"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 7
• Amos 4:6-13
Remember that old Christmas story about Ebenezer Scrooge, who cares about nothing except monetary wealth? We view this cautionary tale and say to ourselves, Not me, I would never do something like that. Perhaps the Israelites of Amos’s world would have said the same thing. Like us, they maintain their innocence as they present themselves at their religious celebrations without realizing that they are missing the bigger picture.
In today’s reading, Israel has turned a blind eye to the oppression and disparity around them. The poor are being trampled on, and the needy are being crushed, yet they continue to offer their tithes, sacrifices, and freewill offerings in celebration. In the midst of drought, locusts, and death, the Israelites remain steadfast in their religious obligations, all the while missing the invitation to return. The God of the poor and the needy invites them to return—not to a temple or a place of worship but to a friendship that has been broken. Their abundance and indulgence has taken them to a place of estrangement from God and their neighbor.
As we embark on this Advent journey we also receive this invitation to return from our place of estrangement. In a similar fashion, the cultural expectations of busyness and indulgence in the holiday season have caused us to be estranged from those who continue to be trampled on and crushed. Perhaps we appease our religious impulses by dropping an extra $20 in the offering plate next Sunday, or by dropping a $5 bill in that familiar red kettle outside the shopping mall. Is it enough? Is the God who forms the mountains and creates the wind inviting us to such feeble religious attempts, or are we called to something more?
Creator God, give us the courage to accept your invitation to friendship with you and with our neighbor. May this season of Advent be more than just a series of religious obligations. May it be a time where our eyes are opened to those who are being trampled and crushed. May we be the ones who extend the hand of friendship, just as you extended your hand to us in the form of your Son, Jesus. Amen.
Jeff Sanchez
Student from Round Rock, 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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