"A gift from our community of faith to you. Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary is devoted to preparing outstanding leaders for Christ’s church. One of the ways we nurture leaders is by building a loving community of faith and extending God’s grace to others. In this season of anticipation, we extend God’s grace to you and invite you to explore this book of Advent devotions. Through this collection, please join us as we prepare to receive God’s greatest gift—the birth of Jesus Christ."
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Advent Devotional for December 22
• Titus 2:11-14
"For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people.” These are the words the Apostle Paul uses to sum up all that he has written to Titus thus far. Titus was tasked with oversight of ministries on the island of Crete, during which time certain Christians began to argue that certain ritual acts and bodily signs, circumcision in this case (1:10), were required to be invited into the body of Christ. Paul reminds Titus that adherence to religious codes and social regulations can never be the criteria for one’s status as believer.
Unlike the (religious) laws of the land, the grace of God offers salvation to all. This core conviction prompts Paul to admonish Titus to act as an overseer in God’s household, whose primary task is extending hospitality to all as a sign of God’s gracious character (1:7-8).
Even today, God exhorts us to assume this basic existential posture; theologian Jay Emerson Johnson argues that our “peculiar faith” calls us to assist in the divine work of home-building and inviting everyone in for homecoming. This way of being is a reflection of God, the Divine Home Economist, “who longs to see all members of the household thriving and flourishing” (Johnson, A Peculiar Faith).
In a time when even Christian morality has become more about obeying moral laws than about love, the call to be householders is all the greater. In both private and public worlds, all should thrive, flourish, and experience a sense of belonging in the Body of Christ. Our Christian faith thus calls us to be at home among others, at home in our bodies, and at home with God, all at the same time. And as the old saying goes, “housework is never done.”
ord, you said in your word that you went to prepare a place for us. Let the labor of our hands and bodies on this side of heaven be a reflection of your labors in the hereafter. And with such efforts, may we birth new bodies, ones more reflective of your love for all creation. Amen.
Asante Todd (MDiv’06)
Assistant Professor of Christian Ethics
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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