kiel’s time and like the Grinch in his mountain cave, we too can experience

revival of our hearts. God can soften what has hardened, heal what has been

wounded, and give us a vision of Shalom to work toward.

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December 15 Rev. Jenny Wynn

Joy in Hard Times

Philippians 4:4-7

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Philippians 4:4

During seminary I attended a women’s retreat. The organizers invited us to

pick a rock inscribed with a word. When I drew my rock, I was not pleased: my

word was happy. I quietly traded it in, only to find my new word was cheerful.

No better. Weeks later, in my Theological Reflection Group, our leader gave

everyone a rock with a word. I looked down. Mine read: joy. Really?

Why would the words happy, cheerful, and joy bother anyone?

Many people struggle to hold on to joy during Advent. It’s hard to rejoice in

a consumer culture that insists the perfect holiday can be bought when you

struggle from day to day to make ends meet. It’s hard to hold onto joy when

headlines are filled with violence and war.

In the confines of a prison, Paul offers insight on holding onto joy despite what

is going on in the world around us. Paul writes to the church in Philippi: “Re-

joice in the Lord always” (v. 4). How could Paul rejoice in prison?

Paul refused to give his captors power over his joy. His joy was not rooted in

circumstance or external factors, but in faith and a living, ongoing relationship

with God and with the faith community. Paul’s joy was a joy that endured and

sustained even in the hardest seasons.

How can a joy, grounded in faith, sustain you in this season?

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December 14 Rev. Jenny Wynn

Going Out in Joy

Isaiah 55:1-13

For you shall go out in joy and be led back in peace; the mountains and the

hills before you shall burst into song, and all the trees of the field shall clap

their hands. Isaiah 55:12

As I write this devotional on joy, news is breaking of another school shooting.

Two children died during Mass. How can I write about joy when I’m filled with

sadness and anger over senseless violence?

Isaiah’s words stare back at me: “For you shall go out in joy and be led back in

peace; the mountains and the hills before you shall burst into song, and all the

trees of the field shall clap their hands” (Isaiah 55:12).

Where is this joy? This peace? How do we go out in joy when nowhere seems

safe, not even places where children worship?

Isaiah’s prophetic words offered comfort to the exiles, who had been waiting

and praying for something more, giving them perspective beyond the tyranny

and violence of their world. The prophet envisioned a different kind of empire,

a place of Shalom.

In Advent, we follow the same rhythm: we wait and long for peace. Isaiah 55

reminds us that our task is to come, listen, see, and seek God. We must break

from the death-dealing ways of the empire and engage prophetic imagination

that seeks to transform our current world.

Our waiting isn’t passive complacency but active engagement. We’re called

to work toward transformation. We go out in joy not because our world is per-

fect, but in anticipation of what it can become with God’s help.

Even amid tragedy, we hold onto hope. Our joy comes from trusting that God’s

kingdom of peace is both promised and possible.

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December 13 Rev. Mike Miller

The Peace of Advent

2 Thessalonians 3:1-17

Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times in all ways.

The Lord be with all of you. 2 Thessalonians 3:16

In the midst of Advent, when the world is often rushing toward Christmas with

full-speed anticipation, this prayer in 2 Thessalonians 3:16 brings a gentle re-

minder that peace is not something we find by striving or planning, but some-

thing that God gifts to us, in every season and at all times.

This blessing over the Thessalonians is a prayer for divine peace to flood

their hearts, not just in moments of quiet, but in every circumstance, whether

in moments of joy or in trials. And as we await the coming of Christ, we, too,

are invited to experience this peace. The Lord of peace is with us, and offers

peace that isn’t dependent on external circumstances.

Advent is a time of longing for the peace that Jesus brings into a broken

world. The Prince of Peace came not as a distant figure, but as Emmanuel,

God with us. His presence offers a peace that goes beyond mere tranquility.

It’s a peace that holds us steady in uncertainty, calms our hearts in worry, and

reassures us in fear.

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December 12 Rev. Mike Miller

Advent Rest

Psalm 4

In peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone, Lord, make me dwell

in safety. Psalm 4:8 (NIV)

It seems as if true peace is rare since our world is filled with constant noise,

pressure, uncertainty, and hatred. It can be hard to feel peace as we move

through our days because we tend to pick up what others are sending out

into the world, whether it be positivity or negativity.

Often, it is in the darkness in our bedrooms that we begin to process the day.

It is in the silence of the night when we realize what we have been carrying

with us throughout the day. We can hyperfocus on all of the pressures and

problems that we feel and have encountered. And for many of us, this leads to

a feeling opposite that of peace.

But this psalm reminds me that God’s peace is not found when problems are

absent but God’s peace is found when we rest in the presence of God. And in

those moments when we rest with God, we are granted a glimpse of a life that

is full of God’s peace.

Advent invites us to reclaim that peace, the kind of peace that allows us to

rest, not because everything is perfectly calm, but because we know God is

in control. During Advent when we are busy with preparations for the season,

we too often forget to rest in the presence of God.

This Advent, may we find stillness in our hearts, even when the world around

us is loud and frantic. We can rest in the peace that God brings.

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December 11 Rev. Mike Miller

Peace and Hope

Matthew 6:25-34

Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns,

and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than

they? Matthew 6:26

In Matthew 6:25–34, Jesus invites us into a radical kind of trust that confronts

our deepest anxieties about daily life. He tells us not to worry about what we

will eat, drink, or wear. At first glance, that may feel unrealistic. After all, these

are basic needs. But Jesus isn’t dismissing our concerns; He’s reorienting

them.

He points us to nature, to the birds of the air and the flowers of the field. They

don’t stress or strive, yet God cares for them. Jesus reminds us that we are

worth far more and if God provides for lesser things with such beauty and

consistency, how much more will God provide for us? Jesus is teaching us to

redirect our focus away from the stresses of life to a more peaceful way of

living. And when we do this, perhaps our daily needs will fall into their proper

place.

But it is not always easy to redirect our focus when life seems beyond our

control. It is not easy to live in a state of peace when there are people legis-

lating what we can and cannot do with our bodies, or who we are, or whom

we love. It is hard to live in peace when we see families being torn apart by a

callous and racist government.

But perhaps in these times, the peace Jesus brings is found in the hope that

Jesus brings. That hope is that one day our world will better reflect how Jesus

sees each one of us. That hope is that one day our world will reflect how Je-

sus cares for every one of us.

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December 10 Rev. Mike Miller

The Call of Peace

Romans 12:17-21

If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, love peaceably with all.

Romans 12:18

This passage from Romans 12 has been one of my personal favorite scrip-

tures along my faith journey. And it reminds me that if our journey as Chris-

tians and Christ followers is easy, I don’t believe we are doing it right.

Paul’s words here are challenging. “Do not repay anyone evil for evil... live at

peace with everyone.” These aren’t passive instructions; they are active calls

to peacemaking. Our call to be Christians is not a call to passivity: it is a call to

action. This kind of peace that we are called to create with God isn’t just the

absence of conflict, but it is the intentional presence of grace, forgiveness,

and humility.

As we reflect on the Peace of God this Advent, we’re reminded that Jesus

came not only to bring peace to us but also to make peace through us. Jesus

was not born into a serene, peaceful world, but into one filled with injustice,

fear, and political tension.

Still, Jesus chose peace and continues to call us to do the same. Our world is

still so full of injustice, fear, and political polarization. Our call as Christians is

to continue to create spaces of peace for all of God’s beloved: which is all of

us.

Advent is a season of expectation, wonder, and preparation — not only for

the birth of Christ but for the transformation Jesus’ coming brings. In a world

marked by division, resentment, and conflict, Romans 12 calls us to something

radically different: the way of peace.

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December 9 Rev. Mike Miller

Peace in the Preparations

John 14:1-31

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the

world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be

afraid. John 14:27

As Jesus prepared His disciples for His departure, He spoke these words in

John 14:27. He knew fear and uncertainty would soon overwhelm them. And

yet, in the midst of impending chaos, Jesus left them with peace. This peace

wasn’t the absence of conflict but the presence of calm in the storm. It is a

settled assurance rooted in trust.

Advent invites us to prepare ourselves to receive that same peace. While the

world around us may pulse with anxiety, and distractions, or self-imposed

pressure to create the “perfect” Christmas Eve service, or to keep the peace

between warring family members as the mediator, Jesus reminds us that

there is peace.

This peace doesn’t depend on circumstances. It’s not earned through effort

or found in a quiet room or when we do everything “right.” But it is a peace of

presence. It is the peace that reminds us that no matter what is going on in

the world and in our lives that we can look to Jesus and find peace.

As we wait in expectation for the coming of the Christ Child, may we also re-

ceive this gift of peace with open hearts. May we be reminded that this gift of

peace is not here just for a moment, but is here for every season, every strug-

gle, and every heart.

In the quiet of Advent, we pause to remember the promise of peace, not

the fragile, fleeting kind the world offers, but the deep, enduring peace that

comes from above.

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December 8 Rev. Mike Miller

When Mountains Crumble in Advent

Isaiah 54:1-17

For the mountains may depart and the hills be removed, but my steadfast

love shall not depart from you and my covenant of peace shall not be re-

moved, says the Lord, who has compassion on you. Isaiah 54:10

Advent is a time when we are to prepare our hearts to celebrate the coming

of the Christ child. But sometimes in the middle of the busyness of our prepa-

rations for Christmas services and celebrations, the uncertainty we see in

the world, and even sorrow that can surface during this season, Isaiah 54:10

offers a grounding truth: God’s love is unshakable and no matter how busy or

uncertain or sorrowful we are, God’s love will always surround us.

Mountains and hills are some of the most stable features in nature and can

represent the unshakable parts in our lives. Yet even if they were to crumble,

God assures us that this divine love will not. Unfortunately we know that the

seemingly unshakable parts of life can be easily disrupted. Relationships may

fail, health may falter, finances can collapse, but in all of these moments, God

speaks a profound truth: God’s love for each of us remains unshaken.

Isaiah 54:10 is a powerful promise for those who feel as though their world is

falling apart, especially during the holiday season. When we feel like our life is

in a season of chaos or grief, this verse becomes an anchor. It shifts our focus

from what is shaking around us to the one who remains steady. It reminds us

that even in the storm, we are not abandoned. God’s compassion is near, per-

sonal, and unrelenting.

So whether we find ourselves on a mountaintop of joy or in a valley of difficul-

ty this Advent, hear God’s words: “My love for you will not be shaken.” Let this

promise steady you. Let it soften your hurried soul and remind you that God’s

love and peace is always near. Let it draw you into the quiet awe of the sea-

son.

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December 7 Rev. Mike Miller

Peace in the Valley

Ezekiel 37:1-14

I will put my spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you on your

own soil; then you shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken and will act, says

the Lord. Ezekiel 37:14

Advent is a season of waiting. It is a time to prepare ourselves for peace and

new life coming into a very weary world. Ezekiel 37:1–14 gives us a vivid image

that speaks powerfully to this theme of new life.

Addressing the despondent and displaced exiles in Babylon, Ezekiel speaks

of a valley of bones that are not only dead, but long past the point of life. This

imagery reflects how many people can feel during the holiday season. Cut off,

forgotten, spiritually lifeless. But Advent reminds us that God does not aban-

don God’s people in valleys alone. Instead, God sits with them in the valleys

and promises restoration and new life.

In this scripture text, God commands Ezekiel to prophesy, and as he does, the

bones come together, flesh forms, and breath enters. What once was dead

stands alive again. This breath-Spirit of God is the same Spirit that hovered

over the waters at creation, the same Spirit that filled Mary’s womb, and the

same Spirit that brought and continues to bring new life into our midst.

During Advent, we sit in the tension between the brokenness of the world and

the promises of peace, hope, joy, and love. Ezekiel 37 reminds us that God

brings life where there is death, hope where there is despair, joy where there

is sadness, and love where there is hatred.

Our Advent journey reminds us that just as Jesus once came to a weary

world, Jesus comes again and again into our lives to make everything new.

As we wait, we do not wait in fear. We wait in hope—trusting that the God who

breathes life into dry bones is still at work, even in our valleys.

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December 6 F. Douglas Powe Jr., PhD

Hope is about Trust

Daniel 3:19-30

Nebuchadnezzar said, “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach and

Abednego, who has sent his angel and delivered his servants who trusted in

him. They disobeyed the king’s command and yielded up their bodies rather

than serve and worship any god except their own God.” Daniel 3:28

Have you ever felt like you were in a dire situation? I am not sure it gets more

dire than being thrown in a furnace so hot that even those doing the throwing

die from the heat. I know when I have been in dire situations the tendency is

to feel sorry for myself or to try and figure out how I ended up in this situation.

Rarely do I trust that all will be well given the situation I find myself in at the

time. Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego trust that no matter what happens,

all will be well for them.

The three of them are not letting the situation define who they are or their

outlook on life. They trust that they have been faithful to God and are not wor-

ried about the outcome of being in the furnace. In this instance God sends a

protector to be with them so that the flames do them no harm.

I am not suggesting that when we personally face a dire situation that God will

provide a solution in the way he did for Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. I

am suggesting that we should learn from them that hope is connected to our

ability to trust that the future will work out. If we do not have trust in God, it is

hard to have hope that something transformative can happen. Trust is needed.

Many of us face dire situations at some point in life. The question is, “Will we

be able to trust that God will be with us during our trial? Can we maintain

hope for transformation even when the furnace is hot?” When we have this

kind of hope it means that we are not stuck defining our lives by the world’s

standards. Our hope is built on things not seen.

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December 5 F. Douglas Powe Jr., PhD

Hope is for Everyone

Luke 1: 26-28

And he came to her and said, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.”

Luke 1:28

Many of you have probably heard or read this text several times. The angel

appears to Mary and greets her as “highly favored.” This is a strange greet-

ing given by the standards of her day since she would not fall into a category

of one typically considered favored. If you keep reading, even Mary wonders

what kind of greeting Gabriel brings.

I think that Gabriel’s choice of words is not an accident. The greeting indi-

cates being highly favored by God is not about status or economic means. It

is a greeting that lets us know God sees everyone. God saw Mary who, by the

world’s standards, did not fit how most would define someone highly favored.

If God sees Mary, then God sees us. Our hopes for the future are not wishful

thinking because God sees us. We must be cautious not to think that because

God sees us, our lives will be only wonderful. Just ask Mary!

The news that Gabriel shares later in the chapter about giving birth to Jesus

probably did not feel like she was highly favored. It likely felt like the very op-

posite, but she realizes she who is the most unexpected of all has a place in

God’s plan for the people.

I believe it is no accident that God chooses Mary. For me, it is indication that

hope is not just for those who have status and means, but for everyone.

Those who are trying to oppress others will often try to takeaway or diminish

hope. This text reminds us that we should remain hopeful because God does

see us. God highly favors those whom the world marginalizes or tries to make

invisible.

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December 4 F. Douglas Powe Jr., PhD

Hope is about Good News

Isaiah 40:9-11

Get you up to a high mountain, O Zion, herald of good news; lift up your

voice with strength, O Jerusalem, herald of good news; lift it up, do not

fear… Isaiah 40:9

I believe it is human nature to want to hear good news. If every day the only

thing we heard was bad news or how awful things are it would grate on us

quickly. We need to hear and experience good news so that we can have

hope for the future.

This text in Isaiah begins with the sharing of good news for Zion and Jerusa-

lem in exile under Babylonian rule. The news is so good that those who bring

it are implored to “shout it” and make sure everyone hears something wonder-

ful is happening and is going to happen.

Here is what I love about this text, it reads, “you who bring good news.” It

does not yet say what the good news is. Twice it emphasizes “you who bring

good news.” This means we are called to participate in creating hope for the

future. We must share the good news that is happening so that others can

hear it and have hope. In fact, we should be shouting the good news to make

sure everyone hears it.

Of course, if we literally shout it, people will ignore us, but the point remains

not to keep the good news quiet. I believe we are often reticent to share good

news because it can feel like bragging. The key is that the good news is not

about us, but about the way God cares for all of us. All of us!

We do indeed need to hear good news. We also need to be the purveyors of

good news. We need to give hope to others that God truly does take care of

us all. This is a message that is not shared enough in our world. This text re-

minds us that we are the ones who are called to share it.

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December 3 F. Douglas Powe Jr., PhD

Hope is about Evidence

Luke 21:29-31

Look at the fig tree and all the trees; as soon as they sprout leaves you can

see for yourselves and know that summer is already near. Luke 21:29-30

Most of us have watched some version of a crime or court drama to know

that so much hinges on evidence. What is the evidence you have that my cli-

ent was at the scene of the crime? We are focused on the evidence because

it provides something tangible for us to hang our hats on when we have ques-

tions.

Another way to put it, we believe evidence can give us a degree of certainty

that without it does not exist. In this text, Jesus uses the fig tree as an exam-

ple of something tangible we can hang our hats on as evidence.

The evidence of summer coming is that the fig tree is sprouting leaves. When

the leaves start sprouting it is a sign that summer is around the corner. We

may not say it out loud, but we are often looking for evidence for the things

in which we hope. We want a tangible sign like the sprouting leaves to let us

know that it is around the corner.

Here is the thing, around the corner does not mean immediate. Jesus is

talking about the sprouting fig leaves being evidence for the reign of God be-

ing near. While it is true that the reign of God is present now, it has not been

fully realized. The evidence indicates God’s reign is among us yet it may not

be fully realized for a while.

Evidence is helpful in giving us something tangible to hold on to as we wait.

We should not mistake evidence as a sign of something happening immedi-

ately. We should take it as a sign that even as a fig tree sprouts leaves, it will

take a while for full leafing.

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December 2 F. Douglas Powe Jr., PhD

Hope is about Keeping Promises

Jeremiah 33:14-16

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

We all at one time or another have experienced someone promising us some-

thing and we cling to the hope that one day the promise will be fulfilled. In this

Jeremiah text, it begins with God saying, “the days are coming when I will ful-

fill my promise.”

For those who have been clinging to the hope of the promise being fulfilled

this is a welcome relief. God is going to deliver the people from exile in Baby-

lon, restore the Davidic king, and re-establish Jerusalem.

