Fourth Sunday of Advent

Micah 5:2-5a

2 * But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah,

are only a small village among all the people of Judah.

Yet a ruler of Israel will come from you,

one whose origins are from the distant past.

 3  The people of Israel will be abandoned to their enemies

until the woman in labor gives birth.

Then at last his fellow countrymen

will return from exile to their own land.

 4  And he will stand to lead his flock with the Lord’s strength,

in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God.

Then his people will live there undisturbed,

for he will be highly honored around the world.

 5  And he will be the source of peace.

"I'll be Home for Christmas" is a popular song at Christmas because of the common desire to be with those we love during the holiday season. Many are fortunate to have a home to return to; many are not. Many will travel and find that home; many will stay put not having anywhere else to go.


No one understood the desire for home more than the Israelites in exile. Generations of God's people were born and raised in a land that was not their own, growing up hearing stories about the land God had given them, and the days when they had their own king ruling justly over them, instead of a foreign oppressor imposing his will.


It is this desire that the prophet speaks into; he speaks of life, freedom, and peace. But the source of this peace will come in an unexpected way, a child. He will be born in Bethlehem, a town so insignificant that it fails to appear in all the rest of the Old Testament. And there is no mention of this ruler vanquishing the enemies, but of leading the flock with the Lord's strength, and in the majesty of the Lord's name. This ruler will be different. This ruler will truly lead as God himself leads, and the people shall finally be "home".


Advent Action: Are you already home for Christmas? Look around your community and find those who have no one returning home to them for Christmas, and extend your family to include them. Invite them over for Christmas dinner, spend time with them on Christmas Eve, or take a group of friends caroling to their home.

Second Sunday of Advent

Malachi 3:1-4

"I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come," says the Lord Almighty.

But who can endure the day of his coming? Who can stand when he appears? For he will be like a refiner's fire or a launderer's soap. He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; he will purify the Levites and refine them like gold and silver. Then the Lord will have men who will bring offerings in righteousness, and the offerings of Judah and Jerusalem will be acceptable to the Lord, as in days gone by, as in former years.

Christmas is usually considered a time of joy and celebration, and in many ways it is. But the words of the prophet remind us that Jesus' coming is not without heartache, too. The Lord is being sought by the people, who are looking for the age-old covenant to be fulfilled (see Gen 12:-13; 2 Sam 7:12-14); they are longing to be the people God promised they would be, dwelling in the land God promised them, and living in God's presence.

"But who can endure the day of his coming?"

Christ comes to keep the covenant, but like any promise, our side must be kept, too. God does not desire blind obedience, but heartfelt, life-changing devotion. To be refined like gold and silver means allowing all the old, corrosive elements of our hearts to be painfully removed in order to shine in the light of God's love. Will we heed the words of the messenger, "Produce fruit in keeping with repentance" (Luke 3:8)? Will our lives reflect the life-changing devotion God desires from us?

May this Advent season challenge us to prepare our own hearts to receive God's promises by shedding the dross from our hearts, and filling them with God's love.

This post originally appears on theorchardadvent.blogspot.com

First Sunday of Advent

**This post originally appears on our church's Advent blog. Feel free to check in with that one as well throughout the season.**

Zechariah 14:4-9

On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives , east of Jerusalem, and the Mount of Olives will be split in two from half of the mountain moving north and half moving south. You will flee by my mountain valley, for it will extend to Azel. You will flee as you fled from the earthquake inthe days of Uzziah king of Judah. Then the Lord my God will come, and all the holy ones with him.

On that day there will be no sunlight, no cold, frosty darkness. It will be a unique day - a day known only to the Lord - with no distinction between day and night. When evening comes, there will be light.

On that day living water will flow out from Jerusalem, half of it east to the Dead Sea and half of it west to the Mediterrean Sea, in summer and in winter.

The Lord will be king over the whole earth. On that day there will be one Lord, and his name the only name.

The first Sunday of Advent represents the hope of redemption. We relive with the historic people of Israel the anxious waiting they did for the anointed one (Messiah). At the same time, we ourselves are waiting for the final redemption of all creation.

The passage from Zechariah illustrates the now and later aspect of redemption. Zechariah's words depict a deliverance from exile - a harsh reality for the Israelites - and yet something they've experienced before. (Note how God will part a mountain in order to deliver the people - eerily similar to how the Red Sea had been parted in Exodus.) But also in Zechariah's words are pictures of a day that needs no light and filled with living water, a day where God is God and no other name can stand. God would deliver his people from exile, but there is still more to come.

What are you waiting for this Advent season? Are you waiting in line to get the best deals? Are you waiting on the interstate in holiday traffic? Are you waiting on loved ones to come home?

As you wait, reorient your heart towards the One who is coming.

Tis the pre-Season

One of my favorite seasons of the year is Advent (the other is Lent), and now that November has arrived I have started some pre-season reading in the book of Malachi.

I've never intentionally read Malachi, but it seems like a logical choice to read before Advent. Malachi is the final word before the start of the New Testament. Through Malachi, the Lord continues to confront the people of Israel with how they have strayed from the righteous way. These confrontations anticipate the ministry of both John the Baptist and Jesus as they will one day preach, "Repent for the kingdom of God is near!"

If you're looking for something to read over the next three weeks, give Malachi a glance. How do these words confront us in preparation for Jesus?

An Advent Hymn

From A Collection of Hymns for the Nativity of Our Lord, by Charles Wesley

(note the verse in bold)

Join all ye joyful nations,
Th' acclaiming host of heaven,
This happy morn,
A child is born,
To us a son is given.

The messenger and token
Of God's eternal favour,
God hath sent down,
To us his Son,
An universal Saviour!

The wonderful Messiah,
The joy of every nation,
Jesus in name,
With God the fame,
The Lord of all creation.

The Counselor of sinners,
Almighty to deliver,
The Prince of Peace,
Whose love's increase,
Shall reign in man for ever.

Go see the King of glory,
Discern the heavenly stranger,
So poor and mean,
His court an inn,
His cradle is a manger.

Who from his Father's bosom,
But now for us descended,
Who built the skies,
On earth he lies,
With only beasts attended.

Whom all the angels worship,
Lies hid in human nature;
Incarnate see
The Deity
The infinite Creator.

See the stupendous blessing,
Which God to us has given;
A child of man,
In length a span,
Who fills both earth and heaven.

Gaze on that helpless object
Of endless adoration!
Those infant hands,
Shall burst our bands,
And work out our salvation;

Strangle the crooked serpent,
Destroy his works for ever,
And open set
The heavenly gate,
To every true believer.

Till then thou holy Jesus,
We humbly how before thee,
Our treasures bring
To serve our King,
And joyfully adore thee:

To thee we gladly render
Whate'er they grace hath given,
Till thou appear,
In glory here,
And take us up to heaven.