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Advent Devotional for Monday, December 20
Hear this, you foolish and senseless people, who have eyes but do not see, who have ears but do not hear … Should I not punish them for this? declares the LORD.”
Why look to this text during Advent? It seems an extreme contrast to sights and sounds of the season. Jeremiah (for classic rock fans) obviously was not a bullfrog, but he was a good friend … of Judah. Jeremiah, God’s reluctant prophet, delivered messages of punishment and destruction for Judah’s sins, a warning of the invading nation from the north. His words are less than hopeful. But isn’t the season of Advent about the hope, joy, and peace that comes to us in Christ?
The truth of the old covenant was spoken, though not heard or accepted. People of Judah/Israel did not fear God or follow God’s commandments. Unfaithfulness ruled in their hearts, but God was patient as Jeremiah prophesied for forty years. Jerusalem fell, but God did not bring complete destruction to God’s people.
We might have more in common with the house of Israel than we like to admit. God calls us to see more clearly and listen more intently to the grace and beauty of God’s bounty. As God orders creation, sets the sand as bounds for the sea, showers rain in seasons due, God provides our deepest need. The good news is found in the new covenant, which we remember this Advent season: the gift of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Jeremiah’s message has more to do with this season than I initially thought. God’s power and grace abound through all time. In light of the old ways, we can move toward the grace and mercy God offers us today ... joy to you and me! As I face invading Babylonians, I thank God for the new covenant in Christ.
O Holy One of Israel, open our eyes to see your light and tune our ears to hear your truth. You, who calls us from darkness and destruction, turn us toward your grace and mercy, so that we might live fully in your bounty that is Christ Jesus. Amen.
Amber Reber
Dual Degree (MDiv/MSSW) senior student from Austin, Texas
For the glory of God and to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ, Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary is a seminary in the Presbyterian-Reformed tradition whose mission is to educate and equip individuals for the ordained Christian ministry and other forms of Christian service and leadership; to employ its resources in the service of the church; to promote and engage in critical theological thought and research; and to be a winsome and exemplary community of God's people.
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