As you continue reading the text notice the details provided for how the

promise will be fulfilled. God will bring forth a sprout from David’s line that will

be good news to both Israel and Judah.

Sometimes when we are clinging to hope that a promise will be fulfilled, we

need the type of details provided in this text. Simply repeating the promise no

longer bolsters our hope. We need something more concrete to keep us mov-

ing forward so that our hope will come to fruition.

During this time of Advent consider what promises you have been making to

others. If you intend to keep these promises (hopefully you do), then what are

the details you can share so that those seeking fulfillment of the promise do

not lose hope? Keeping promises goes a long way to helping all of us to main-

tain hopeful expectations.

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December 1 F. Douglas Powe Jr., PhD

Hope is a New Reality

Isaiah 2:1-5

He shall judge between the nations, and shall arbitrate for many peoples;

they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning-

hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn

war any more. Isaiah 2:4

Can you imagine a world where there are no wars? It does seem unimag-

inable, especially since there is always a conflict happening someplace in the

world.

In this text we read about the hope of one day the very weapons we use to do

harm to one another become instruments of provision for one another. Our

swords will till the ground, and our spears will help us to catch fish.

At first glance this seems unrealistic given what we have experienced

throughout our lives. What catches my attention is in verse three when it talks

about God teaching us God’s ways. This new reality is not something that we

can achieve ourselves but requires learning.

It involves learning, for example, a new way of being with one another that

does not move toward violence. The good news is we already have a model

for what this looks like from Jesus. The truth is it is even challenging for us as

Christians to follow Jesus’ model.

Advent is a time when we should anticipate a new reality. This reality moves

us closer toward God’s intent for instruments of destruction to become instru-

ments of provision. Our hope for this new reality as Christians should move us

to action now. We should model Jesus’ behavior as individuals and communi-

ties of faith. One day we truly will say, “we no longer are training for war.”

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November 30 F. Douglas Powe Jr., PhD

Hope is Predicated on Truth

John 18:36-37

Jesus answered, “You say that I am a King. For this I was born and for this I

came into the world to testify to the truth.” John 18:37b

Jesus shares with Pilate that he was “born and came into the world… to testi-

fy to the truth.” As Christians our hope during advent is in anticipating Jesus’

reign that looks nothing like what this world has seen. Jesus’ word choice

about testifying to the truth should give us all pause.

Do we see our own missions like Jesus’ of testifying to the truth? Not the con-

venient answers being promoted by various interests around us, but the truth.

Testifying to the truth seems more challenging today because what I may see

as the obvious truth to someone else is perceived as a political agenda. This

text reminds us that hope is not a made-up belief, but is in fact predicated on

the hard work of testifying to the truth.

This requires consistently seeking the truth even when we may not like what

we learn. It means testifying to the truth which will put us at odds with others

who prefer the truth to stay hidden.

This advent season, as we anticipate the arrival of Jesus, our hope should

be predicated on testifying to the truth as Jesus did when facing Pilate. In a

world where we easily dismiss the truth or want to manipulate the truth, testi-

fying to the truth of our hope in Jesus’ reign being different from anything this

world has ever seen or experienced is a part of our calling as Christians.

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We have hope in the unchanging, sacrificial love of God, love of each other,our congregations, and the love that fosters equality and justice in the world through the birth and life of Jesus. We hope that as you encounter these devotions you are inspired to deepen your faith and renew your hope.

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Luke 2:8-20

Angels and shepherds occupy center stage on this Christmas day. They provide interpretations of and model responses to Jesus’ birth.

The stage is not the emperor’s palace nor the Jerusalem temple. It is a “nothing-place,” fields “in the region” of Bethlehem (2:8). Shepherds were of low social status. They had no social prestige or power. They were suspected of being dishonest in letting flocks graze in fields belonging to other people.

An angel preaches the first Christmas sermon that announces good news of a savior born in David’s city, Christ/Messiah the Lord (2:9-11). The language of “good news” and “savior” was used for emperors and their actions. But in the midst of the empire, in David’s city, another “savior” is born. Jesus is “anointed” to carry on David’s agenda to transform the unjust status quo.

A host of angels praises God, and announces divine favor and peace (2:14). The Roman empire declared it brought peace through conquest. Angels pronounce a different peace comprising just societal structures and access to resources.

The shepherds respond by becoming godly disciples. They discern a word from God (2:15). They go to Bethlehem. Like missionaries, they bear witness to what the angels have told them (2:17-18). They praise God and celebrate the word about Jesus (2:20).

That’s a Christmas celebration comprising proclamation of God’s justice-working actions and a celebration of what God is doing.

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Luke 2:1-8

We often celebrate Jesus’ birth in very individualistic and spiritual terms. Jesus has come to forgive my sins or be my friend or help me when things get tough. 

Interestingly, these are not the emphases of these verses. Here the focus is on visions of a different world.

Jesus’ birth occurs in the context of an imperially exploitative act (2:1-3). Emperor Augustus orders a worldwide census. This counting of residents asserts power and political control to secure a world that benefits only elites at the expense of the rest. Emperors counted people in order to tax them. That was a means of transferring wealth and resources to elite control.

The reference to the census encapsulates the unjust Roman imperial world into which Jesus is born. Joseph and Mary are subjected to and cooperate with the Emperor Augustus’ decree.

While the census asserts the emperor’s control over people’s lives, something subversive happens in the midst. The divine purposes send Joseph and Mary to Bethlehem, David’s city (2:4-6). Recall the angel’s words of 1:32-33 that Jesus will inherit David’s forever reign in the midst of Rome’s rule. According to Psalm 72, that reign is about justice for all, especially for the poor and needy. It resists oppressors, protects against those who use violence, and ensures peace and food security for all (Psalm 72).

That’s the gift of Christmas. It offers a vision of a different world, a transformed world of just living for all. The vision also functions as a summons to work for such a world.

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Luke 1:39-56

What is God doing in the world, if anything? Has God given up on us? Does our human sinfulness thwart God’s power and purposes (Rom 3:1-3)? Being committed to the ways of Jesus can be perplexing. Mary is perplexed, yet reassured, by the angel to embrace the divine purposes. She identifies herself as God’s “slave” and aligns with God’s word (1:38).

The scene with Elizabeth also foregrounds the divine word (1:39-45). The angel’s declarations have come into being. Elizabeth is pregnant just as Gabriel had declared to Zechariah (1:8-25). Mary is also pregnant, though Luke’s narrative does not elaborate how this has happened (1:42).  

Elizabeth adds her witness to Mary as mother and faithful believer in “what was spoken to her by the Lord” (1:42, 45). God’s word is presented as efficacious, powerful, and trustworthy. 

These events show God at work in the world, actively accomplishing the divine purposes. Luke’s Gospel begins by addressing Theophilus. The opening prologue assures him that the Gospel account provides security or certainty that God is faithfully carrying out God’s purposes in the midst of the destructive power structures of the Roman empire.  

Mary responds with praise (1:46-56). The hymn stops the story’s forward movement to reflect on what has happened. Verses 47-50 celebrate God’s favor or mercy to Mary, even though the divine word has landed her in a difficult societal location. 

Verses 51-55 broaden the focus to God’s actions among people. God is constructed as delivering the powerless from the exploitative powerful, and providing for the hungry and needy.

These actions express God’s faithfulness to the word spoken to Abraham to “bless all the nations of the earth” (1:55; Gen 12:3).If we are to “keep Christmas with you all through the year” as a song puts it, we are to live out this commitment to good life for all. We do so—according to these opening chapters of Luke’s Gospel—with the assurance that God is working for these ends and that we are to live as partners with God in this task.

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Luke 1:26-45; 2:9-11

It’s Christmas week. Conception leads to birth. Angels are prominent.

Several contrasts mark the angel’s announcement to Mary about her pregnancy and the angel’s announcement to the shepherds about Jesus’ birth. While an angel and shepherds greet Jesus’ birth with joy (2:10), that emotion is missing from the conception story. Mary is perplexed not joyful (1:29, 34), submissive not celebratory, meditative not exuberant (1:38). 

An unplanned pregnancy for an unmarried young woman in a culture where virginity was expected until marriage hardly merits joy. It does not seem like divine favor (1:28, 30). Mary rightly protests in naming the obvious obstacle (1:34). At Jesus’ birth, the angel identifies him as “Savior, who is Christ/Messiah, the Lord” (2:11). Talk of a Messiah is missing from the angel’s conception announcement. This absence is not surprising since expectations for a Messiah were neither universal nor univocal among first-century Jewish folks.

Rather, in announcing Mary’s pregnancy, the angel locates Jesus in relation to God (son or agent) and to David (1:33-34). The angel declares that God has anointed or commissioned Jesus to be the agent of God’s purposes. Jesus is presented as another figure entrusted with the tasks that God has committed to David. These tasks include ensuring justice for all, especially for the poor and needy. He is to destroy oppressors, protect against the violent, and ensure peace and food security (Psalm 72). Mary will elaborate these tasks in her Magnificat (1:46-56). 

As followers of Jesus committed to living the ways of Jesus, we inherit these tasks. In our frequently broken world, damaged by exploitation, hostility, division, inequal access to resources, and selfishness (to name just a few of our challenges), we inherit these roles. And there is no shortage of opportunities for us to work for the world of justice and good life for all.

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Psalm 16:9-11

Therefore my heart is glad, and my soul rejoices; my body also rests secure. For you do not give me up to Sheol, or let your faithful one see the Pit. You show me the path of life. In your presence there is fullness of joy; in your right hand are pleasures forevermore. (Psalm 16:9-11 NRSV)

Many of us can probably attest to the pits and pitfalls in life that have tried to swallow us alive. Some pits were natural indents in the road, some were dug for us, and others we unknowingly, dug for ourselves.

No matter what walk of life we come from, we have had to overcome something that made us who we are and brought us to our present place. For sure, those living and trying to survive in a world that is not always friendly to women, children, people of color, queer siblings, poor, and others on the margins have never been easy.

But I love the words of the prophet and poet Lucille Clifton who proclaimed, “come celebrate with me that everyday something has tried to kill me and has failed.” 

Although we’ve all had challenges in life and encountered things that threatened to kill us, we survived. Despite the schemes, structures, and interlocking systems designed for our downfall, God has been present with us through it all and kept us from falling prey to the traps set before us.

As the Psalmist says, “Therefore, my heart is glad, and my soul rejoices; my body also rests secure.” This Advent, celebrate with jubilant joy and endless gratitude that you are still here. All that tried to kill you has failed. So, live today. 

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Romans 12:15

Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. (Romans 12:15 NRSV)

Expressing joy has never been a problem for me. I like to dance. I love to laugh. I enjoy spending time with family and friends. If you invite me to the party, I can celebrate with the best of them. But crying is another story.

As a child, I would cry at the drop of a hat. Whether mad or sad, upset or confused, I wasn’t afraid to express my emotions because I saw my family freely express theirs. But over time, as I grew into adulthood, I began to suppress my feelings of anger, frustration, and disappointment for fear that I wouldn’t be able to control it. I was afraid that if I started crying, I may never stop.

Even now when asked to walk with people as they experience intense loss, endure excruciating pain, and suffer horrific tragedies, at times I’m tempted to retreat because I’m not sure if I can handle the unknown, the questions, the pain. But then I’m reminded of this verse that shows us that there is no prescription for these moments.

There is no patch or magic potion that will fit every situation. I remember that I don’t have to have all the answers. We are just called to be with those who rejoice and those who weep—to be with them as God came and still comes to be with us. This verse reminds us that we are to be with them in whatever season they’re in and gently remind them that it’s OK to be human.

It’s OK to experience the full range of emotions—that we’re with them as they sit with the hurt, the anger, the questions, and even the silence. We’re better together in the good times and the bad. Joy comes with knowing you have a community to do life with, and you’re not in it alone.

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Zephaniah 3:17-18a

The LORD, your God, is in your midst, a warrior who gives victory; he will rejoice over you with gladness, he will renew you in his love; he will exult over you with loud singing as on a day of festival. (Zephaniah 3:17-18a NRSV)

Have you ever watched people dance? I love watching a good half time show, line dance at a wedding, or dance routine at a concert. It doesn’t matter if it’s ballet, swing, hip hop, salsa, or tap dancing, I’m intrigued by it all. But lately I’ve been mesmerized with watching my son and his friends dance.

These children have found the secret to the good life and longevity. They know how to play and have fun. They know how to float and glide, slip and slide. They know about soaring and dipping, shaking and flipping. They know how to levitate, prance on air, and be whisked away to another world without a care or concern in the world. I’ve never seen a child (or anyone) dancing that looks like they would rather be somewhere else. Instead, they appear light, playful, and free. They appear joyful. 

This verse brings tears to my eyes every time I encounter it. To envision a God that’s not angry or vengeful, judgmental or resentful, but a God whose endless expression of love is so lavish and abundant that it erupts in exuberant dancing. Zephaniah gives us a glimpse of a God who celebrates their love for Israel through joyful singing, dancing, and rejoicing. God was back in their midst, defeated their enemies, and returned to reclaim beloved Zion not in judgment but with joy.

Can you imagine God waltzing and foxtrotting over us with gladness? Can you envision God prancing and frolicking like raindrops on fresh cut grass? Can you visualize God delighting in us so much that they twist and twirl like children parading around the playground? This Advent season let us reclaim and recover this God who enjoys being in our midst and dances with joy. 

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Psalm 30:5

For his anger is but for a moment; his favor is for a lifetime. Weeping may linger for the night, but joy comes with the morning. (Psalm 30:5 NRSV)

As a child growing up in the Baptist church, I heard this scripture quoted all the time. It was a familiar refrain that rang out in times of trouble, hardship, and uncertainty. But it didn’t make sense to me.

Historically, African Americans and Africans in the diaspora have had to endure many painful atrocities and suffered through agonizing adversities, yet we continue to put our hope and trust in a God whom we believe will eventually deliver us. Sunday after Sunday, I’d hear the lyrics of Amazing Grace: “Through many dangers, toils, and snares, I have already come. ‘Tis grace hath brought me safe thus far, and grace will lead me home.” But I couldn’t understand: Why was God mad at us – and just when was this morning supposed to come?

I’m no longer a child, but still I wonder sometimes when will this long night end and the morning begin?

Is God angry with us because there is still a lot to weep about these days. From child hunger to wars raging to rising incarceration rates to senseless violence, we have much to weep about. But I realize now that biblical joy doesn’t ensure a quick fix or an easy answer to these questions.

Often the joy attested to in much of the biblical witness is a joy that sustains and stabilizes you throughout life’s ups and downs. It doesn’t promise to remove life’s challenges, but joy is a steadfast confidence and steady companion along life’s journey that reminds you that God is with you. Joy is grounded in a faith that deeply believes that in time morning will come. In this Advent season, let us rest in the assurance that the Psalmist gives that joy will come in the morning and work to make it happen for all. 

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Nehemiah 8:9-10

I wonder what would happen if we set aside a day—stopped for a moment —paused to take a few cleansing breaths today to rest in the joy of the Lord? What if we lingered for a while to enjoy the moment, to eat good food, to sip our favorite drink, to take some time to take care of each other?

What if that is the strength we need to get beyond this present moment? To be fulfilled, to be watered, to be nourished and refreshed together? To be buoyed, to be uplifted, to be sustained for the journey ahead? What if we tarried for a little while longer and clung to the words of Qoheleth that there is a time for everything under the sun? 

Nehemiah didn’t say that there wasn’t anything to mourn about. He didn’t say don’t ever mourn or grieve. He didn’t scold them or gaslight them into believing there was not good reason to weep and grieve for many things that they had lost. There was probably much that they heard in the words of the Law that they didn’t see in their community, their world, or within themselves. But that was not the day to mourn or weep. 

There may be some that are in despair with the results of recent elections. Some may be disappointed that life’s circumstances didn’t turn out as you had hoped. Some are disheartened because the world continues to be divided, disparate, despondent, and in seemingly utter disrepair.

There will certainly come a time to mourn for all that we have lost. But that’s not today. What brings you joy today? Pursue it. Cultivate it today. Maybe God is calling us today to pause for a moment of joy and celebration as we remember where our strength really comes from. 

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Luke 2:10

But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for see—I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people.” (Luke 2:10 NRSV)

I don’t know about you but every time I see the words “fear not” in scripture, I immediately start to fear! Some suggest that it was the sudden appearance of an angel while going about their daily business that alarmed them; others believe that it was the glory of the Lord that frightened them, and still others maintain that it was likely the pronouncement itself that terrified them. But the truth is it’s all speculation because any or all of these things could be the reason that the shepherds were afraid. 

What I do know is that there is so much to fear in this world. Fear of violence and war. Fear of the loss of basic civil liberties and protections. Fear of poverty. Fear of deportation. Fear of climate change. Unfortunately, even fear of our differences. Sometimes it feels like there is no safe place to run to for shelter in this world without the threat of fear. 

Yet the angel says, “Do not fear, I bring good news of great joy for all people.” The angel didn’t come to bring fear or further insecurity. It said, “I’ve come with good news, and it’s for all people.” Not for some of us. But for all of us.

Regardless of our nationality, gender, orientation, economic status, age, or religious affiliation, it’s for all. That’s the beauty of the good news—it’s not limited and includes all of God’s creation. So as we wait with eager expectation this Advent season, let’s work toward a world where all of God’s people will be free from fear and benefit from these good tidings of joy. For as the great Ella Baker proclaimed, “We who believe in freedom cannot rest until it happens.”

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Luke 4:16b-19

Jesus stood up to read, and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” (Luke 4:16b-19)

Luke 4:18-19 was the only scripture that we had to memorize in our Intro to Theology course in seminary. On the first day of class, our professor declared to us newly initiated students that this Lukan text, if we were truly seeking to understand the depth and breadth of Jesus’ life, encapsulated not only who Jesus was but also his mission in the world. 

This text, taken from the scroll of the prophet Isaiah, revealed that Jesus had not come only to bring a spiritual salvation as many of us had been taught. Jesus proclaimed that he had come to bring a social salvation that was to be embodied, practiced, and lived faithfully in the here and now.

