From Austin Seminary: "Advent Devotional" for December 10

"Advent ushers us into a season of anticipation, hope, and joy, as we await the day of the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, the Messiah ... We intend this Advent Devotional booklet as a gift of the season for you, to signify our deep appreciation for all that you do for Austin Seminary. And we hope that you will share it with others, so that they may also partake in the blessings of Advent alongside us. Be assured that our hearts are joyful to overflowing as we celebrate together this season that anticipates what my dear friend John Rogers described in the title of his book, “The Birth of God.” May your heart overflow, as well."

G. Archer Frierson

Chair, Austin Seminary Board of Trustees

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Advent Devotional for December 11

• Titus 2:11-14

I am particularly struck by the word “training” in this passage. Other versions have “teaching,” but I like training because it captures the sense of extended duration, repetition, and the grueling work of what it takes to achieve performance. In this case performance is, in various translations, lives that are self-controlled, upright, temperate, honest, just, and pious, and to renounce impieties, godless ways, and worldly passions. If we need training to do this work, then it cannot be easy, which then cautions us that we should not be too quick to assume that we know what impieties and worldly passions most tempt us. Clearly it is fine, even laudable, to be passionate, even zealous (though that word has a signal double edge). One cannot stick to a program of training without passionate commitment.

Training—and here I am thinking in terms of sports—requires acute selfawareness of body and mind, fine-tuning motion, balance, power, and direction. Athletes achieve this by attention to detail and endless repetition. So what does training to renounce impieties and worldly passions look like? What am I drawn to that is worldly? There are superficial answers—books, clothes, and so forth, and deeper answers—being knowledgeable, being attractive—and deeper still—that certain righteousness that comes with knowledge.

Like the gymnast on the balance beam or the pianist at her instrument, training in godly ways requires deep self-awareness, unwrapping layers of desire, motive, and presumption. It is a purification process.

This might be painful to the point of avoidance were it not suffused with the grace of God. As with the gymnast and the pianist, the beauty of the final performance is always and already there in the practice. Training is refinement.

We spend a great deal of time unwrapping the world, analyzing issues, arguing, fulminating, plotting, and organizing. We do want a righteous world. Paul is urging us not to neglect to unwrap ourselves. Only then will salvation come to all.

Help us, O God, to be authentic and humble as you refine us by your grace. Amen.

The Reverend Dr. Whitney Bodman
Associate Professor of Comparative Religion

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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.

We hope that you are preparing the way for the Lord in your life as you read these meditations and prayers. And, we hope this Advent season is a meaningful one for you. Please know that Austin Seminary’s dedicated, diverse, and loving community of faith is not complete without you. Did you know?

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