From Austin Seminary: "Advent Devotional" for December 25, Christmas Day

"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 25, Christmas Day

• John 1:1-14

This text plays a trick on us. When we begin reading it, it suggests as a backdrop an infinity the size of all creation—earth and sky and solar system and planets and stars. The language is grand, otherworldly: “The Word was with God, and the Word was God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being ... The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.” Think the opening credits to a Star Wars movie. Think comets and black holes and the spaciousness of the cosmos. It is the world’s largest show and we are the spectators.

Then comes the trick: “the Word became flesh and lived among us.” We’re led by this text to expect something ethereal and otherworldly; and then suddenly the cosmic becomes intensely personal. A mother, a baby, a manger, a stall. Like shepherds and kings from afar, we must enter that scene with our animals and our incense, our hearts and our hands. We thought at first that we might be distant stargazers, anonymous spectators; and suddenly, we are persons on stage playing bit parts in the drama of Christmas. As Dietrich Bonhoeffer once put it: “We must join in the action that is taking place and be drawn into this reversal of all things ourselves.”

In this reversal, where royals bear gifts and lowly Mary becomes the mother of God; the world itself gets pulled through a wormhole until the key judge and redeemer of everything—including us—is a squirming baby. “He pushes back the high and mighty,” says Bonhoeffer, “he overturns the thrones of the powerful; he humbles the haughty; his arm exercises power over all ... he lifts what is lowly, and makes it great and glorious in his mercy.”

On this day and for the rest of time, what is significant about the Word becoming flesh and dwelling among us is that Almighty God becomes small enough to cuddle in our arms, and accessible enough to know us each by name as we step on stage to give him our lives.

With thanksgiving and joy in our hearts, O Lord, help us to welcome the “light of the world” into our lives this Christmas Day. Amen.

The Reverend Dr. Theodore J. Wardlaw
President and Professor of Homiletics

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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?

   • Students in our masters-degree programs receive up to 85% need-based tuition aid.
   • Historically, more than 80% of our graduates are called to congregational ministry.
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   • Our alumni serve in ministry in forty-eight U.S. states as well as in twenty different countries across the world.

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