He had not come to save them only from their spiritual sins in the great by and by but to save them from a society that saw their poverty, their conditions, their imprisonment, and their oppression as sin. He had come to disrupt systems and dismantle structures that threatened their wellbeing and flourishing here on earth. It was personal – it was political – and it was prophetic. 

In his mission and ministry, no one was to be excluded. Everybody was included. As we enter into this Advent week of joy, Jesus invites us to join him on his mission to all that calls for both a spiritual and a social transformation. For as the text in Isaiah announces, those who do that will receive an everlasting joy.

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Isaiah 40:1-11

This passage from Isaiah is found among the chapters attributed to Isaiah of the Exile, who comforted the exiles living in Babylon (circa 587-538). When the Babylonians conquered Judah, they destroyed the Temple in Jerusalem and forcibly relocated part of the Israelite community (primarily leaders and power brokers). After losing both the land that God had promised to their ancestors (Abraham and Sarah) and the Temple, the exiles began to wonder if God had forgotten or abandoned them. How would they survive? Would they ever return to Jerusalem? 

Out of the despair, the Divine called a prophet to “comfort, comfort my people” (v 1a) and to deliver those words of hope. God had not abandoned them; there would be a future for their descendants and a return to the land promised to their ancestors. The prophet declares that a highway should be prepared for God “in the wilderness” to lead the exiles back to their homes. Where the exiles only saw impossible obstacles to a new future, God would make a way. Mountains will seem like small bumps in the road, and chasms will become bridges to the future (v 4a). There will be no stumbling along God’s highway; everyone will be able to travel the road safely (v 4b). Human powers and efforts to oppress others will fail when God’s word and justice become a reality (vv 6-8).

Today, with chaotic and ultrafast changes, many people experience being in “exile” even though their location has not changed. While many may not be seeking a physical return to a tangible location/geography, everyone who knows some form of exile wonders about God’s presence and longs for the assurance of a future filled with Divine compassion and comfort. The prophetic words of this unknown voice offer a vision of what God wants for them. Their “return” may be a “coming home” to God, to the safety known by a baby in their mother’s arms. Their return may be a liberation from what has been holding them back. Their return may be a restoration of dignity that comes with no longer begging for what others take for granted. People still yearn to hear words of “comfort” and to be reminded of God’s concern for all of creation, even the “least of these.” We must work for a time when: “Steadfast love and faithfulness will meet; righteousness and peace (shalom) will kiss each other” (Ps 85:10).

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Jeremiah 33:1-16

Scholars typically date the book of Jeremiah to a time of great upheaval in the history of the people of Israel, usually during the waning days of the 7th century and up to (or even after) 586 BCE. Thus, Jeremiah can be understood as both a pre-exilic and an exilic prophet. The words attributed to him were first addressed to those living in Jerusalem before the Babylonian invasion and destruction of the city and Temple. Then, he prophesied to the exiles in Babylon.

Our reading is part of a larger oracle of hope/restoration (vv 10-16) amid Jerusalem’s despair over the threat of the Babylonians. With confidence, Jeremiah proclaims that people will once again bring thanksgiving offerings to the LORD at the Temple; they will sing their praises with these familiar words: “Give thanks to the Lord of hosts, for the Lord is good, for LORD’s steadfast love endures forever” (v 11b)! The LORD promises that the desolation found in the land will be transformed into a “pasture for shepherds resting their flocks” (v 12b).

Perhaps the promise God is making to the people is not about a political change or returning to the way things were. Rather, it is a way of reminding the people of Jerusalem that they can make this new vision a reality. If they live by the Torah, loving God, neighbor, and self, they will ensure that the land is filled with “justice and righteousness.”  

In the USA, many feel a comparable sense of despair. Fears about the weak economy, unemployment, the national debt, wars and rumblings of war around the globe, and environmental destruction make it feel like we are under attack. Some religious voices prey upon fears and tell them who is to blame for these ”attacks” as a way to enforce their moral views and to secure their positions of power. In these tumultuous times, we can also find words of hope in Jer 33:14-16. A faithful response to the fears and angst many feel is not to blame, deny, or give up; a faithful response is to remember that we have the power to create societies of “justice and righteousness.” How we live our lives (as individuals and as communities) can help God’s desire for restoration and wholeness to become a reality. With our words and actions, we can proclaim that the “LORD’s steadfast love endures forever!”

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Isaiah 11:1-10

This reading comes from an 8th century (BCE) prophet, Isaiah, whose mission was to the southern kingdom of Judah. The beginning of the 8th century BCE had been a time of prosperity for Judah, but everyone did not share this wealth. While the powerful were enjoying a life of luxury, most of the citizenry of Judah was struggling to survive. The ruling class imposed heavy tax burdens on them and required forced labor and military service. Survival was all that the people could hope to do.

The prophetic vision, found in Isa 11:1-10, echoes the dreams of people desperate for a better life. Since the fate of the nation of Judah was controlled by their human ruler and their relationship with God, the best hope that Isaiah could offer was a promise of a time when a just and righteous ruler would be in charge (vv 3 & 5), one who would “decide with equity for the meek of the earth” (v 4a). All the suffering of the poor would end, and their oppressors would be punished (v 4b). This new ruler would usher in a time of unprecedented peace, reflected not only in nature (vv 6-7) but also in the political realm (vv 9-10).

This vision of the “peaceful realm” (particularly vv 6-7 & 9) is also found in Isa 2:4, Isa 11:6, and Micah 4:3. The dream of a restored “Israel” was still incomplete; they remained under foreign control with no hope of self-governing. The “root of Jesse” was intended metaphorically, not restricted to a person of Davidic lineage, but rather a ruler who embodied the characteristics attributed to David and other “good” kings in Israel’s history. This could even be a foreign ruler/power. Most important was the vision of a world in which natural enemies worked in mutuality for the common good, and everyone knew a life of wholeness (shalom) that only came from God (v 9). What would it take for you to experience the kind of wholeness described in Isa 11:6-9 (and other places in the bible)? How do we live in right relationship with God and with all of Creation? Is that even possible in this 21st-century world? Is Advent about envisioning the “impossible” – shalom – and then working to make it a reality?

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Joel 2:12-13 and 28-29

This passage contains the words of Joel with which most people in the pews are familiar: “Then afterward I will pour out my spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions. Even on the male and female slaves, in those days, I will pour out my spirit” (vv 28-29). The first chapter of Joel describes the destruction wrought upon Judah by the locusts, God’s “great army” (v 25b), and the prophet’s call to repentance, which continues into the second chapter. In this section, the idea is put forth that it is not too late for God to have a change of heart (v 14), based on the prophet’s reminder to the people of God’s nature: “gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love, and relents from punishing” (v 13). The Holy desires shalom not suffering.

Our reading is found amid God’s promise of future restoration for the people. When God decides to bring an end to their suffering, all that the locusts have taken away God will replace, making the land green and fruitful again (v 22). Beginning in the 23rd verse, the prophet calls the people of Zion to celebrate how God has brought them back to life with refreshing rain and abundant grain. Once these wondrous things have taken place, Judah will no longer “be put to shame” (v 26b), in the presence of their friends and enemies. God proclaims that this should prove, without a doubt, that God is “in the midst of Israel” and that there is no other god besides the LORD (v 27).

We must use great care when interpreting a text like Joel for a 21st century audience. While some of the images in this week’s reading are empowering and hopeful, there are also some very disturbing ones, which could easily be used to support an “us vs them” theology. Many people today may want to see the world judged and punished by God, but we are not free to take those matters into our own hands. That is God’s job. If, as this text describes, one day every person will be the recipient of God’s emboldening spirit, then perhaps there will not be anyone who does not “call on the name of the LORD”; all will be saved. With humility and awe, we would be wise to examine our own lives to make certain that we are not the ones who contradict the image of a God that is “gracious and merciful . . . abounding in steadfast love” (v 13). We must work for shalom in a broken world.

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Psalm 146

“Praise the LORD! Praise the LORD, O my soul!” (v1) In this prayer, we are reminded of the Divine’s actions that seek a world of “shalom.” The Holy “executes justice for the oppressed; gives food to the hungry. . . sets the prisoners free; opens the eyes of the blind. . . lifts up those who are bowed down; loves the righteous. . . watches over the strangers; and upholds the orphan and the widow.” This description teaches us that the best way to praise the Holy is by working with the Divine to create a world in which “shalom” becomes a reality.

Throughout the Hebrew Bible, God is consistently portrayed as requiring justice (e.g., Deut 10:18; etc.). Showing concern for the oppressed, the poor, the widow, the orphan, and the stranger is a common theme among the commandments found in the Torah. Israel is taught to take care of the most vulnerable because that is what God did for them in the Exodus and because that is how they will image God to the world (Gen 1:26-27) and be a “blessing” to others (Gen 12:2-3). 

The word “shalom” in Hebrew means much more than just peace; it has a greater sense of wholeness. Shalom seeks the well-being of all. Shalom embraces justice, reconciliation and nonviolence. Shalom is the experience of being in right relationship with God, which would mean that you see yourself, your neighbors, and all of creation as God does – inherently good and worthy of respect.

 This psalm and other biblical texts teach us that, when there is brokenness anywhere within the human family, no one can know wholeness. As those made in the Holy’s image, we are called to be agents of this divine shalom in the world, creating peace with justice for all.

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Isaiah 2:1-5

During the 8th century BCE, Judah enjoyed a time of economic prosperity, but the riches were not shared with everyone. Those in power, both political and religious, allowed the worship of other gods in Judah; some even encouraged this practice. Such behavior was a breach of the covenant that God had made with the descendants of Abraham and Sarah. 

As the prophet Isaiah observed the people’s unfaithfulness and the desecration of the Temple, he shared God’s disappointment and anger. It seemed that there was no hope, that the Temple was doomed to be controlled by foreign influences. As the capital city, Jerusalem was the place where decisions were made that affected the lives of all the citizens of Judah. The current economic situation was also contrary to God’s desires for God’s people. The rich were getting richer off the sufferings of the poor. Whereas Solomon had envisioned the Temple and Jerusalem as shining ideals of all that Israel’s God wanted (I Kgs 8), the center of Judah’s worship and political power was a seat of corruption.

In this scene of despair, Isaiah dared to speak a word of hope and encouragement. There would come a day when “the mountain of the LORD” would once again be a beacon of justice and peace. Instead of oppressive decrees coming from Jerusalem, God’s commandments would be proclaimed. The city would be an example of what the LORD envisioned for all of creation: shalom (wholeness). So amazing was this prophetic vision that Isaiah’s words suggested the impossible; God would do something that was beyond human imagination. Justice would reign for all people (v 4a). Weapons of destruction would be converted into tools of production (v 4b). Peace would settle over the nations, and all would live in harmony (v 4c).

As we move through the 2024 Advent season, can these words offer us hope? Do we not need an assurance that the current situation (e.g., high unemployment, economic instability, wars, and rumors of wars, etc.) is not the final word nor God’s desires? What can we do to help further God’s desires for the world to become a place filled with justice, peace, and wholeness?

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Nehemiah 8:9-10

I wonder what would happen if we set aside a day—stopped for a moment —paused to take a few cleansing breaths today to rest in the joy of the Lord? What if we lingered for a while to enjoy the moment, to eat good food, to sip our favorite drink, to take some time to take care of each other?

What if that is the strength we need to get beyond this present moment? To be fulfilled, to be watered, to be nourished and refreshed together? To be buoyed, to be uplifted, to be sustained for the journey ahead? What if we tarried for a little while longer and clung to the words of Qoheleth that there is a time for everything under the sun? 

Nehemiah didn’t say that there wasn’t anything to mourn about. He didn’t say don’t ever mourn or grieve. He didn’t scold them or gaslight them into believing there was not good reason to weep and grieve for many things that they had lost. There was probably much that they heard in the words of the Law that they didn’t see in their community, their world, or within themselves. But that was not the day to mourn or weep. 

There may be some that are in despair with the results of recent elections. Some may be disappointed that life’s circumstances didn’t turn out as you had hoped. Some are disheartened because the world continues to be divided, disparate, despondent, and in seemingly utter disrepair.

There will certainly come a time to mourn for all that we have lost. But that’s not today. What brings you joy today? Pursue it. Cultivate it today. Maybe God is calling us today to pause for a moment of joy and celebration as we remember where our strength really comes from. 

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Isaiah 61:1-11

For decades, the exiles in Babylon had dreamed about finally being allowed to return home to Jerusalem. Prophetic voices had promised them a glorious return, painting pictures of dry bones coming to life and a great highway leading them home. But when Cyrus of Persia issued the edict that freed them from exile, what they found in the city was anything but glorious. They had no land and their jobs were gone. Worst of all, their place of worship, the beloved Temple, lay in ruins. Instead of a wonderful homecoming celebration, they were faced with desolation. 

With the remains of the once great city of Jerusalem at their feet, all they could think about was the work that needed to be done. They had to rebuild the Temple and the city walls. Not only was their city in shambles but so was the community. There were divisions among them, arguments about how to start and who would be in charge. It seemed utterly hopeless.

Out of the laments of mourning and despair, a voice declared: “The spirit of the LORD God is upon me!” A prophet stepped out from among the people and proclaimed words of encouragement. Without denying their pain and disillusionment, this messenger of God was called to preach release, freedom, healing, and hope. These promises of God, spoken by the prophet, were indeed good news. But the prophet not only proclaimed restoration of property but also restoration of responsibility. Like strong trees, this new community would stand as a testament to the God whom they worshiped and served, so that one day, in the near future, all other nations would look to them and to their future generations and recognize that they were a people blessed by God, that through them others would be blessed. This was just the motivation the people needed to begin the process of rebuilding their city and their lives. But the impact of these words would not end there. For this mission was not for the prophet alone. The spirit of God also had anointed the whole community to fulfill this call to make the messages of release, healing, freedom, and hope a reality.

The words of Isa. 61 call us to action and faith. The prophet’s message was not a call to grasp at security or to embrace complacency. These were words of challenge, risk, and service. During this time of Advent, when we wait to see how Immanuel (“God with us”) will be made manifest this year, the challenge of Isa 61 reminds us that we are called to do more than just wait. It is our task to make Immanuel obvious in the lives of those who need God the most. We are the messengers called by God to proclaim the Divine Favor and work for God’s shalom to be experienced by all here and now.

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Daniel 6:6-27 (Revisited)

Coming back to the story of Daniel, we see an image of resistance grounded in hope. Thrown into the lions’ den for his refusal to worship the king, Daniel embodies a trust in the Divine that transcends fear. His hope is an opposition to unjust power. He resists the demands of empire, trusting that God’s justice will be sustaining.

The Star Trek fan may recall, “Resistance is futile.” Yet actively challenging systems of oppression, especially when the hope for change seems slim, is an Advent way of renewing our communities. This is not only an expectation for a better future, but it is the energy that propels us to act now because it comes from knowing that God keeps God’s promises. We know our calling is to increase human flourishing and dignity.

Daniel’s story encourages us to see our Advent hope as a form of resistance—insisting that God’s vision for love and peace is worth living for. We can learn to embody this kind of hope, one that refuses to give in to despair, even when surrounded by “lions.” Like Daniel, we resist not because we will get what we want in the short term but because we believe that Divine justice is inevitable. Hope, in this way, is our courage to act, trusting that God is with us in every liberative cause.

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Luke 19:41-42

As he came near and saw the city, he wept over it, saying, "If you, even you, had only recognized on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. (Lk. 19:41-42 NRSV)

Jesus weeps over Jerusalem, lamenting that the city has failed to recognize “the things that make for peace.” His tears reveal both grief and hope—grief for what could have been and hope for what still might be. Jesus’ lamentation reminds us that true hope does not ignore the pain of the world. Instead, it acknowledges the hurt and seeks transformation.

The Divine invites us to sit with both sorrow and hope. As we examine the injustice, division, and suffering around us, it is easy to become discouraged. Yet, the tears of Jesus are an invitation to embrace the world as it is, not as a way of giving up on it, but as a renewal of our commitment to the bringing of healing to wholeness.

Hope calls us to believe that transformation is possible, even through our tears. Jesus’ lament is not the end of the story—it is a doorway into deeper action. These sacred tears invite us to reimagine a hopeful future of inclusive love and a peace beyond understanding.

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Micah 4:3-4 

He shall judge between many peoples, and shall arbitrate between strong nations far away; they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore (“…but they shall all sit under their own vines and under their own fig trees, and no one shall make them afraid; for the mouth of the LORD of hosts has spoken.” Mic. 4:3-4 NRSV).

Here we catch a glimpse of God’s vision for the world—swords turned into plowshares and nations no longer preparing for war. This image of peace, which goes farther than a lack of conflict, is not a distant ideal but a tangible reality that we are called to live toward. The promise of peace in this passage is grounded in justice, where people can live without fear, under their own vines and fig trees.

During Advent, we are invited to participate in making this peace a reality. Hope, in this context, is not just an expectation that peace will come, but it is also the motivation that drives us to create communities of God’s all-encompassing peace in the here and now. Micah’s prophecy encourages us to actively reshape our world, challenging that which thrives on killing hope.

The Micah text demands us to imagine and build a future where peace is not simply the absence of war but the flourishing of life for all. Advent reminds us that living in a way that transforms swords into plowshares begins with us—with how we live, love, and act in the world. Hope becomes the force that compels us to live out this vision, trusting that peace is possible through our shared efforts and God’s guiding promises to be with us.

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Hebrews 11:1-3

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. Indeed, by faith our ancestors received approval. By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was made from things that are not visible. (Heb. 11:1-3 NRSV)

This is a powerful reflection on faith, “the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” This passage reminds us that hope is not confined to what is immediately visible or achievable. Instead, it invites us into a deeper trust—believing for justice, peace, and love, even when those things seem far away.

Advent is a season that invites us to live into this unseen hope in a time when much feels broken. In the constant awareness of injustice and suffering, we are reminded that the work of the Divine continues beyond our perception. Hope can become a lens through which we see the world not just as it is but as it could be.

This trust in God’s unseen work challenges us to move forward, especially when the path is unclear. We don’t have to wait passively for change. We can act as though the future we hope for is already unfolding, waiting for a helpful tug. Advent invites us to trust in the fabric of justice woven by many, knowing the beauty of the design is far greater than one of us can imagine. Our role is to be weavers of that unseen hope, making space for God’s promises to flourish in our lives and in the world around us.

