Advent Devotions • December 21 - December 24

ADVENT DEVOTIONS CENTENARY UNITED METHODIST CHURCH

DECEMBER 21 - DECEMBER 24, 2020

I truly believe this Advent will be like no other! I truly believe this Advent is exactly what we all need after the year we have experienced. It is my prayer this Advent, with its call to prepare by our listening for the voices of angels, by taking to heart the cry of one who prepares the way, and by joining in the celebration of the shepherds, we will shake free from all that has held us and open our heart for what God brings to us each and every day of our lives through the birth of this One we call the Christ Child. It is my hope that these devotions will lead you in your journey of preparation. Each Monday you will receive the readings for Monday through Friday. Then, on Saturday, I encourage you to do what will help you or your family prepare for the celebration of Christmas. Embrace something from the past that was meaningful or create something new that will enrich your lives. Allow the Spirit of this season to guide you as each of us seek to rediscover the wonder of our faith and its power to change our lives! May grace, peace and hope be yours this day and forevermore! ­— Rev. Bret Cogan

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MONDAY • DECEMBER 21 The beginning of the good news about Jesus Christ, God’s Son, happened just as it was written about in the prophecy of Isaiah: Look, I am sending my messenger before you. He will prepare your way, a voice shouting in the wilderness: “Prepare the way for the Lord; make his paths straight.”

Mark 1: 1-3 (CEB)

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ow often do our Advent preparations for the celebration of Christmas and the holiday season turn out just as we had planned? I don’t know about your experience, but I remember the year we went to check the turkey and found out the oven had not been turned on. Then there was the time I took such great care to bring home a gift for my mother, a crystal vase, only to drop the bag I had carried it in to hug her when I got home! I have learned through the years that no matter what I do to make sure everything is just as I hope it will be, I need to allow some wiggle room for the Holy Spirit to adjust and create what I and those I love truly need.

The opening words of Mark’s Gospel are not read in Advent as often as some other scriptures. The verses we gravitate to are the stories in Matthew, and especially in Luke’s gospel. And yet these words from Mark, simple and to the point, speak so clearly. They open with a call to listen up, to get ready, to prepare! The writer is using Isaiah’s words from chapter 40:1-5. Isaiah 40 begins with acknowledgement of God’s call to “Comfort my people.” God’s desire for those who have suffered and endured hardship is to know compassion and grace where Every valley will be raised up, and every mountain and hill will be flattened.

Uneven ground will become level, and rough terrain a valley plain.

The Lord’s glory will appear, and all humanity will see it together; the Lord’s mouth has commanded it.”

Isaiah 40:4-5 (CEB) This is the gift of Christmas. As we make our plans and preparations we are called also to understand the gift that has been given. Now it is up to you and me to lift hearts, lessen loads and clear away the debris and obstructions that can keep us from walking together on the pathways of the Lord. As we do, we will discover the comfort we all seek.

— Bret Cogan

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TUESDAY • DECEMBER 22

“Do You See What I See: A Star, A Star?”

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hat’s what a shepherd sang softly one night to a lamb: “Do you see what I see: a star, a star?” There are a whole lot of stars out there, billions of them, and they have been there for a long, long time. So what is special about the star the shepherd saw? Astronomers who studied the sky a little over 2,000 years ago saw a star that was different and special. We read about them in the Gospel of Matthew: “Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, saying, ‘Where is he who has been born king of the Jews?

For we have seen his star in the East and have come to worship him.’”

Matthew 2: 1-2 (RSV) Was the birth of this new king a sudden fulfillment of the promise that God made to Abram when God asked him to count the stars - because that is how many descendants would come from his faithful obedience? Would this king, years later, be the blessing and fulfillment of his heritage? Would the baby born in Bethlehem be our Savior and Lord? The answer is, “Yes, yes indeed!"

A few men from a distant land noticed a special star in the East. It was darker in those days. Everyone could see the stars and the Milky Way as they looked up. But now a shift, a change, perhaps a brighter star shone, and they perceived that a king was born, and they wanted to find him. They were willing to travel across part of the Middle East to get to Bethlehem of Judea. They had gifts for him, expressions of gratitude because this would be the beginning of the end of all those centuries when sin and darkness lay upon humanity.

The child born in Bethlehem was not quite what people expected. He would speak the truth and invite folks to enter a kingdom of God’s doing, one filled with peace and inclusiveness and justice for the poor, not a kingdom of military might and earthly power.

