G. Archer Frierson
Chair, Austin Seminary Board of Trustees
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Advent Devotional for December 9
• Romans 8:22-25
Creation is groaning. We ourselves are groaning, awaiting redemption. This text in Romans reminds us—despite the cheeriness of the Christmas decorations already present in department stores and in our homes—that this time of Advent is a time of waiting. Of redemptionstill- to-come. Homes are still being rebuilt after last summer’s flooding on the east coast and fires on the west, parts of the Gulf Coast are still rebuilding after the hurricanes of the previous summer, and persons around the world are picking up the pieces after natural disasters like earthquakes and tsunamis. The groaning may not always be audible, but it is there.
Which is why hope is such a central part of the Advent season. We do not shy away from the pain of others, but in our solidarity, we cling to hope with and for one another. In our own pain, hope becomes the balm that reminds us: this is not all there is. There is more than suffering. We have hope that the God who raised Christ from the dead is continuing to speak a definitive “no” to the powers of death and destruction. We have hope that the Christ who came to earth in the form of a vulnerable tiny human will one day come again in victory, lifting up the most vulnerable among us and righting all wrongs, healing all wounds, restoring the earth. We have hope that the gift of God that arrived over two millennia ago will be given again in the second coming of Christ. This hope is not a far-away distant optimism, but an everpresent conviction, that the evil, pain, and suffering of this world is not the final story.
We see signs all around us of the groaning of creation, and yet these all call for us to hope with action. Our hope inspires us to act on behalf of the least of these, on behalf of the planet, and on behalf of ourselves. Our hope inspires us to act with glad assurance that God is with us, working to bring hope to the world.
Fill us with a renewed sense of hope as we wait for the redemption of all creation. Amen.
The Reverend Dr. Carolyn Helsel
Assistant Professor of Homiletics
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.
• Our students come from more than a dozen denominations.
• 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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