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Isaiah 64:1–2

“O that you would tear open the heavens and come down.” This is a plea for Divine intervention in a world where suffering abounds. It’s an expression of yearning, an insistence that God’s presence is needed to disrupt injustice and transform the world. Isaiah’s hope is a cry for powerful action, but it also reminds us this response is not distant or abstract.

Reflecting on this text during Advent, we remember that God’s transformative power is not only a future promise but also a present reality. We are called to be the incarnation of that transformation. We are inspired to challenge systems designed out of privilege to help restore a just world. Hope is not simply waiting for Divine action. It is stepping into the work of justice ourselves, knowing that God moves within us.

May this prayer in Isaiah inspire us to act. We may not see torn-open heavens literally, but through acts of love, solidarity, and justice, we will participate in God’s ongoing work of transformation. Hope is the force that moves us to bridge the gap between our longing for justice and our active participation in making it a reality.

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Daniel 6:6-27

Hope can empower each of us to stand firm in times of trial. Daniel’s courage to remain faithful, even when thrown into a den of lions, demonstrates that. Hope is more than a feeling—it is a choice to trust in the goodness of God, even when surrounded by danger. Daniel could have chosen fear, yet he relied on a divine promise of protection and justice, trusting that God’s love transcends even the most menacing of threats.

In today’s world, we don’t have to worry much about finding, let alone being thrown into, a lions’ den. But we can experience dens of systemic injustice, societal fears, or personal crises. Like Daniel, we are called to live with conviction, trusting that God’s justice and peace will ultimately prevail. Living this way isn’t about escaping the danger but about transforming how we courageously engage it.

Advent invites us to strengthen our resolve in the face of trials. Like Daniel, we are not alone in the lions’ den. The Divine’s presence is with us, sustaining us, and calling us to live boldly for justice and love. This season, we are reminded that hope can grow stronger in adversity, calling us to remain faithful, not because the world is easy, but because God is with us.

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Luke 23:1-5

Jesus stands accused before Pilate, the wielder of systemic power. This moment mirrors stories of oppression experienced by many around the globe today. Pilate, driven by fear and the desire for control, manipulates truth, while Jesus remains centered in the presence of this injustice with stillness as a profound resistance, rooted in hope.

Hope here is a force of resilience. It doesn’t wait for a better future instead confronting power structures with quiet strength. In the face of violence, exploitation, and inequality, we too are called to embody hope, not by waiting for change, but by believing that, with strategic actions, change is possible and, yes, even necessary. The Advent season reminds us that God’s justice is always in motion, even when oppression seems ubiquitously overwhelming.

This passage asks us to recognize the systems that perpetuate injustice in the world and respond with unwavering trust in the liberating presence of the Divine. As Jesus stands before Pilate, hope stands with him—not as passive optimism but as a radical commitment to transformation. During Advent, let us embody this active hope, creating space for the Holy’s justice in every act of resistance against oppression and inequality.

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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. Luke 1:32

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Then Monoah entreated the Lord and said, “O my Lord, I pray, let the man of God whom

you sent come to us again and teach us what we are to do concerning the boy who will be

born.” Judges 13:8

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“You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God, has

anointed you with the oil of gladness beyond your companions.” Hebrews 1:9

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(Jesus) is the reflection of God’s glory and the exact imprint of God’s very being. Hebrews

1:3

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But for you who revere my name the sun of righteousness shall rise, with healing in its

wings. You shall go out leaping like calves from the stall. And you shall tread down the

wicked, for they will be ashes under the soles of your feet, on the day when I act, says the

Lord of hosts. Malachi 4:2-3

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The people who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion: never shaken, lasting forever.

Mountains surround Jerusalem. That’s how the Lord surrounds his people from now until

forever from now! Psalm 125:1-2 (CEB)

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When Ahab saw Elijah, Ahab said to him, “Is it you, you troubler of Israel?” He answered,

“I have not troubled Israel; but you have, and your father’s house, because you have

forsaken the commandments of the LORD and followed the Baals.” I Kings 18:17-18

“Never, ever be afraid to make some noise and get in good trouble, necessary trouble.”

John Lewis.

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Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances, for this is the will of

God in Christ Jesus for you. I Thessalonians 5:16-18

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Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering

the kingdom of God ahead of you. For John came to you to show you the way of

righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did.

And even after you saw this, you did not repent and believe him. Matthew 21:31c-32

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O Lord, I have heard of your renown, and I stand in awe, O Lord, of your work. Habakkuk

3:2

Song: “It is Well with My Soul” (hymnist Horatio Spafford and composed by Philip Bliss.)

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May those who sow in tears reap with shouts of joy. Those who go out weeping, bearing

the seed for sowing, shall come home with shouts of joy carrying their sheaves. Psalm

126:5-6

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Then there appeared to him an angel of the Lord, standing at the right side of the altar of

incense. When Zechariah saw him, he was terrified, and fear overwhelmed him. But the

angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard. Your wife

Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you will name him John. Luke 1:11-13

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The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my

life; of whom shall I be afraid? Psalm 27:1

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O Lord, may you ordain peace for us, for indeed, all that we have done, you have done for

us. Isaiah 26:12

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Steadfast love and faithfulness will meet; righteousness and peace will kiss each other.

Psalm 85:10

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Then you shall live in the land that I gave to your ancestors, and you shall be my people,

and I will be your God. Ezekiel 36:28

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Now those …traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus and Antioch, and they spoke the word...

Acts 11:19

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Let us know, let us press on to know the Lord; his appearing is as sure as the dawn; he will

come to us like the showers, like the spring rains that water the earth. Hosea 6:3

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But you, O Bethlehem of Ephrathah, who are one of the little clans of Judah, from you shall

come forth for me one who is to rule in Israel, whose origin is from of old, from ancient days

... and he shall be the one of peace. Micah 5:2, 5a

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“Alas, alas, the great city, Babylon, the mighty city! For in one hour your judgement has

come.” Revelation 18:10b

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…they shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks; nation

shall not lift up sword against nation; neither shall they learn war any more. Isaiah 2:4b

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Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Corinthians 1:3

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Titus 3:4-7

When kindness and benevolence appeared through G*d, our savior, appeared, it was not a result of those deeds…. Titus 3:4-6 (A. Carter Paraphrase)

It’s commonplace to describe our society as results driven. Metrics, measurables, and product, with good reason, have become outcome-oriented benchmarks that establish and legitimate organizational value, worthiness, and rationale. Such perspectives are important correctives that challenge rigid power structures and inequities. Carrying associations with positive outcomes, metrics often function as indicators and, thus, metaphors for success.

We can, however, become over invested in mutated forms of these metric metaphors. With Christmas at times seeming the busiest time of the year, we are occasionally lured into metric-based approaches to Christmas: our love measured in gifts, travel, and tree height; our faith by the relaxation, consumption, service attendance, or donations.

This Christmas is an opportunity to remind ourselves anew of the essence of G*d’s love. In today’s passage, many translations render the Greek terms chrystotes (kindness/good) and philanthropia (philanthropy, love for humanity) as good and kindness. Such renderings, while accurate obscure the author’s nuance. For the author of Titus, kindness and benevolence are transformative, they characterize G*d’s orientation to and love for humanity. Neither society’s metrics nor the Church’s measurements can warrant G*d’s liberating love, not even our pursuits for justice. If salvation was metric-based could today’s church in any way justify such sacrifice given by Christ? 

Titus thematically centers on divine grace and its impact on human social-being. Recognition of such grace inspires us to reflect Christ’s love. The author of Titus measured such love partially by the absence of social discord. Unfortunately, interpreters often seek in Titus, not an articulation of divine grace and love, but decontextualized metrics for faith by legislating of power in church and society through mutated metaphors.

This Christmas, might we humbly hear this letter’s testimony on love: a reminder that the source of human salvation has but one immeasurable source, the awe-inspiring kindness and benevolence of G*d.

Arthur F. Carter, Jr. Ph.D.

Assistant Professor of New Testament

Director, Black Church Traditions & African American Faith-Life

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John 1:1-14

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. John 1:1

“In the beginning was the Conversation and the Conversation was with God.”

When the Gospel of John was translated into Latin from its original Greek, translators of the first few centuries used the Latin word sermo for the Greek word logos in this passage. 

There’s a perfectly good Latin word that denotes a single linguistic utterance—it is verbum, word in English.

Sermo, according to Victoria Loorz in her book Church of the Wild, “means not ‘word’ but ‘conversation.’ Sermo indicates not a one-way sermon but a lively discourse, a dialogue, a manner of speaking back and forth: a conversation” (p. 109). Sermo, more than verbum, connotes the riches of meaning in the word logos. For this is a relational word full of all the words of the divine life-force that holds all of life together.

“In the beginning was the Conversation and the Conversation was with God.”

I imagine Mary having a conversation with the infant in her womb much as I did when I was pregnant. “Shush now and let me sleep,” I murmured, and the baby kicked back: “I will not be ignored.” Conversation. The baby’s father leaned toward my full belly, “Daddy to baby, daddy to baby,” he chanted; and the baby squirmed, in delight I imagine. Conversation. The baby emerges from Mary’s body into the dimness of a manger and cries. Mary hugs him close and soothes him, “it’s alright, you’re alright.” Conversation.

Christmas Eve is a night of remembering holy conversations, the speaking of holy words from one to another, between infant and parent, between God and humanity, between and among one another. This eternal, life-giving, embodied and re-embodied, conversation was in the beginning. It is now. And it will be our end.

Dr. Nancy Claire Pittman

President

and Stephen J. England Associate Professor of the Practice of Ministry

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Luke 2:1-14

In those days a decree went out from Emperor Augustus that all the world should be registered. Luke 2:1

Shootings. Extremes of wealth and poverty. Food insecurity. Racial-ethnic tensions. Corporate greed. Military invasions. Divisive leadership. Limited access to healthcare. Cultural and political divisions. Societal intolerance and violence. And so forth.

One might wonder, where is God in the midst of our broken world? What is God doing? If anything?

The first-century world had its own issues and damage. It was very broken. 

Verse 1 names the source of the brokenness.

In those days a decree went out from Emperor Augustus that all the world should be registered. (Luke 2:1)

In this act of decreeing a registration or census, the Emperor Augustus asserts his absolute power over some 65 million or so people. It is an act of domination, of economic exploitation through taxation, of territorial control, enforceable by military might if disobeyed. And Jupiter’s decree sanctions this world order. 

It doesn’t matter that there is no historical evidence for Augustus’ decree. Its role in the Gospel narrative is to set the scene for Jesus’ birth and for the Gospel’s incredible proclamation.

In the midst of Augustus’ imperial world, in the midst of his overwhelming power that stretches even to this minor province of Judea, the Gospel promises, explains, and declares: God is at work. 

And divine work does not sanction Augustus’ empire. It takes a different route for a different purpose: a baby (very powerful as every parent knows), anointed to save the present world from a system of domination, exploitation, elite privilege, and injustice. Yet ironically, he anticipates a future world marked by the full establishment of God’s empire that dominates all.

Dr. Warren Carter

LaDonna Kramer Meinders Professor of New Testament

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December 22, 2022

Facing the Vortex

Isaiah 33:17-22

But there the Lord in majesty will be for us a place of broad rivers and streams, where no galley with oars can go, nor stately ship can pass. Isaiah 33:21

The late Civil Rights champion, James Baldwin once asserted that not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced. During Advent, we must face that fact that we are living during perilous times. 

Our era has been accented by the enactment of blatant anti-democracy policies and punctuated by the theologically bankrupt system of white christian nationalism. Many thought our nation was rid of such scandalous schemes, yet like a vicious monster in a low-budget horror movie, they keep reemerging and seemingly will not die.

Daily installments of these absurdities are forming a swirling vortex of misery that can seemingly sweep away any hope we have for a more just future.

However, we who are motivated by love to seek justice are not hopeless. We await the coming king, one whose beauty and majesty will cause us to focus not on insolent people, but the promise of an immovable sanctuary city, Jerusalem, not in the heavenly realm but in the world we know.

People will experience him as a place of broad, nurturing waterways where no offending force can prevail. Through him, people will flourish and be saved.

We know this king to be Jesus. Through his love, we are able to withstand the vortex of fear and hate.

The love of Jesus confers onto us the boldness necessary to forge equitable relationships with people in underserved ZIP codes, and the courage required to have hard conversations on ways we can leverage our privilege in the name of justice. Through the love of Jesus, we are given the honor of living as agents of hope.

O, come, O come, Immanuel. Amen

Rev. Dr. Jack Sullivan, Jr.

Adjunct Instructor, The Center for Ministry and Lay Training and 

Executive Director, The Ohio Council of Churches 

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Matthew 1:1-17

An account of the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah, the son of David the son of Abraham. Matthew 1:1

The late New Testament scholar Doug Adams contrasted parent stories to grandparent stories. Parent stories tend to clean up and prettify their own youthful years in order to claim the moral high ground. “When I was a child, I never talked to my parents that way.” 

The grandparent version of the same story might be: “No, you did not talk back to me but instead gave me a grin that dripped with sarcasm and disrespect.”

The Bible, said Adams, is full of grandparent stories. Matthew’s Ancestry.com construction of Jesus’ sometimes-shady relations provides examples. 

• Judah’s sons by Tamar. Tamar was Judah’s daughter-in-law, who after her husband’s death seduced her father-in-law posing as a woman-for-hire on the side of the road, and Judah hired her. 

• Salmon the father of Boaz by Rahab. Did Matthew mean for his readers to recall the only Rahab in the Bible who was the sex worker who hid the spies prior to the destruction of Jericho?

• Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth. Ruth a Moabite woman. A foreigner in Israel, from whom both David the great king and shameful actor and Jesus were descended. 

And those examples are merely from the first third of the genealogy. Included in the rest of the list are persons of low moral stature and unwise decision. And, of course, at the end of the list Matthew names Joseph, who Matthew is about to tell us is not Jesus’ biological father.

To paraphrase Adams: biblical grandparent stories are told with love rather than to establish moral superiority. Why? Because we need love in order to embrace, yet not to be determined by, our own stories.

Dr. Gary Peluso-Verdend

President Emeritus and Executive Director of the Center for Religion in Public Life

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Samuel 2:1-10

Hannah prayed and said, “My heart exults in the Lord; my strength is exalted in my God. My mouth derides my enemies because I rejoice in my victory… the bows of the mighty are broken, but the feeble gird on strength. Those who were full have hired themselves out for bread, but those who were hungry are fat with spoil. The barren has borne seven, but she who has many children is forlorn. 1 Samuel 2:1, 4:4-5

Hannah has just left her long-desired infant son with the priest at the temple in Shiloh. She has fulfilled her vow to God: If she were given a son, she would give him to the temple to become a nazarite, a servant of God, for his lifetime. She had been barren, enduring both the clumsy sympathy of her husband and the jeers from his fertile, second wife. 

Now she breaks out in a prayer of praise to God. But this is not the expected joyful thanksgiving for a son. It is a song praising God’s power to create reversals: rich to poor, low to exalted places, bringing to Sheol and raising up.

Scholars believe this is an ancient Hebrew hymn, placed in Hannah’s mouth since her story emphasizes a particular example of Yhwh’s theology of reversal. These great reversals can also be seen in Mary’s prayer of praise in Luke, and even in Jesus’ Jewish theology in his Sermon on the Mount. This upside-down world of our Judeo-Christian tradition is truly a call for joy in this Advent season, our “hope for years to come.”

Sandy Shapoval

Dean of the Library

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Genesis 17:15-22

God said to Abraham, “As for Sarah your wife… I will bless her, and moreover I will give you a son by her.” Genesis 17:15-16

Imagine (or recall) a whole life of your partner leaving the toilet seat up even if you (or child) continuously falls in, or a whole life of having a roommate that won’t stop leaving the kitchen cabinet doors open after literally thousands of pleas to STOP THE MADNESS AND CLOSE THE CABINET DOORS, THE CAT IS GETTING THE DISHES HAIRY. At some point you will likely run out of hope that things can change. You may even begin to question if the “offending party” even loves you—if they did, wouldn’t they care about your comfort?

Now imagine one day the cabinet doors are miraculously closed, or the toilet seat is down… and it never happens again. Would you feel seen? Loved? In case of Abraham and Sarah, The Holy One sees their advanced age and blesses them with a geriatric pregnancy (which sounds harsh but is also the contemporary medical terminology for pregnancy after 35 years old. I’m only a messenger!), making good on promises for progeny that would rule nations.

Advent is a season of waiting, anticipation, and expectation. By this time in the scripture Abraham and Sarah have lived and waited through many seasons together—long enough to know the unglamorous ebbs and flows of spending a whole life with someone. It’s easy to become dismissive of hope for things to change after living a lifetime with them the way they are. They must have given up some hope in their heart for a child—yet by grace Sarah becomes a mother. A closed door opens. 

In this season of hope and anticipation, what does it mean for us to anticipate (or expect) God’s love? Maybe it means responding to seemingly closed doors (or open cabinet doors) in faith, trusting the reality of love we can’t see rightly when we aren’t looking. We receive God’s love with every breath, every heartbeat, every bout of inspiration, in every act of kindness, compassion, or mercy, in simple expressions of love, peace, creativity, bravery, sacrifice, or beauty.

Perhaps to expect God’s Love in the world is to live with openness and readiness to receive love in unexpected ways, at unexpected times, and in humbling abundance. 

Cortney Lemke

Director of Admissions

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Matthew 1:18-25

When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him... Matthew 1:24a

Deeply embedded within African American culture, dreaming is a resource for surviving the everyday traumas of being Black in America. In the days of my youth, dreams were understood to be messages from God as guidance for daily living. Everyone, whether within the church community or the extra-church community, understood the messages from dreams to promote individual and communal well-being. Dreaming, like praying, kept African Americans close to and in constant conversation with God.

Because dreaming was such a normal part of life in my childhood, the sharing of dreams represented a spiritual discipline. As powerful as the experience of dreaming is, dreaming is nothing without dream interpretation. Within African American dream interpretation, dreams are less about symbolic representations but are understood to be direct and literal communications. Dreams are intended to keep the dreamer from harm by revealing what was previously hidden or by revealing the person’s responsibility or irresponsibility.