We decorate with Advent stars each year to remind us of what happened during the reign of Herod. Jesus is the Light of the World, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, the One who says we must become like children to enter his kingdom. We light our stars made of paper and plastic to mark the focal point of our pilgrimage here. We still travel, we still journey, we still come over hill and dale to bow before our Savior. Whether we are tired, frazzled, uncertain, or anxious about the wrong things, we want to get to that manger where the Incarnate God has come. We come to bring our gifts and we say to our children, our little lambs, “Do you see what I see: a star, a star?”

O God, help us to focus on your son, Jesus, our King, who wants us, welcomes us and gives us the light of his love. Don’t let us put it under a bushel basket. Let it shine, let it shine: in our faces, in our words, in our love for one another. Have mercy on us when we fall short of living as you want us to live. Amen.

— Bill Gramley

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WEDNESDAY • DECEMBER 23 And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

Luke 2:8-12 (NIV)

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grew up in a small town in South Carolina and was privileged to attend the same church from birth until I left home for college. A highlight of church life during the season of Advent was the live manger scene my parent’s Sunday School class would stage for several nights before Christmas. The adults would gather to build the stable on the church lawn, stocking it with hay for the donkey and sheep one of the members would bring each night to make the event more authentic. Each night when the manger scene went live, music was piped out through speakers and cars would pull up to watch the angels, shepherds and the three kings visit the manger. One year, the Methodist Youth Fellowship group was included in the event. For several nights, I was able to dress up as either Joseph, Mary, an angel, a shepherd or a king. Acting out the scene by visiting the baby Jesus at his birth in the lowly stable each night brought home the sense of awe and excitement that must have been felt so many years ago in Bethlehem. The live manger scene was a true celebration, a joyful Christmas party like no other! Although the nights were not cold by most standards, hot chocolate, Christmas cookies and other treats were provided to the actors when we would come inside to warm up. We shared Christian community while enjoying the sweet treats and our hearts were filled with the spirit of Christmas and the wonderful news that Christ is indeed born this day!

“The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and he helps me. My heart leaps for joy, and with my song I praise him.” Psalm 28:7 (NIV)

— Mary Jac Brennan

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THURSDAY • DECEMBER 24

“I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the city of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.”

Luke 2:10-12 (NIV)

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hristmas Eve is very busy with last minute shopping, wrapping, food preparation, travel, arriving guests, etc. For ministers, musicians and church staff it is the same - usually some variation of the list above plus a myriad of worship services. Some years the Christmas Eve services are only in the evening, allowing opportunities to gather with family throughout the day and maybe even attend a Moravian Lovefeast. Other years the service schedule starts as early as 1:00 p.m. and ends twelve hours later with small, tight blocks of time between services to reset the sanctuary for the next service’s crowd and to celebrate the birth of Christ all over again. Christmas Eve dinner can be around the family table when the service schedule is not as packed and in other years, it might be a ChickFil-A sandwich in the choir room with the choir between services. Please don’t read this as complaining, I am not. I share this to provide some context to my point.

You see, no matter what the worship schedule on Christmas Eve, we are all busy, clergy and laity alike. Throughout my career Christmas Eve has been a busy, busy day. But there is this magical, holy moment that occurs after the final strains of “Joy to the World” fade, after the lights of the church are extinguished, after the doors are locked, after I come home and kick off my dress shoes. While physically exhausted and yet still keyed up from the energy and the joy of the day, as I sit in the den unwinding in the silence, I am transported from home to a dusty stable in Bethlehem. I imagine peering over the shoulders of shepherds, looking into a feed trough at a baby wrapped in blankets. Some years he is smiling with bright eyes that stare into my soul and other years he is sleeping soundly with the most peaceful look on his face. We are all enthralled by this child. In this moment the busyness of the day fades and I am reminded of what it really is all about and what a gift we have been given by the One who loves us most.

I don’t know what today’s list or schedule holds for you, but I pray that you will find a moment to be still and let the busyness fade. Follow the star to Bethlehem in that moment and witness the gift God has given us all.

— Glenn Kinken

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FRIDAY • DECEMBER 25

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL AND MAY THE PEACE OF CHRIST AND HIS BIRTH BRING YOU EVERLASTING JOY AND COMFORT.

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