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Advent Devotional for Thursday, December 24, Christmas Eve
• Isiah 9:2-7
The middle of this passage, one of the most memorable of the Advent season, heralds the birth of a child. Children’s births are momentous events. They sometimes offer an answer to prayer; they often are accompanied by hope; they always bring about significant change. Parents, grandparents, siblings, and caregivers can attest to sleepless nights, radically shifted priorities, and a change in the pace of life—all because of an infant. Children change the world of those who care for them. And sometimes a birth changes the world. Jesus’s birth occurred like countless births that happen every day around the globe. Far from home, an unwed teenage mother cannot find refuge in an inn and must give birth in comparative filth. One of the first questions that must have popped into her mind was, How will I feed and provide for him? a question that reverberates in mothers’ heads each day, whether in Austin or Afghanistan. In the midst of this worry, Mary also expressed hope, just like the hopes of other mothers throughout the ages. Perhaps she hoped that her child would have a life better than her own.
Yet the hope of this passage is for more than one mother’s child; it is hope that the child will be the change that the world desperately needs. His name will be Prince of Peace, a Wonderful Counselor who will establish endless peace. The birth of Jesus calls our attention to countless children throughout the world who are born into hopeless situations at the same time that it gives birth to hope. Jesus comes to the world to bring peace—a peace that is not yet fully present among us. Jesus’ birth does not mean that all war and suffering are magically erased, but it does mean that war and suffering do not hold the final word. To witness the birth of Jesus is to witness peace born amid hopelessness and turmoil, to welcome the promise that one day peace will reign throughout all creation. This ordinary birth in an out of the way place is something truly extraordinary.
Gracious God, in Jesus Christ you have given peace to the world. Cure our madness and equip us to live as agents of peace in a world that still suffers the ravages of war. Amen.
David H. Jensen
Academic Dean
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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