Joseph’s dream, using an African American cultural interpretation, is seen as a visitation and direct communication from “an angel of the Lord.” “When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him.” Joseph did not reflect on the symbols of the dream; nor did he hesitate and explore multiple ways to interpret the angel of his dream. Once he awoke, he accepted the message as direct from the Lord and did as he was instructed. By Joseph following his dreams, he became an active agent within God’s plan for redeeming creation. May we all, like Joseph, follow our dreams as divine messages from God! 

Dr. Lee H. Butler, Jr.

Vice President of Academic Affairs and Academic Dean

William Tabbernee Professor of the History of Religions and Africana Pastoral Theology

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John 3:31-33

The one who comes from above is above all; the one who is of the earth belongs to the earth and speaks about earthly things. The one who comes from heaven is above all. He testifies to what he has seen and heard, yet no one accepts his testimony. Whoever has accepted his testimony has certified this, that God is true. John 3:31-33

“In a world that tries to push us to either/or, the true gift we give ourselves is embracing the both/and.” These words from my late mentor, Gail O’Day, deeply resonate with me as I think about the invitations of the fourth canonical gospel. A quick read of this text may have us thinking that Jesus’ heavenly origin was more important than his earthly experience. But I believe the real wisdom is in the both/and. 

John 3:33 says, “Whoever has accepted his testimony has certified this, that God is true.” 

What is the testimony that certifies God is true? It was certainly that Jesus came of divine origin. It was also his practices on earth of attending to those harmed, engaging with those not popular, decentering normativity through his parables, and believing that a more just world was possible through our practices. These things and so much more were Jesus’ testimony. They are the signs and markers of a God that is true.

In the midst of this Advent season, as we find ourselves waiting and wondering while still working and trying to navigate the chaos of this world around us, perhaps we might find comfort, hope, and possibility in considering the both/and. Yes, Jesus is divine and also, Jesus’ witness to God’s nature is also shown through his life here on earth.

Yes, the world is full of grief and yes, we can feel gratitude for the things around us that spark peace and enliven joy. Yes, we may have some real questions for God about all that’s going on in this world and also yes, we can still believe God is love and is still calling us to be that love on this earth. 

May we find an invitation this season in the beloved opening of the both/and and the testimony of Jesus that reminds us of who God is. 

Dr. Chelsea Brooke Yarborough 

Assistant Professor of African American Preaching, Sacred Rhetoric, 

and Black Practical Theology

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2 Samuel 7:18-22

Then King David went in and sat before the Lord, and said, “Who am I, O Lord God, and what is my house, that you have brought me thus far? 2 Samuel 7:18

The ark of the covenant carried God’s presence. Up to this point, the ark was being carried around in a mobile tent, with no permanent home. After David is anointed as king, he defeats the Philistines and after defeating them, David is tasked with building a house for God’s presence to dwell in. David sees this as an honor.

In David’s response to God’s instructions, David first shows his humility. He says, “who am I, O Lord God, and what is my house that you have brought me thus far?” David is not from royal blood. His origin is one of lowliness and struggle. However, God takes a shepherd and makes him a king. 

Just like David, many people today do not come from royal blood. Our origin tells the story of who we are and where we have come from. Although there are times when we may see ourselves as unworthy to fulfill the tasks and assignments that God has called us to, God is faithful to love us well, to reveal God’s grace to us, and to bless us.

Not only does David show humility, but David also shows gratitude. David recognized that what God had instructed him to do was a small thing in comparison to the promise that would come. May David’s response to God be a reminder to us all during this Advent season that no matter what the origin of our lives may be and no matter how small the instructions may seem, God has great destiny and promise for you and your house.

Jas Geiger

Student Senate Member, MDiv Student

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Psalm 80:1-7, 17-19

May You honor the people at Your right hand. May You honor the nation You have raised up for Yourself. Then we won’t turn away from You. Give us new life [and we] will worship You. Psalm 80.17-18 (NIRV)

Like many of us, I have favorite Psalms, but the ones I like least are what I call Psalms of Barter. They acknowledge God’s greatness, ensure God understands how desperate and dire things are, and then make conditional promises: “We’ll do this for You, if You’ll do this for us.” Psalm 80 is one of them: “God, You’re all-powerful. You can save us if You will—and why wouldn’t You? And if You’ll save us, we’ll worship You forever. 

I dislike Bartering Psalms because they’re empty offers to do what God’s people should have already been doing. We’ll stop straying and start worshipping You if You’ll…. Maybe I dislike them, though, because they confront me.

We barter picking up a Bible, praying every day, attending worship every week, inviting someone to church if God will…. There’s something altruistic about bartering for peace to reign or pandemics to end. Then there’s the peace at this year’s Christmas gathering or enough money to purchase just-the-right presents. Peace and harmony. More than enough. All the makings of joy.

I was told of an aged woman who, like most in her tiny Italian village, hobbled down a steep hill every day to the village square. The villagers didn’t have much and lived lives most of us reading this would consider desperate and dire; yet they had no dearth of joy. When asked what could possibly bring them such joy, the woman responded, “You find joy when you get what you want; we let joy find us.” 

No bartering required. One of Christmas’ secrets had found the villagers: there’s only one Giver of Joy, who can’t be bought or bribed.

Dr. Kris Tenny-Brittian

Adjunct Professor, Center for Ministry and Lay Training

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Zechariah 8: 1–17

These are the things that you shall do: Speak the truth to one another, render in your gates judgments that are true and make for peace, do not devise evil in your hearts against one another, and love no false oath; for all these are things that I hate, says the Lord. Zechariah 8: 16–17

In this section of Zechariah, the prophet speaks of a God who makes a lot of promises. God promises to restore Jerusalem in many ways. God promises long lives and joyful children as part of an overall rebuilding on Jerusalem. God promises a world that is not restored to its former glory, but made even better, stronger, and more righteous. This is all a part of God’s overall promise to dwell among them and be their God. The prophet presents this not as God doing these acts begrudgingly, but as God taking delight in God’s people. 

And what does God ask in return? For our own joyful action. For this joyful society to exist, the people need to speak truth and show love and peace through their actions. This should not be done begrudgingly or unwillingly, but as acts of joy. 

While it may be hard to believe, we in modern day times, also get to create a society that is joyous, peaceful, and loving by consistently doing the same acts of truth, love, and peace. May we truly believe in this possibility, act accordingly, and move forward with joy. 

Dr. Annie Lockhart-Gilroy

Associate Professor of Christian Education and Practical Theology and 

Interim Director of the Doctor of Ministry Program

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Jude 1:17-25

And have mercy on some who are wavering. Jude 1:22

I’ll be honest: being assigned this passage felt a bit like sitting next to someone on an airplane who, after a few minutes of pleasant chitchat, mentions sotto voce that we are clearly living in the end-times. “Oh no,” one thinks. “This is going to be a long flight.” 

At only 24 verses, the book of Jude at least spares us a lengthy voyage; it’s more of a puddle-jump. Nevertheless, the author is eager to let the reader know that the end is nigh. Having just quoted the apocalyptic text of I Enoch (v. 14-15), the author drives the point home: “In the last times there will be scoffers who follow their own desires.”

Yes, well, I suspect he’s right. I imagine, too, that in the last days there will be people who misplace important items and are cranky when they don’t get enough sleep. While these might not be our favorite behaviors, they are reliably human ones.

But as this short flight begins its initial descent, there is a moment of gentleness from our apocalyptic seatmate: “have mercy on those who are wavering,” he says. It’s that verse which sticks with me as I gather my metaphorical luggage from the metaphorical overhead bin. For the apocalypse didn’t, as it turns out, show up shortly after the author of Jude wrote this letter.

The congregation which so worried him because of its inclusion of interlopers, transgressors, selfish people, grumblers, and the like: they ended up having a while to work things out. So that mercy he called for was, in retrospect, a decent investment. Perhaps we would do well to remember that in our own moments of apocalyptic moral urgency. 

Dr. Sarah Morice Brubaker

Associate Professor of Christian Systematic Theology

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Psalm 42

As a deer longs for flowing streams, so my soul longs for you, O God. Psalms 42:1

A popular Psalm and possibly even a more popular song derived from the Psalm invoking images of a deer thirsting for water symbolizing the author’s thirst for the divine. In a world where having clean water and even having access to water is a growing threat to the wellness of creation, we are reminded of the simple need to live in balance and harmony recognizing the divine or holy in all of creation.

Many of us in the United States have even distanced ourselves from the natural desire to drink straight from natural water sources, but yet we still thirst for what gives us life. Sometimes, without even knowing, we possess this thirst and even a hunger to be in fellowship with what is holy. 

During this moment in the church calendar, those who have found a home in the Christian movement are asked to remind themselves of the coming light and of the coming goodness we celebrate during this season.

In the same manner as our Psalmist, let us not forget the intimacy that we desire with our Creator and all of creation as we seek to live a life of abundance. And as our meditations and actions move us closer to the divine, may our prayers and thoughts center around our entire global community as we navigate a world that often disappoints.

May our lives point to the same presence that gives us life and may we also be reminded that this presence is found in all the world around us. May the joy we seek be a joy that is experienced by all. 

Rev. Chebon Kernell

Executive Director, Native American Comprehensive Plan

Phillips Seminary Board of Trustee Member

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December 11, 2022

Joy and Grief

Matthew 11:2-11

When John heard in prison what the Messiah was doing, he sent word by his disciples and said to him, “Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?” Matthew 11:2-3

Imagine John in prison defeated, frustrated, angry, grief stricken. Then he hears rumors of a man—the man he baptized—teaching and healing. Then John receives confirmation that Jesus is the one that he was proclaiming. 

The scripture does not mention how John reacted when the messengers came back to him verifying the rumors. We can only speculate how John felt. Joy. Gratitude. Elation. How would you feel seeing your life’s work affirmed and fulfilled? Then add to that knowing the purpose of this man, the Messiah. Joy in overabundance coming forth in the knowledge of what the future holds.

My father died just a few months ago. I still feel as if I am in a bit of a prison of grief. So, this year during Advent, I may not experience joy in overabundance, and John may not have either, but I am determined to find joy and experience it in even the smallest, fleeting ways. Memories of my dad reading the Christmas story. The joy of watching my niblings’ excitement while they open presents. The joy of lazy winter holiday naps—which my dad loved. Joy and grief can coexist.

Throughout the rest of the Advent season, as we wait, let’s make a point to stop what we are doing, focus on our breath for 20 seconds and then focus on our surroundings. What joy can you find in the moment? 

Malisa Pierce

Assistant Vice President of Advancement

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December 10, 2022

A New Kind of Music

1 Samuel 2:1-8

He raises up the poor from the dust; he lifts the needy from the ash heap, to make them sit with princes and inherit a seat of honor. 1 Samuel 2:8a

Faithful Hannah sings thanksgiving and praise. With God’s help, she who was thought barren, has brought new life to the world! Her nation is in crisis. Her son, Samuel, will be Israel’s dynamic prophet-leader. Kings Saul and then David whom he anoints, will lead the Israelites to defeat the Philistine invaders. The nation will know peace. 

But first, a grave internal threat must be resolved—the moral crisis of corrupt religious leaders. Hannah’s firstborn son will succeed them as Israel’s faithful religious leader. 

In a time of crisis, God’s freely loving power to transform despair into hope can begin that holy work as quietly as the song of a new mother. As Hannah’s ode to joy continues, it overflows with hope that the gracious God will strengthen the feeble, fatten the hungry, raise up the poor, and lift up the needy. 

Christians await Emmanuel while so many of our neighbors await the blessings of the transformations Hannah sings—God’s gracious reversals—want, poverty, hunger, and weakness swept away! 

JRR Tolkien wrote that all creation was sung into existence. Illuvatar, the uncreated creator, introduced a melody and the angelic Ainur harmonized.

In a very real way, Christ’s followers harmonize with the Gospel’s melody. Realities of poverty—social, political, and spiritual—challenge believers to “sing” a new world into existence. Together we are called to weave our prayerful actions into The Melody to help create a new and liberated world blessed by the peace of God’s passionate possibilities for all trapped in a barren wilderness of want. Will we sing along with Hannah? 

Rev. Charles Ragland

Alumni Board Member and Secretary (1982)

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December 9, 2022

A Second Coming

2 Peter 3:11-18

Therefore, beloved, while you are waiting for these things, strive to be found by him at peace, without spot or blemish, and regard the patience of our Lord as salvation. 2 Peter 3:14

At a committee meeting in the 4th century, a date was set for Easter; an annual celebration of the passion, death, and resurrection of Jesus would occur on the first Sunday, after the first full moon, after the spring equinox. A date for Christmas came next and then the development of pre and post seasons. Easter came first. Everything else, we celebrate in relationship to Easter.

Because we most easily connect Advent to Christmas, we spend the season in anticipation of the birth of a child. But the theology of advent is inseparable from the theology of Christmas which is inseparable from the theology of Easter. This child we await will be crucified, die, and rise again. 

Our passage from 2 Peter reminds us that the story is not over, Christ will come again—this time, like a thief in the night (2 Peter, vs. 10). The thought of Jesus coming to us in the form of a baby engenders feelings of peace more readily than the thought of the heavens disappearing and the earth laid bare!

A faithful celebration of the season of Advent requires us to think apocalyptically. This world of ours has seen salvation AND is in desperate need of a savior. Where do we see glimpses of salvation, here and now? What needs to be destroyed in the heat of God’s fire? What does it look like to prepare for the end? What does it look like to be at peace as we wait for a new heaven and new earth?  

Dr. Allie Utley 

Assistant Professor of Liturgy and Practical Theology 

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December 8, 2022

Peace

Psalm 146:5-10

Happy are those whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord their God...Psalm 146:5

Peace has of recent become more of a wish than a reality! Something so elusive, almost unattainable. When was the last time we thought we could be in a state of “completeness, wholeness, or safety?” We talk about the realities of our times: covid (and its strains), monkey pox, inflation, Russia and Ukraine. It almost feels like the world is accepting and learning to live with the way things are rather than hoping for the unattainable.

I recently read an article about seven habits that slowly take away one’s peace. These included things like checking social media first thing in the morning, having ears plugged with earphones all the time, taking pictures of everything, leaving messes uncleaned, overworking or obsessive thinking, and being pessimistic. These seven things were PEACE STEALERS!

This got me thinking about what my own list of things that steal my peace would look like. What does peace mean to me, as an individual, in my life, in my career, in my plans? How does God’s definition for peace differ from mine? There is no peace for the wicked, is one scripture that came to mind (Isa.48:22). Can I have peace without God being the source of my peace? 

In Psalm 146:5-10, we are called upon to put our trust in God. Our hope (or our Peace) is to be found only in God. Isaiah in chapter 9:6 calls Jesus the Prince of Peace, and as we go through this Advent season, let us seek Jesus as the source of true peace that we can depend on! 

Judith R. Nakibuuka

Financial Accountant

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December 7, 2022

Spirit into Action

Matthew 12:33-37

Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad, for the tree is known by its fruit. You brood of vipers! How can you speak good things when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. The good person brings good things out of a good treasure, and the evil person brings evil things out of an evil treasure. Matthew 12:33-35

Most if not all of us have had the experience of expecting good fruit to emerge from bad trees. We grow frustrated with ourselves when sermons don’t write themselves after we’ve neglected our personal studies. We’re discouraged when our compassion isn’t as sharp as we’d like following a season of disconnection from our communities. We become disappointed with others when we’ve failed to mentor them as they deserve.

Institutions are partly to blame for this recurrent experience. Many of us are expected to be machines who generate fruit at rates that exceed photosynthesis, yet others are surprised when we arrive at a critical moment without sustenance for those around us. It seems none of us can keep up with the demands of the fruit market.

Yet, Jesus’s admonition to his “brood of vipers” is not a mere matter of victim blaming. This is no pep talk on the merits of self-care for maintaining corporate productivity growth. He is speaking to the cultivation of our moral and theological imagination. Our words are shaped by our spiritual formation, which means they are the fruits we bear to those around us—and which organize our spirit into action. 

The challenge of a pericope like Matthew 12:33–37 is that it speaks to the spiritual capacities that unlock our understanding of it. A diet of spoiled pears will leave us fixated on the wrong fruits. We encounter a hermeneutic circle that demands of us spiritual practices and fortitude to navigate without spiraling.

Dr. Peter Capretto

Assistant Professor of Pastoral Care in Religion and Culture

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December 6, 2022

Peace and Power = Bold Peace!

Romans 15:14-21 

Nevertheless, on some points I have written to you rather boldly by way of reminder, because of the grace given me by God to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the gentiles in the priestly service of the gospel of God, so that the offering of the gentiles may be acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:15-16 (NRSVUE)

As we come to the close of 2022, I embrace the thought of desiring and praying for peace. With life’s experiences, I need the peace that surpasses all understanding daily. Many things in life I struggle with the motives, meanings, and purposes. I want to see the love and peace of God in humanity; however, it is hard many times.

My walk in life needs peace to influence people who are hurting and suffering from the trials of life. One can only imagine the pain of losing loved ones and possessions in war. Why? Why did we witness the neighboring country of Russia attack Ukraine on February 24, 2022? Why did peace not prevail over the actions of Russia towards Ukraine? I will continue to pray for peace.

Paul, in Romans 15:14-21 writes a letter to the Gentiles in Rome concerning a divine assignment to proclaim the word of God. Paul is seeking to bring unity to the Roman churches. I consider Romans to be a book with bold peace. Romans 15:14-21 is a declaration of Paul’s idea of using peace and power in the churches in Rome. I believe Paul understands the struggle of not being present; however, Paul knows the church must choose peace and power, not just power. Bold Peace!

Well, 2022 is coming to a close. I believe God is calling God’s people to spread bold peace over our positions. Bold peace is the act of combining peace and power. Many times, those in power impose their will over others through the lens of power only.

Bold peace is the act of using peace and power to operate within a structure that’s productive for all. Bold peace is needed today. Bold peace will remove senseless wars. Bold peace will remove racism, bigotry, abuse, and hatred. We should want each other to freely operate with peace and power. 

BOLD PEACE! Peace and Power = Bold Peace!

Rev. Ulysses D. Allen

Director of Recruitment and Retention 

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December 5, 2022

Steadfast Love

Psalm 21

In your strength the king rejoices, O Lord, and in your help how greatly he exults! […]

His glory is great through your help; splendor and majesty you bestow on him.

“You bestow on him blessings forever; you make him glad with the joy of your presence.

For the king trusts in the Lord, and through the steadfast love of the Most High he shall not be moved.” Psalm 21:1, 5-7

Psalm 21 constitutes an expression of gratitude for victory, likely used in liturgy for the coronations of kings. The psalm acknowledges that royal success has come through the goodness of God, whose steadfast love has prompted the king to trust in God and receive God’s strength. Some of us might see how such a festive psalm could feel natural in times of great accomplishment or unexpected flourishing, but how might these words be relevant in times of failure, discouragement, or disempowerment? 

Many of us have felt called to walk with those who are in pain, and to bring about positive change for all whom the powerful have sought to marginalize. When finding ourselves up against centuries-old systems of oppression and violence, however, it is easy to feel overwhelmed, helpless, and even hopeless.

What can I do that will truly make a difference in the face of so much evil? we may ask ourselves. How can I possibly make the world a better place when so much in my own life is falling apart?

Thankfully, we are not in this alone. God sees us, remembers us, and has not abandoned us. In a few weeks, at Christmas, we will celebrate the arrival—in person—of the steadfast love of the Most High. Even as we name our grief and sit with our disappointment, both individual and collective, may we find comfort and empowerment in the presence of the One who is with us, strengthening us, and partnering with us to establish peace and justice in this world.

Dr. Briana Wong

Assistant Professor of the History of World Christianities

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December 4, 2022

Envision the Impossible

Isaiah 11:1–10

They will not hurt or destroy on all my holy mountain; for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. Isaiah 11:9

In Isaiah 11:1-10, we find words attributed to Isaiah of Jerusalem, the 8th century BCE prophet, directed at the nation of Judah. In 722/21 BCE, the Assyrian empire had conquered the northern kingdom of Israel and forced Judah to pay tribute. This new financial strain was not born by the wealthy of Judah; it was passed along to those who had little to spare. 

The prophetic vision, found in Isaiah 11:1-10, seems to echo the dreams of a people who were desperate for a better life. Since the fate of the nation of Judah was controlled by their human ruler and their relationship with the Holy, the best hope that Isaiah could offer was the promise of a future when a just and righteous ruler would end all the suffering of the poor and punish their oppressors. This new ruler would usher in a time of unprecedented peace, reflected both in nature and in the political realm.

While Isaiah envisioned a future king for Judah, the vision expanded to the possibility of any leader (or community) who would help to create a world in which natural enemies work in mutuality for the common good and everyone knows a life of wholeness (shalom) that only comes from the Divine.

To our 21st century minds, such a vision seems unimaginable. Perhaps Advent is a time to envision the impossible and then work to make it a reality.

Dr. Lisa Davison

Johnnie Eargle Cadieux Professor of Hebrew Bible and

Disciples Director of Denominational Formation

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December 3, 2022

Hope

Isaiah 40:1–11

“Comfort, O comfort my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem…” Isaiah 40:1-2 (NRSVUE)

When it comes to Isaiah’s chapter 40, there’s a tendency to jump into the drama of preparing a way in the wilderness, straightening out twisting highways, leveling mountains, lifting the tilted slabs of the desert. Big drama. God stuff, on a cosmic or at least geological scale.

Which means we rush past the quiet introduction, as we so often can end up doing. Hear it almost whispered, not in the trumpet refrain announcing the usual Way of the Lord:

“Comfort… oh, comfort…”

Can you hear it? Can you hear God calming and reassuring us, the people of God?

In fact, the prophet, who has already had red hot coals pushed toward his face and seen the dust of earthquakes in the Temple chambers, is told very specifically: speak tenderly.

Rev. Jeff Gill

Adjunct Faculty, Center for Ministry and Lay Training

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December 2, 2022

Legacy of Love

Acts 13:16–25

…God has brought to Israel a Savior, Jesus, as he promised… Acts 13:23

In Antioch of Pisidia, Paul (Saul’s newly-mentioned Gentile moniker) and Barnabas sit down in the synagogue on the sabbath day. After the Torah and the Prophets are read, Paul is asked to share a word of exhortation. He outlines the history of God’s covenantal actions: from the exodus to the wilderness to the Promise Land to the judges and the prophets to the kings. Paul recounts how God has provided for God’s people up to and including John and Jesus.

This is not supersessionism, but it foreshadows his image as a leader in the Gentile integration movement. Paul extends the faith tradition in light of “The Way” which John proclaimed through baptisms and Jesus modeled through his life and death. God extends continuity of care from Israel to Jesus through the Pauline church and eventually to the ends of the earth. Even to us on this day and in this place. 

By remembering our history as God’s people, we recognize God’s investment in us and acknowledge those who remain enslaved and displaced. The traditions of Torah and Gospel draw our attention to God’s ever-expanding love for humankind and our responsibility to help bring about the good that God intends.

We are, after all, part of the same covenantal system in which God proclaimed “all the families of the earth will be blessed” (Gen 12:3). During the Advent season of watching and waiting, let us not only have hope that this legacy will carry us forward, let us act in ways that make it so.

Traci Gardner

Student Senate Member, MA(SJ) Student 

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December 1, 2022

Hope

Psalm 72:1–7, 18–19

May he live while the sun endures, and as long as the moon throughout all generations. Psalm 72:5

What if we had a powerful leader who established justice, prosperity, and conditions for righteousness to flourish for all generations? The psalmist imagines an advocate who endures as long as the sun, as long as the moon. I share the profound longing for someone who would defend the afflicted and save the children of the needy. But I cannot muster much real hope for those possibilities. What does hope mean after we realize that the sun and the moon will endure beyond all human dreams?

The James Webb telescope is gifting our world with images that unite us in wonder beyond national borders. Photographs from the telescope include galaxies whose light took billions of years to reach us. Scientists say we are looking back in time as we see these images. My mind staggers as I try to comprehend the implications. If images travel through time, or our gaze defies time this way, how could our concept of hope change?

In an expanding, everchanging pluriverse, I find assurance that the love, compassion, and justice of the Holy endures beyond space and time. I can understand people who want a powerful figure to deliver us all from tribulations. My hope in this season of Advent and this season of human history is that we follow the stars to allow ourselves to be led by beauty and wonder. Blinded by the light of day in so many ways, we are often oblivious to infinite possibility surrounding us all. Continuing to search motivated by our longing is an act that manifests hope.

Dr. Kathy McCallie

Associate Professor of Ministerial Leadership and Ethics

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November 30, 2022

Love Wins

Isaiah 54:1–10

For the mountains may depart and the hills be removed, but my steadfast love shall not depart from you, and my covenant of peace shall not be removed, says the Lord, who has compassion on you. Isaiah 54:10

In this scripture, the Holy’s love becomes steadfast, overcoming the stories of “divine wrath” that make up parts of the Hebrew bible and Hollywood movies with an ancient biblical focus.

This shift promises that prior shame, disgrace, and geopolitical disaster aren’t the final word. It is noteworthy that this part of Isaiah also has the Holy taking responsibility for abandoning the people, contributing to their deep loss. “For a brief moment I abandoned you, but with great compassion I will gather you. In overflowing wrath for a moment I hid my face from you, but with everlasting love I will have compassion on you, says the Lord, your Redeemer” (v. 8).

For many who follow the way of Jesus, the hope of our Advent season is to prepare our welcome for the most compassionate one who comes to free and welcome all into the promise of steadfast love. Meditating on the words from Isaiah, I find myself drawn into a discipline of compassion this season, but compassion is hard.

Compassion requires an openness to the feelings of others and where they are. It requires an acknowledgment of my own actions and lifestyle that may contribute to suffering, fear, and anger in the world. Turning away is the easy thing to do. Turning toward and offering hope-building, steadfast-loving compassion is hard.

But with the assurance of the Holy’s steadfast love and covenant of peace, and the promised coming of the Holy into the world, true compassion is possible.

Kurt Gwartney

Senior Director of Communications and 

Adjunct Faculty, Center for Ministry and Lay Training

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November 29, 2022

The Hope of Repeated Promises

Genesis 9:1–17

“…When the bow is in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the Earth.” God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant that I have established between me and all flesh that is on the earth.” Genesis 9:16-17

Earlier chapters of Genesis share destruction, flooding, death, and traumatic events, and I can imagine fear taking hold within those present wondering, “What’s next?” Instead, in Genesis 9 there is a new hope given. It shares God’s blessings of prospering and re-filling the Earth, followed by instructions for taking care of creation, and finally a promise by God to never again destroy the Earth by flood. It’s that promise God shares first in verses 8 through 11, repeats in verse 12, and again repeats in verses 16 and 17, that delivers the calming effect.

When we want to make a point to a student, church member, or others, we repeat that concept or phrase; repetition matters. This covenant was so important to God that it is repeated to Noah and his family over and over. Not only that, a part of the promise includes a symbol of a “bow” set up in the clouds so that even when it rains, every living thing doesn’t need to fear but can trust in God’s repeated promise for Earth. Each time a rainbow is set in the cloud it’s a proof of a repeated promise. 

Verse 16 establishes the covenant not just between God and Noah for that time but as an eternal covenant. We, the future generation of everything living, benefit without having to have done a single thing. This everlasting promise adds another layer of hope. God is asking nothing from Noah or us in return for this promise, we are just to receive it. 

God established this covenant. God has kept and will keep the agreement, and each time we see this sign we take hope in all God’s promises.

Leslie LeSieur

Senior Director of the Center for Ministry and Lay Training

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November 28, 2022

Restoration

Genesis 8:1–19 

God did not forget Noah and all the animals in the ark, and sent a mighty wind over the earth so that the waters began to subside. The springs of the Deep and the windows in the heavens were closed up. The rain from the heavens stopped. The water covering the earth gradually dropped, until at the end of 150 days it was gone. Genesis 8:1-3

The crisis is over. God has not forgotten us. In this third Advent season beyond the squealing of the brakes in March 2020, we can begin to imagine what is next. It is obscured, for sure. The flood waters still hide what will be discovered later — but at least the rain has stopped. 

I am fascinated by this story in Genesis, the story of Noah and the flood. It follows the tragedy in the garden, then the tragedy of Cain and Abel. In fact, as the story opens, we read, “YHWH was sorry that humankind had been created on the earth; it pained God’s heart.” When God created humans, the Holy One crowned them with the pronouncement, “...and it was very good.” What happened? 

This passage in Genesis reaches back for the beautiful Hebrew word present in the first chapter, “ruah.” It can be translated: breath, wind, or spirit. It is the source of creation, what God breathed into the first human to bring life. Right here, after the world has been destroyed, God once again breathes upon the earth and the direction shifts from devastation toward restoration. 

That’s what hope looks like to me. Appearing as a tiny shift, perhaps unnoticed by most, but appearing even so. Hope is like the wind when it shifts direction bringing a change in the weather. Hope is like holy breath. Hope is water receding. Hope is the life that survived against all the odds, waiting to be discovered. 

We are in the first week of Advent. The darkness of the womb strongly embraces us. We are too early to catch the first light of the birth canal. Still, hope comes to the fore. May God bring hope like a fresh wind in this season. 

Rev. Charla Gwartney 

Adjunct Faculty, Century for Ministry and Lay Training

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November 27, 2022

A Familiar Place

Psalm 122

I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go to the house of the Lord!” Psalm 122:1

Familiar, from the Latin, “belonging to a family, of a household, intimate. Also, famulus, family; familia, household servant.

I like to attend worship. It is familiar and it always feels like home.

During seminary I served as the associate minister at First Christian Church of Stroud, Oklahoma. I worked with the youth groups and participated in Sunday worship. The kind and generous members of First Christian Church were tolerant of my youthful efforts and treated me as one of their ministers. However, I never understood myself to be a minister, not really. 

I was ordained during Sunday morning worship at First Christian Church. Following worship, not one but several members said to me, “Congratulations, Reverend Ewing.” It was then, I knew I was a minister. I was home.

During Advent, we arrive at another familiar place. It is a place of arrival and coming. We recognize all those here, as we have been recognized. We are members of a common household, a gathering, in this place marked as a household of service and edged by the Lord’s Peace. In this familiar place, this Coming Place, I recognize home. I am recognized as being at home. It is a home welcoming each one, in this or any time, it is:

— the Great Family of Belonging,

—defined by acts of Service and Justice,

—and becomes the House of Hope.

I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go to the house of the Lord!”

Dr. Terry Ewing

Vice President of Advancement

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December 25, 2021

Christmas Day: Life 

John 1:1-14

What has come into being through him was life… the light for all people. John 1:4

John’s Gospel opens its presentation of Jesus with a communication metaphor, the Word. And it employs the Hebrew Bible paradigm of Wisdom the communicator. 

The Hebrew Bible, notably Proverbs chapter 8, presents Wisdom as a female figure who exists “in the beginning” with God. She comes from God to communicate divine presence and purposes among humans. She seeks to draw people into relationship with God as God’s friends. Among people she experiences acceptance and rejection. 

John’s Gospel borrows this paradigm. It presents Jesus as the definitive word who reveals or communicates divine presence and purposes among people. 

What does Jesus communicate? “What has come into being through him was life…the light for all people” (John 1:4). Jesus manifests the life-giving, liberating, and loving purposes of God. The word becomes flesh and lives among us (John 1:14). Jesus lives in solidarity with victims of dominating and life-depleting power. He opposes the damage caused by indiscriminate and self-serving power. He pursues justice that honors the dignity of all people and their access to just societal structures and requisite resources for good life.

Communication, though, can be ambiguous. A long tradition has preferred to spiritualize and individualize this “life.” Some interpretations emphasize life that “saves souls” but ignores bodies, that focuses on the future but not the present, that concerns individuals but not societal structures and practices. Such claims ignore that the Word becomes flesh, lives among us, and offers life to all. 

Dr. Warren Carter

LaDonna Kramer Meinders Professor of New Testament

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December 24, 2021

Good News for the Working Class

Luke 2:1-20

When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go now to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us.” Luke 2:15

Sheep are very dependent animals and require all of their daily needs to be provided. Since they don’t have a strong survival mechanism, they are easy prey for predators. When sheep are in an open, hostile environment, they require a protector, a shepherd who guards and guides the sheep. Without a shepherd, death of the sheep is certain.

Although being a shepherd was a common profession, it was not a very well respected profession. The shepherd was not seen as noble. Instead, the shepherd was regarded as dirty, low class, and unprincipled. The shepherd, who worked outdoors all the time, had to combat the weather as well as combat carnivorous animals like wolves, bears, and lions. On occasion, a shepherd also battled thieves who sought to steal the sheep. Without a shepherd, the sheep might wander away and perish. The shepherd was required to be alert, watchful, fearless, and attentive.

On that holy night, the skies became the backdrop of a magnificent drama that invited the ordinary to participate in an extraordinary event. The night became as day as the good news was proclaimed to the socially impoverished. God calls everyone to experience saving grace. The shepherds did not question, “What is this?” or “What does this mean?” Rather, being inspired by their fidelity, they chose to collectively travel to witness what had been declared to them. Their faith made them a part of the sacred scene that we cherish during this season. Once they arrived at the manger, they kept watch over the Lamb of God who also became the Good Shepherd!

Dr. Lee H. Butler, Jr.

Vice-President of Academic Affairs and Academic Dean and

William Tabbernee Professor of the History of Religions and Africana Pastoral Theology

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December 23, 2021

Mary’s Song in Troubled Times

Luke 1:46b–55

[G*d] has come to the aid of Israel, his child, a reminder of mercy. Luke 1:54 (Common English Bible)

Life can bring about uncertain times when it is difficult to recognize G*d’s love. The pressures of life can bombard our senses as we anticipate end-moments, those times when pain ends, and dominance is achieved. Interpretations of Mary’s song often assume this posture: eyes forward we see pre-emptive praise for Christ-mediated end-moments of salvation and victory. 

I pose an alternate posture. Mary, a betrothed yet unmarried Galilean woman, was an expectant mother. Imagine her not as mother of G*d but as a young woman in a hostile, patriarchal world holding on to a promise. Imagine this vulnerable woman aware of her condition while not yet showing. Imagine Mary, living daily in ever-present awareness of being discovered and castigated. Have you ever felt vulnerable? To society? To the economy? To a virus? Amidst her danger, Mary held Gabriel’s promise that the Holy Spirit would move on her behalf, and it did. Despite cultural norms and stereotypes Mary found safety with Elizabeth. It was in Mary’s service (to Elizabeth) that she was extolled. Elizabeth’s words fell upon Mary’s ears creating a profound moment of love and affirmation, a moment prompted by the spirit. Might Mary’s song be euphoric praise for the steadfast love of G*d, articulated in the unexpected outpouring and transformational relationship fostered by Elizabeth?

Covid-19 has wreaked havoc on the world. So many of us grapple with how to live safely and authentically in times of vulnerability. I do not know what Sars-CoV2 will be like by Christmas. I’m uncertain if the delta, lambda, or nu variants will shutter church doors, national boundaries, or claim millions more lives. Yet, advent calls us to be reminded of G*d’s love, a promise embodied in Christ’s birth. May we, in our most vulnerable moments, be reminded that G*d’s love is with us, now and tomorrow.

Dr. Arthur F. Carter, Jr.

Assistant Professor of New Testament

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December 22, 2021

An Inclusive Faith

Ephesians 2:11-22

He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near…. Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household. Ephesians 2:17, 19

As we near the culmination of the celebration of Advent, the juxtaposition of today’s Hebrew and Christian lectionary texts provide an interesting meditation on the journey and transformation this Advent makes possible. Indeed, the incarnation demonstrates for us what Willie James Jennings in The Christian Imagination calls an “intimate joining” we are called to manifest in our own lives. 

As those who have been grafted into another’s story, made fellow citizens and also members of God’s household, one would think by now that Christians would be better witnesses to learning from others’ varied experiences, reconciling and loving across differences. Instead, we too often use religion—whether Christianity broadly or denominations more specifically—to exclude. 

By contrast, today’s Hebrew text from Micah reflects a monotheism, to be sure, but not a closed monotheism. Even in “the last days,” it allows that “all the nations may walk in the name of their gods.” Likewise, Revelation 21 surprises us with the mention of “nations” and “kings of the earth” in the New Jerusalem. Both Micah (4:2) and Revelation (21:24) speak to the nations seeking God’s wisdom and coming to walk in God’s paths.

May this Advent season’s example of humility and emptying inspire us anew to empty ourselves and open our hearts, eschewing our own “wisdom” that we may seek God’s alone and walk in the ways set before us.

Kaaryn McCall

Alumna (2020)

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December 21, 2021

Life in the Darkness

Romans 8:18-30

For in hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what is seen? Romans 8:24

Today is the Winter Solstice. In the northern hemisphere it’s the darkest day of the year. Sometimes I think darkness gets a bad rap. The fact that the church picked this time of the year as Jesus’ birth is not a coincidence. Christianity baptized many traditions and claimed them as ours. My favorite carol is “In the Bleak Midwinter”—which fills my soul. Today I want to celebrate darkness.

In 1986 I moved to the San Luis Valley in Colorado. My 11 years in that mystical place gave me many gifts. Our home was on an acreage away from the town. Sometimes I would go outside at night just to breath the alpine air. The stars always put on a show. I had been doing this for a while when I realized that what I thought was a collection of clouds, was actually the Milky Way galaxy. 

One summer we hosted an international exchange student from Japan. I will never forget walking outside with him on one of his first nights with us. He stopped and pointed to the sky, “Beautiful,” was his only word. He explained that in Tokyo you can never see the stars because “we have too much light” (light pollution).

The eighth chapter of Romans ranks up there with my favorite Christmas carol. It reminds me that at the core of our faith is the truth of hope. That hope is grounded in the reality that “the Spirit helps us in our weakness” (vs 26). In the supposed darkness of these times, whether in our communities or our beings, the forces of light and hope are present. 

Rev. Dr. Mark W. Pumphrey

President of the Phillips Alumni Association

Senior Pastor at First Christian Church in Greeley, Colorado

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December 20, 2021

Praise the LORD

Psalm 113

Praise the LORD! Praise, O servents of the LORD; praise the name of the LORD. Blessed be the name of the LORD from this time on and forevermore. From the rising of the sun to its setting the name of the LORD is to be praised. The LORD is high above all nations, and his glory above the heavens. Who is like the LORD our God, who is seated on high, who looks far down on the heavens and the earth? He raises the poor from the dust, and lifts the needy from the ash heap, to make them sit with princes, with the princes of his people. He gives the barren woman a home, making her the joyous mother of children. Praise the LORD! Psalm 113:1-9 

As I reflect on 2021, I can only pull together thoughts of hope and promise. Hope stands as the foundational breath we need as humans to push from day to day. Promise is the key to a home that reminds all of us of the bountiful blessings bestowed by God to God’s people. It’s the promise that evokes a movement capable of illuminating the power and might to change lives, heal the sick, and save souls. Many lives have seen and felt much pain over the past years. 

Psalm 113 is an example of the hope and promise we receive through the public and private practice of praise and worship. This is a psalm for the community to unite and build a strong tower of support. As I envision the imagery of Psalm 113, I can envision people of all races, religions, and walks of life coming together to offer affirmation of praise and gratefulness. Psalm 113 provides us with a picture of a LORD who wants to love and protect us. The LORD is in the blessing business of elevating the poor and needy to a place of importance, royalty! 

During this Advent season, please remember the importance of praising the LORD! Praise the LORD who provides for you and your family. The LORD who takes away your troubled pain and gives you the power to strive to greater accomplishments. Praise the LORD who never loses a battle or faces defeat. Please remember to share with your community, family, and friends the sincere benevolence of love, peace, and joy. Praise the name of the LORD! This advent season is your season of glorifed praise. Praise the LORD!

Rev. Ulysses D. Allen

Interim Director of Recruitment and Retention 

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December 19, 2021

A Song of Love and Justice

Luke 1:46-55

“My Soul Magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked with favor upon his servant.... He has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly; he has filled the hungry with good things and sent the rich away empty.” Luke 1:46-48, 52-53.

The Magnificat has become one of the most potent pieces of justice literature in the entirety of scripture for me. Growing up half-Roman Catholic and half-Pentecostal in rural Oklahoma, I remember hearing about Mary in very different tones depending on which side of the family we enjoyed after-church meals with. 

Today, I honor and revere her.

Not just because of the clear connection she has to the expectation we all experience in Advent. Not as a woman created in the image of a rather absurd, westernized “meek and mild” archetype. Not even as the Theotokos, or, the Mother of God. But as an exemplar of the Holy’s commitment to love and justice. 

Mary exclaims with Divine conviction that God’s eternal promise to lift the lowly, fill the hungry with good things, fulfill promises, and love with abiding presence will never falter. But it doesn’t stop there, for this only represents half of Mary’s exclamation. The powerful, the rich, the proud, and the greedy find justice in a different way within her prayer. “Meek and mild?” I think not. 

The Magnificat shakes me from my privileged torpor to remind me that I am not always to whom the prayer is meant to comfort. Mary’s song is one of both comfort and retribution. Love and justice. Renewal and doom. As I greet the Living God in Christ this Christmas, will I find comfort in Mary’s song? Will you?

May we all be shocked by Mary’s Song. May the Magnificat help us realize justice, and indeed love, this Advent.

Kyle Miller-Shawnee

Interim Director of Admissions and Student Services

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December 18, 2021

A Roller-Coaster Season

Isaiah 66:7-11; Luke 13:31-35

The sound of an uproar from the city!...The sound of the Lord repaying his enemies what they have earned. Isaiah 66:6 (Common English Bible)

The Advent season is not for persons who want only “ups” in life. Take Lucy Van Pelt of Peanuts fame. She complained to Charlie Brown, “Why can’t my life be all ‘ups?’ If I want all ‘ups,’ why can’t I have them?...I don’t want any ‘downs!’ I just want ‘ups’ and ‘ups’ and ‘ups!’

In contrast to Lucy, we have Isaiah and Luke, two masters of sending our imaginations on fabulous ups and terrible downs. They juxtapose images worthy of a Salvador Dali painting. 

Isaiah’s author tells of Jerusalem’s post-exilic rebirth being like a woman delivering before labor begins. The returnees are newborns drinking from Jerusalem’s milk-swollen breasts. But before and after those joyous and tender images are condemnations of God’s enemies. “The sound of an uproar from the city!...The sound of the LORD repaying his enemies what they have earned.” Downs with the ups.

In Luke, friendly sometimes-sparring partners warn Jesus that Herod wants him dead. Rather than saying, “Thank you,” and taking cover, Jesus tells them he is headed for Jerusalem, the place of danger for those who speak truth laced with justice and compassion. Jerusalem here is not the loving new mother but prophet-slayer. This time, it is Jesus who would play the loving mother. He longs to gather the city’s people as a hen gathers her chicks, but no one comes.

Advent is not a time of pure joy or terror. It is a mixture of warning (the downs), the demand for change (always a gut-jerking ride), and wild promises of a more joyous future (ups!). I would sure prefer Lucy’s world, but that is not where we live, especially during Advent.

Dr. Gary Peluso-Verdend

President Emeritus and 

Executive Director of the Center for Religion in Public Life

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December 17, 2021

Remembering and Persevering! 

Hebrews 10:32-39

So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. Hebrews 10:35 (NIV)

We have heard of stories of people who have waited for loved ones to return from a journey or an assignment and what a joy it is when they finally receive them back. We have also heard of some people who have unfortunately given up “a few minutes” before realizing their dreams.

I once heard a story about a miner who gave up and sold off what he considered a useless mine but unknown to him, he was just a few meters away from the gold that he had been looking for most of his life. 

In Hebrews 10:32-39, the author talks about remembering our love or commitment to faith in Jesus. “So do not throw away your confidence, it will be richly rewarded,” (v. 35). “You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what God has promised” (v. 37).

As we await the coming of the Lord, we are being called upon:

To Wait patiently on God’s promise

To Remember our love and commitment to the message of Jesus.

To Persevere in order to receive what the Lord has promised. 

Do you know what the Lord has promised you? Knowing what the Lord has promised us is one of the things that will help us to persevere and not give up, especially when the journey gets hard. As we wait on the Lord’s coming, let us do so joyfully and with perseverance, knowing that the Lord is coming soon and will not delay! Are you expectant? 

Judith Nakibuuka 

Financial Accountant

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December 16, 2021

Embodying the Covenant

Jeremiah 31:31-34

“I will put My Teaching into their inmost being and inscribe it upon their hearts. Then I will be their God, and they shall be My people.” Jeremiah 31:33b

The text contains some of the most familiar words of this prophetic book. Jeremiah is speaking to the exiles in Babylon and envisioning the future that God intends for them. Through the prophet, God promises them a future, when God will “build and plant” the people in Judah and establish a “new” covenant. 

It is this last promise that needs some closer consideration. What about the covenant will be “new?” God does not say that there will be new commandments or teachings; the content will not change. Rather, it is how people will know the covenant that will be new. Whereas in their past, the Israelites had a tradition of a “written,” or text-based, covenant with God (though that was probably a later development), now God says that the covenant will be “written” on their hearts. There will be no need for monuments containing the commandments or for teaching others about God’s desires. All will know the covenant intuitively.

How could this be possible? Certainly, children and new community members will need instruction in what the covenant requires, wouldn’t they? There is no reason to take this text literally, implying that no one will ever need a reminder about how God wants us to live.

If a community structures its life together with a clear sense of accountability and acts in ways that consider the current need and possible future results, it will embody the covenant requirements. They will love God with all their being and love their neighbors as themselves; their living will “teach” the next generation. Their faith will lead them into a new future.

Dr. Lisa W. Davison

Johnnie Eargle Cadieux Professor of Hebrew Bible and

Director of Formation for DOC Students

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December 15, 2021

Sacred Autonomy

Micah 4:8-13

But they do not know the thoughts of the LORD; they do not understand his plan… Micah 4:12a

A common trope in novels, television, and movies is the damsel in distress. A woman, usually young and beautiful, is captured by an evil villain who threatens her life and virtue, thus enticing the hero, usually a young and equally beautiful man, into the villain’s lair to rescue the fair lady at risk. A great fight ensues, the leading man carries away the leading lady, who, of course, falls hopelessly in love with her rescuer, and they ride happily off into the sunset.

In this text, the city of Jerusalem is depicted as a damsel in distress being held captive in Babylon, waiting to be rescued, not by a human hero, but by the LORD. Her captors are drooling over her, thinking that she is there for the taking.

But Lady Jerusalem does not sit around waiting to be rescued. In fact, rescue is not even in the LORD’s plan for her. Instead, God’s plan is for her to take matters into her own hands and provide her own rescue herself.

She has a “king” and a “counselor” within her (v. 9)—her own strong spirit, breathed into her by the God who created her. God’s plan for her, and for all people of all genders, is that we all have sovereignty over our own selves, a king and a counselor within each of us.

We all were created and called very good by a loving God whose desire for all of us is to flourish in lives of sacred autonomy, living out every dream that the Divine has for us and that we have for ourselves.

Rev. Renee Goodwin

Theological Reflection Group Facilitator and 

Pastor of First Christian Church of Girard, KS

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December 14, 2021

Where Faith Leads

Numbers 16:20-35

…when the ground under them burst asunder, the earth opened its mouth, and swallowed them up with their households, all Korah’s people, and all their possessions. They all went down alive into Sheol, with all that belonged to them… Numbers 16:32-33 (Jewish Study Bible)

What a satisfying ending to anyone’s enemies, no? So ends the tale of Korah, great challenger to Moses’s leadership. The interesting bit about the tale is that at first blush it looks like Korah’s beef with Moses is really about democracy versus divine appointment. 

Korah presents Moses with a pretty good complaint, stating that all of the Israelites are holy. He demands, “Why then do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the Lord?” Think of Pete’s confrontation with Everett in O Brother, Where Art Thou?: “Who elected you leader of this outfit?” Unlike Everett, Moses doesn’t have a snappy comeback. Instead, Moses prostrates himself and begins to consult with G-d. 

He perhaps senses a demagogue in Korah. Korah is a Levite and already has special privileges, so why is he looking to end Moses’ leadership? As a prophetic figure Moses knows there is more to leading G-d’s people to G-d, that land of milk and honey, than simply declaring everyone finished in achieving holiness. 

Martin Buber suggests that Moses knows, through G-d, that the road to learning how to become a holy people is a long one and must be hewn across generations of choices “between the way of G-d and the wrong paths of their own hearts.” Where does faith lead you this season?

Sandy Shapoval

Dean of the Library and Research Services

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December 13, 2021

Korah’s Rebellion

Numbers 16:1-19

And the glory of the Lord appeared to the whole congregation. Numbers 16:19b 

Whichever word you use for it — incarnation, real presence, embodiment — a central theme for Advent and Christmas is how the human Jesus reflects the work of God in a flesh-and-blood world. The next question, then, is how and where this holy work manifests in a real way today.

Though the biblical story of Korah’s rebellion requires more exegetical unpacking than we can do here, it does offer an interesting perspective on how a fiery God shows up in the midst of challenge to reveal what is holy. “And the glory of the Lord appeared to the whole congregation” (Num 16:19b).

In Korah’s case, the result was to reinforce the status quo, Moses and Aaron as God’s chosen leaders. Ponder with me the possibility of a different result.

What if we ignite a fire within by challenging our existing assumptions about our own holy work? What if we begin seriously to question the traditions and structures in which we and those around us operate? What if we interrogate ourselves, our own motives, our own conscious or unconscious participation in systems we thought were neutral when it comes to justice and liberation?

Imagine this Advent as a season of rebellion against complacency, a time of self-examination and proactive exploration in which we pay attention to how a fiery God shows up in the challenge and reveals to us anew both the internal and external holy work to which we are called. This, too, is incarnation.

Rev. Susanna Weslie Southard

Dean of the Chapel and Affiliate Instructor for Ministry Studies

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December 12, 2021

Extended Warranty

Philippians 4:4-7

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Philippians 4:4

If you are a mainline, Protestant person of a certain age, you likely have a tune going through your head about now. “Rejoice… rejoice… and again I say, rejoice.” You may also be hearing that music as a round that will take a while to exit your brain. You may also be thinking of the lack of things to rejoice about over the past year.

The “rejoicing” expressed in this text is not a happy kind of feeling. Instead, it’s a call to a sense of total well-being in the promises of a Divine One whose desire is for our protection and peace. This is a total protection plan, the most extended warranty of warranties, far beyond anything a telemarketer could offer, regardless of how many times they call.

Folks in Philippi get a reminder in this letter that while they may not live in the most welcoming neighborhood in the Roman empire, they are to trust their faith to lead them to a life of shalom, a peace that “exceeds human imagination” (Charles B. Cousar). They are reminded that their hearts and minds are also guarded by the Divine One, even as they navigate persecution from without and disagreements within their community.

The folks of Philippi know that as faithful followers of Jesus, the one we await this season, they are expected to also share this encompassing love, this peace that “exceeds human imagination” outside of their community, even to those who persecute them, rejoicing in the Lord always and in all ways.

Kurt Gwartney

Senior Director of Communications

Instructor, Center for Ministry and Lay Training

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December 11, 2021

Second Kind of Faith

Luke 1:57-66

But his mother said, “No; he is to be called John.” Luke 1:60

Faith is tricky. For some, faith comes easily, a childlike trust that God is always there, a belief that God hears every prayer, a certainty that God has a plan about everything. For others, faith is more difficult, like trying to grasp a handful of fog or see the wind. It’s there, but not easily describable or concrete. 

Looking into the future is an act of the second kind of faith. We can’t know what’s there with certainty; we can only peer into it with near-sighted vision. Yet our faith can give us an underlying hope in the future, as in the passage from Isaiah.

For a people in exile, dreaming of a return home, it would have been easy to succumb to hopelessness. But with their faith, the words of Isaiah about the future, about repairing, restoration, and rebuilding were like trying to grasp that fog. It was there and not there at the same time.

Like the amazement surrounding the naming of John the Baptist, there is wonder about both the present and the future. As John’s name was clearly decided, people still wondered about his future—and their own—as they wondered what he would become. His future was not yet written but had promise and potential. 

And so it is with us. As we wait through Advent and through life, may we embrace the fog and the wind, and the steadfast God there through it all. 

Kelly Youngblood

Student Senate Member and Master of Divinity Student

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December 10, 2021

Cheerful Giving and Receiving

Amos 8:4-12 and 2 Corinthians 9:1-15 

Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift! 2 Corinthians 9:15

Has shopping for Christmas presents ever felt more like a grudging obligation than a joy? I have to confess that most years at least some of my gift-giving feels compulsory rather than cheerful.

I admire my few, brave, counter-cultural friends who refuse to participate in gift exchanges at Christmas. I wish I would follow their example of rejecting the idolatry of consumerism and commercialism that conscripts so many of us into buying and material junk as a token of love. Yet, I can hardly imagine opting out of the custom. 

This lesson from Amos reminds me that greed is a human tendency with serious consequences. Ideally, the practice of gift giving could be a rehearsal for generous sharing — the opposite of greed. In the 2 Corinthians passage we read about one community’s outpouring of love to support another community. When love flows between those who can give to those who are in need, the Commonwealth of God is manifest in visible, tangible ways. 

I am intrigued by the line in verse 15 about God’s gift that is indescribable, inexpressible, unspeakable. Can we say anything at all about that gift? Perhaps we come closest to experiencing that gift through the wonder and hope that stems from the miraculous power that can free us from greed. The insatiable, acquisitive drive in me is a cruel master. It is a miracle when I am freed from grasping in order to appreciate and share with others instead of wanting more for myself. 

May your giving and receiving be filled with potent cheerfulness this Christmas. 

Dr. Kathleen D. McCallie

Associate Professor of Ministerial Leadership and Ethics

and Director of the Doctor of Ministry Program

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December 9, 2021

Faith Leads Us to Peace

Isaiah 12:2-6

Yes, indeed— God is my salvation. I trust, I won’t be afraid. God- yes God!— is my strength and song, best of all, my salvation! Isaiah 12:2 (The Message)

At first glance, you feel the peace presented in this joyful song, but the prophet Isaiah shared these words in a world full of doom and gloom. The people of Judah had struggles, fears, divisiveness, and uncertainty. This passage is a much-needed bright spot sharing of the future day when we draw together to give thanks and praise.

Today’s struggles, fears, inequalities, and other crises echo Isaiah’s time. We also experience personal strife, worry, illness, accidents, and loss. We feel frail and very human. It seems too much to join in or repeat this beautiful song; to trust, and not be afraid.

When we are fearful though, it helps us to understand that God is always faithful. The Spirit reaches to us from the pages and across the centuries to let us know that God is with us, is our strength, stands beside us, and even carries us through painful moments or worrying times. Grace and love are gifts bestowed upon us; compassion and comfort are blessings that sustain us, enabling us to withstand what overwhelms us. This verse is a promise that can help us get through troubles and personal challenges. 

During this season of Advent, as nights seem so dark and the relentlessness of this world keeps us worried, we wait, just like the people of Isaiah’s time, for “the future day” when God’s salvation will come to us in all its fullness, we won’t be afraid. We are drawn toward that, ready to “sing praise-songs to God. Let the whole earth know what’s been done!” (Isaiah 12:6). We celebrate with the whole people of God. Can we get any more peace than that?

Leslie LeSieur

Senior Director of the Center for Ministry and Lay Training

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December 8, 2021

A Hope Filled Longing for Joy

Isaiah 35: 3-7

Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; then the lame shall leap like a deer, and the tongue of the speechless sing for joy. For waters shall break forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert; the burning sand shall become a pool, and the thirsty ground springs of water; the haunt of jackals shall become a swamp, the grass shall become reeds and rushes. Isaiah 35:5-7

Alienation is one of the conditions of living in exile. In Isaiah’s writings, we encounter people living under chaotic, disorienting experiences of oppression where there is a scarcity of hope.

For many living in the middle of an ongoing pandemic and the heightened racial and political tensions of the last five years, there is a profound sense of estrangement. One consequence of isolation and ongoing tensions is the struggle to maintain a sense of hope. The reminder that joy is more than a possibility it is a promise of abundant justice and healing.

In the wilderness of separation parched by feelings of loneliness and uncertainty about the future, the memory of connection and wholeness lingers in the distance like a mirage. The longing for refreshing springs of renewed health and relief from the suffering of Creation and her Peoples.

Isaiah reminds us there is still hope and the potential for joy as we remind one another and bear each other up while navigating the desert. God’s promise bubbles forth and the thirst abates and gives way to song. Even in precarious surroundings, we are not alone in our sojourn. Together, we can participate in compassion in such a way that a place of communion is created.

Dr. Lisa A. Dellinger

Visiting Assistant Professor of Constructive Theologies

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December 7, 2021

Someday At Christmas

Isaiah 19:18-25

In that day there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria. The Assyrians will go to Egypt and the Egyptians to Assyria. The Egyptians and Assyrians will worship together…The LORD Almighty will bless them, saying, “Blessed be Egypt my people, Assyria my handiwork, and Israel, my inheritance.” Isaiah 19:23, 25 (NIV)

Someday at Christmas, men won’t be boys,

Playing with bombs like kids play with toys.

One warm December, our hearts will see

A world where men are free.

—Stevie Wonder, “Someday at Christmas” (1967)

When I was a child, we put up decorations while listening to this holiday classic every Christmas. As a child, the music moved me. But now, as an adult, I value the lyrics equally. The song’s message is just as important now as it was in 1967. In my view, it is such a fitting song for Advent.

I often wonder if Stevie knows how his song dovetails nicely with the prophetic and eschatological themes of Advent. Like the prophet Isaiah, he penned a vision of the future where joy, peace, hope, and love will be the order of the day. However, what’s important to note is that no one will be left out of this vision. In the oracles from Isaiah, we read that although God will hold Egypt and Assyria accountable for their oppression of God’s people, yet still God includes them in this reconciling work.

This Advent, may we consider how anticipating Christ’s coming into the world involves drawing the circle of grace wider. We embrace those already in the fold, those pushed to the margins, and yes, even our enemies. In Advent, we anticipate restorative justice not through building walls but through paving highways that all may enter the ever-inclusive Kin-dom of God. The fruit of our faithful labor may not be immediately apparent. But as Stevie would put it, the fulfilment will come “maybe not in time for you and me, but someday at Christmastime.”

Keith Anthony Bethell

Student Senate Member and Master of Theological Studies Student

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December 6, 2021

A Word of Comfort

Isaiah 40:1-11

The grass withers, the flower fades; but the word of our God will stand forever. Isaiah 40:8

I used to work at a summer camp. During training, we would rehearse a list of values and principles that would guide our work together. Most of them have faded from my memory but one embedded itself in my life: When confronted with changes big and small, the twinge (or wave) of anxiety I feel is met with the phrase, “I am flexible and adapt to change.” 

It helps us all to be flexible and adapt to change because change is inevitable. Viruses mutate. People get sick. People die. People grow. People move. New jobs start. Families grow. Families divide. Seasons pass. Grass withers. Flowers fall. Grass grows. Flowers bloom. The list could go on and on and on. 

But, as Bon Jovi sings, “the more things change, the more they stay the same.” It often seems like a lot of the troubles in our world endure as steadfastly as God’s love. Global warming continues to progress at a terrifying pace. Police brutality and the killing of oppressed peoples persists. The pandemic rages on. Again, the list could go on and on and on.

Hear a word of comfort and call this advent season: in the midst of it all, God is steadfast and sure. We are flexible and adapt to change! We work with God, responding to the needs of the world, ushering in change that brings relief to the suffering and liberates the oppressed. 

Dr. Allie Utley 

Assistant Professor Liturgy and Practical Theology 

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December 5, 2021

Work in Progress

Philippians 1:3-11

I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work among you will bring it to completion by the day of Jesus Christ. Philippians 1:6

My mother is an artist. All my life I have been in an artistic environment, within a family of artists. I spent most of those early years around my mother’s art and watching her paint.

Artists see differently. Where I might see a tree or a person, my mother sees a leaf or a pair of hands. Upon a blank canvas she would begin using broad and sweeping strokes as she sketched the shapes. Then, these vague sketches would begin to take form, becoming clear and distinct.

As she prepared her palette with different colors of paint, I would imagine how those colors might be applied. I would be baffled as she began to apply the paint: mixing, combining, creating texture and leading the colors to follow her vision.

Soon, I was able to see these forms as a landscape, portrait or still life. Gradually, the painting would be revealed. I could see it. Then, my eyes saw what she had seen all along.

In this season of preparation, waiting and arrival we gather around the Artist once more. We have lived within a sketch of the world, jumbled and indistinct, plain and without color, empty of the form we long to see, to now stand in awe before the promised masterpiece of forgiveness and compassion, spoken of across our generations. Our eyes have been sharpened and grown accustomed, by faith, as we peer over the Artist’s shoulder, once more.

May this season of Advent become the living gallery in which our wandering sight opens wide and we fall upon our knees before a work of sprawling majesty, in which, we too are portrayed.

Dr. Terry Ewing

Vice President of Advancement

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December 4, 2021

Too Big To Fail, Too Small To Matter?

Malachi 4:1-6

See, the day is coming, burning like an oven, when all the arrogant and all evildoers will be stubble; the day that comes shall burn them up, says the Lord of hosts, so that it will leave them neither root nor branch. But for you who revere my name the sun of righteousness shall rise, with healing in its wings. You shall go out leaping like calves from the stall. Malachi 4:1-2

“Too big to fail.” The phrase littered public discourse during the 2007-2008 global financial crisis. The theory, though, had been postulated decades earlier: that certain corporations are so complex, massive, and interconnected that their failure would bring ruin to the entire worldwide economic system. As a result, they simply cannot be allowed to fail, even if failure is the natural result of their incompetence and corruption.

It doesn’t take a genius to see how this leads to abuse and injustice. If an organization or individual is seen as so essential to a system’s survival that they cannot be allowed to fail, then that organization or individual may commit any abuse they like in service of their success. Those with less power may suffer, but what other options have they got? The disempowered depend upon the system’s survival for their own survival, but the system only depends on the one deemed too big to fail.

Which is why the “sun of righteousness” image in this passage from Malachi is so audacious. Every living creature is at the mercy of the sun for its survival. What sort of sunshine is simultaneously hot enough to burn evildoers to stubble, yet gentle enough to coax tender grass out of the ground so that young cows may be set to graze on it? When have the cosmos ever shown themselves to be partial to righteousness? Can God, the maker of the cosmos, intervene on behalf of the dispossessed? Has it ever been so? Will it ever be so? 

Dr. Sarah Morice Brubaker

Associate Professor of Christian Systematic Theology

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December 3, 2021

Meeting People Where We/They Are

Philippians 1:18b-26

Yes, and I will continue to rejoice, for I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ this will turn out for my deliverance. It is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be put to shame in any way, but that by my speaking with all boldness, Christ will be exalted now as always in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me, living is Christ and dying is gain. Philippians 18b-21

Sometimes circumstances can leave us feeling stuck. These days we don’t have to look far to experience fear, dismay, anger, sorrow. In our communities, across the nation, on the far side of the globe, and perhaps in our own homes, opportunities for distress abound. Our present realities press in on us, and we can be left feeling numb, and without focus.

Under house arrest and chained to a guard for the better part of two years, the Apostle Paul faced trying circumstances. Circumstances that most of us, fortunately, will never experience. I can hardly imagine a less inspiring environment from which to proclaim the message of Christ. It would have been easy for Paul to give up and accept his confinement as the end of his ministry. After all, he didn’t even know if he would live or die.

Instead, Paul was consumed by passion and a determination to continue to boldly proclaim the gospel no matter his personal outcome. You’ve heard of meeting people where they are? Paul took the phrase to the extreme and continued to build up and to reassure and rejoice with the believers in Philippi from his place of incarceration. He went as far as to say that whether he lived or died, he couldn’t lose. Wow.

Holy One, help us to meet people where they are no matter where we happen to be. Remind us that in times of virtual distancing and limited face-to-face interaction, your desires for our lives remain steady. Give us the courage to face all circumstances, even those that produce suffering, as opportunities to make a difference in the world each day.

Sharon Russ

Executive Assistant to Advancement and Donor Relations Specialist

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December 2, 2021

Light is Coming

Luke 1:68-79

By the tender mercy of our God, the dawn from on high will break upon us, to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace. Luke 1:78-79

To be at all cognizant of one’s location in history is to know the moments when blessings have flowed. Or, rather, faithful existence requires that we practice some degree of even-keeled honesty over trying seasons before us, when grief takes the form of future stories lost.

What perhaps makes this honesty most challenging is that it demands as much sobriety in the face of God’s gifts as it does for times when God feels absent. For faith practitioners of a progressive persuasion, the problem often is not our ability to sustain faith during seasons of drought; it is instead the audacity to consider that God actually remembered us. Self-worth is a theological issue prone to overcorrection.

In the opening chapter of Luke’s Gospel, we witness Elizabeth and Zechariah navigate this tension over God’s providence in a disarming fashion. Their hope for a child had long vanished by the time the angel of the Lord visits Zechariah, revealing that Elizabeth would soon give birth to a son named John. To the delight of those of us who resent perfect believers, Zechariah is not without his doubts. Before praising the Lord God of Israel in verse 68, he interrogates the angel of the Lord in verse 18, inquiring into how it is possible for God to remember him in the eleventh hour. 

For those of us prone to despair in the darker and colder months of Advent, the closing words of Zechariah’s prophecy in Luke 1 pose a possibility that may take time to accept: “By the tender mercy of our God, the dawn from on high will break upon us, to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.”

Dr. Peter Capretto

Assistant Professor of Pastoral Care in Religion and Culture

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December 1, 2021

This Too Shall Pass?

Psalm 90

For a thousand years in your sight are like yesterday when it is past, or like a watch in the night. Psalm 90:4

Psalm 90 points out that time is experienced differently for God than it is for us. What we experience is just a blip in time, “a thousand years…are like yesterday.” We run the risk of allowing this time-perception difference to minimize what is happening right now in our lives. 

In the middle of a pandemic (third wave, fourth wave, who knows anymore), fires destroying land and forests, and weather destroying cities and people destroying each other—this time seems like an eternity, a never-ending horror movie. We can’t run fast enough. We just seem to keep falling down and making things worse. Will we ever be able to leave this phase of peril and destruction? This isn’t just a blink of the eye to us; it is our all-consuming existence. 

Enter Jesus. The celebration of the birth of Jesus offers us moments of peace, hope, joy and love in the middle of what feels like death, chaos and destruction. A friend recently gave birth. I sat and held the sleeping newborn. The only reminder of the world circumstances I had was the mask on my face.

Nothing else mattered in that moment. Time slowed down. The contentment and peace the baby had as she slept transferred to me. This magical transference is mystical, divine, the peace and love and joy and hope that we all need. 

All the chaos around them had to completely disappear when Mary and Joseph held Jesus. That is what Jesus brings us now. The hope and joy and peace and love that we all need. During this Advent season may we steal those moments in the midst of the current chaos.

Malisa Pierce

Senior Director of Stewardship and Alumnae/i Relations

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November 30, 2021

Our Responsibility

2 Samuel 7:18-29

…for you, O Lord God, have spoken, and with your blessing shall the house of your servant be blessed forever. 2 Samuel 7:29b

In our reading from 2 Samuel, David is sitting before the Lord, confidently spinning out a theology of conquest, celebrating the way God has chosen Israel, and seen fit to use Israel’s military success to establish his, God’s (or might David mean his own) reputation. David’s humility is eloquent, deferring to God’s power and righteousness, but celebrating too—and just a few chapters away from his own fall in the seizing of Bathsheba—how God will establish the house of Israel “forever.” 

It is a very human longing—the promise, the guarantee, of forever, of eternal rewards—a longing for divine power, for love that doesn’t end, for certainty, for abundant fullness—that is the longing for a protective God—for a transcendence untouched by pain that protects us and rewards us for our obedience. The problem, perhaps, is not simply with David’s pride going before a fall, but with this vision of God itself—a God whose power protects us in exchange for our right belief, our worship and faithful obedience.

This advent, I wonder afresh at the vulnerability of the child born to Mary and Joseph, the painful ambiguity of her pregnancy, the courage of her yes to the angel, and the courage of Joseph’s yes as well, and I grieve for all the “innocents” slaughtered by Herod, without angels to protect them. What if this Advent we take seriously the presence of immigrant children, separated from families, lost in bureaucracies, pawns of ideological struggles, as figures of Jesus in need of a place of rest, and needing the courage of our response? What if, in seeing all of nature itself in climate travail, we trust not in God’s power to heal the world, but the call to our own responsibility to love and care for the world?

Dr. Joe Bessler

Robert Travis Peake Professor of Theology

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November 29, 2021

A Patient God

2 Peter 3

But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. 2 Peter 3: 8-9 (NIV)

This has been a whirlwind of a year. If I were to write this devotion in the beginning of the summer, like I had planned, when COVID seemed to be under control, I would have written about hope in the movement of the Holy. People were getting vaccinated, ICUs stopped being overrun. It would have seemed like a great analogy as the coming of the Lord mostly represents hope to me. I think about being a child sick in school and having the nurse tell me that my mother was coming to get me. I knew that when she came, she would make things better. 

But now, it is the end of the summer. Delta variant is more easily spread affecting many who chose not to get vaccinated to protect themselves and the more vulnerable around them that could not get vaccinated and in my county, the hospitals are more overrun than they have ever been. I am tired of humanity.

Now I feel like the little sister that has been mistreated and threaten my assailant by saying, “My big brother is coming for you! I knew that he would make things better and get ‘em!”

Thankfully, we are not under my control. Peter tells us that we are under the control of a more patient God. 2 Peter tells us that God is not slow, but patient and giving humanity time to get it right. That means that we have the ability to change course and do what is right. Maybe God believes we can get it right and I should too. 

Dr. Annie Lockhart Gilroy

Assistant Professor of Christian Education and Practical Theology

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November 28, 2021

Hope

Luke 21:25-36

Now when these things begin to take place, stand up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near. Luke 21:28

I am, down to the very bottom of my soul, an optimist. I am the person who, when pushed off the roof of a 20-story building, shouts to the person standing at the 10th-story window, “So far, everything is going great!”

Except this year. This year our communities continue to deal with COVID-19 and the information and misinformation that divide us. This year the women of Afghanistan, not to mention the men and children, are under siege again by a body-destroying, soul-sapping form of sexism. This year rallies in support of white supremacy attract more devotees while chronic frustration ignites arguments and fistfights in airports. This year my friends in New Orleans and California deal with the social and economic turmoil of climate change. This year my beloved partner of almost 35 years passed away.

This year I read the warnings of the Lukan apocalypse without optimism. I fill each word of disaster with the scenes of the year almost gone—bombs exploding at airport gates, wreckage floating, houses burning, hospitals filled with people literally coughing their lungs up. And my optimism turns into a net with a large hole at the bottom of my fall from the 20-story building.

Which means that now I can truly hope. My heart is no longer weighed down by a false optimism that keeps me from feeling the pain of the world or from sensing my own deep wounds. I can look out for signs of the presence of the Messiah among us, both transcendent and immanent, both beyond time and in time. And I can pray with you for the strength and the courage to hope in the face of all that has gone awry. 

Dr. Nancy Claire Pittman

President and

Stephen J. England Associate Professor of the Practice of Ministry

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December 24, 2020

Peace: A Way of Life

Luke 2:1-14 (15-20)

“Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favors.”

Luke 2:14

Peace is such a Christmas theme, isn’t it?

I’ve heard sermons on how you can have peace in your heart

• when you’re doing Christmas shopping,
• when you’re cooking Christmas dinner,
• when you have a houseful of relatives you don’t like.

Peace in your heart—no doubt there are apps and breathing exercises for that.

But it’s not what the angels proclaim in this first Christmas cantata.