2020 Advent Devotions • November 30-December 4

ADVENT DEVOTIONS CENTENARY UNITED METHODIST CHURCH

NOVEMBER 30 - DECEMBER 4, 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 • NOVEMBER 30

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n reading Isaiah 64:1-9, we will note that Isaiah asks God to come down: “O that thou wouldst rend the heavens and come down.” (Isa. 64:1 RSV) Why does he ask this? He asks because he wants God to come and deliver the covenant people from their enemies which have traditionally been military foes. But he knows that God will not come down and bless them until they repent of their unrighteousness, so he makes a confession in verse 6: “We have all become like one who is unclean, and our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment. We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.”

Now, in 2020, we are asking God to “come down” as we reflect on the time God did come here in a very unexpected way, as a child born to redeem us. Like Isaiah’s people, we need to prepare for the Incarnation and admit that we often fail to do the good that we know to do. Perhaps we think more highly of ourselves than we ought, or maybe we exclude persons who differ from us, or maybe we cannot gird up our courage to apologize for hurtful words, deeds, or the attitude we have held toward another person or group. Advent means preparation, and part of that is confession.

Let us pray with Isaiah: “Yet, O Lord, thou art our Father; we are the clay, and thou art our potter; we are all the work of thy hand.” (Isa. 64:8 RSV) Prepare our hearts so that we are humble, trusting servants of yours. Come down and abide in us and make us a reflection of the glory we see in the face of Jesus Christ. Amen.

— Bill Gramley

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TUESDAY • DECEMBER 1 Thus there were fourteen generations in all from Abraham to David, fourteen from David to the exile to Babylon, and fourteen from the exile to the Messiah.

Matthew 1:17 (NIV)

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grew up in a two-story house where coming down the stairs spat you right out the side door to the driveway, often to a waiting car. In those few steps between the bottom of the stairs and the door I often encountered a parent asking, “Is that what you’re wearing?” (Less a question and more a direction given: “Go back upstairs and change your clothes.”) The response from my teenage self was often less than positive. Strangely, this is what I thought about as I began reading Matthew 1:1-17 which is a genealogy of Jesus going all the way back to Abraham. I didn’t include the entire passage here because it’s frankly not that interesting to read.

If you’ve ever read an older translation of the passage, you might recall that it is full of “begats” (“Abraham begat Isaac; and Isaac begat Jacob; and Jacob begat…”)

In school a professor explained why he loved when this passage was in the lectionary.

Included in this family tree are men AND women who did both amazing things for God and some really not so amazing things, but in the moments of being their best and worst selves they were still a part of the story that brought Jesus to the world!

I often have the opportunity to talk to parents who struggle with coming to church because getting their kids to dress “appropriately” is a battle that does not end up bringing everyone to church with good feelings in their hearts. I try to reassure the parents saying that what is most important is that their kids are present at church, not what they are wearing at church.

So, this Advent season, we prepare our hearts for Jesus even when we are feeling unworthy or in some way not at our best. May Matthew’s “Begats” remind us that when we come down the steps to meet God before heading out into the world, we are met by a look of great love and encouragement no matter what we wearing.

Check out a fun musical version of this scripture! CLICK HERE — Rev. Kate May

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WEDNESDAY • DECEMBER 2 Therefore, brothers and sisters, you must be patient as you wait for the coming of the Lord. Consider the farmer who waits patiently for the coming of rain in the fall and spring, looking forward to the precious fruit of the earth. You must also wait patiently, strengthening your resolve, because the coming of the Lord is near. Don’t complain about each other, brothers and sisters, so that you won’t be judged. Look! The judge is standing at the door! Brothers and sisters, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord as an example of patient resolve and steadfastness.

James 5:7-10 (CEB)

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dvent always reminds me of the fact that I am not a patient person. This year, as we think about the theme of Following the Star, my first thought is often, “How long do we have to wait for the star to show up?” I am usually so ready to jump right in and fully commit to whatever it is I am about to do, that I do not take a moment to pause, breathe, and prepare my heart and mind for what lies ahead. The season of Advent brings with it anticipation of the birth of Christ and what that means for all of us. It is a time to prepare our hearts for an outpouring of love and joy, all in the form of a tiny baby.

The second half of verse seven is about a farmer who waits for the coming of rain in the fall and spring. How appropriate that idea is for Advent. Farmers plant and then wait. They wait for the plant to slowly make its way out of the ground. At first there’s only a tiny green spout, then slowly over time it grows until it produces enough to fill your face with happiness and your stomach with food. The same is true in the season of Advent. We wait, expectantly, for the coming of Christ. With his arrival, our hearts are filled with joy and our spirits with a new song because we know what his coming means. We understand the amount of love that a baby can provide. So while patience is often hard to manage, it is certainly worth it when we get to Christmas morning and can say, “Glory to God in the heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favors!” (Luke 2:14 CEB) — Rev. Meg Gaston

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THURSDAY • DECEMBER 3 In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be enrolled. This was the first enrollment, when Quirinius was governor of Syria. And all went to be enrolled, each to his own city. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Judaea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be enrolled with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child Luke 2:1-4 (RSV)

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hat in the world is an enrollment? We know, don’t we? It is to register or create a list. In this Advent text Caesar Augustus wanted to know HOW MANY people were part of his empire, so he wanted them counted! He wanted to know his strength, and he felt it could be measured in numbers. It didn’t matter WHO was in his Empire, he just wanted the count. He saw his strength in the numbers.

We still do that today in lots of other ways. We ask, “How many members does your church have?” Is the strength really in the count? Is the measure of a Church’s life and ministry measured by the membership roll?

We have just finished a national election. The focus is on the numbers. How many people got out to vote? What effect will the count have on the Electoral College and the ultimate decision about who is President? Is our national strength really in the count… in the numbers?

How many shopping days are there until Christmas? Is the power of Christmas in the number of “shopping” days? Do we get so lost in the determined quest for that special gift that we forget God’s gift to us?

In the Church, Advent is the four Sundays before Christmas Day. Is that enough time?

Are there enough days? This Advent let’s prepare for only one thing — to be counted as those who wait for the birthday of Jesus to take place in our hearts again this year.

The meaning is not to be found in how “fast” it comes, but what it “means” when it arrives. May we all be counted among those who arrive for the Holy Birth this year.

God be close to you.

— Bill Medlin

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FRIDAY • DECEMBER 4 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.

John 1:1-5 (NIV)

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e traditionally think of Advent as the preparation for the coming of Jesus, the Light of the world, but John tells us that the Light has always been here. We focus outward with God stepping into the world.

That may change us for a season, but does it really change who we are? Maybe we would be better served if our Advent were more like John’s than Matthew’s, focused inward, on God stepping into us. In the Old Testament it is “God with us.” In the New Testament it is “God in us.”

What does “God in us” mean? I think it means a total remaking of us. It is not adding God into the mix of our lives so that we can have a healthy balance. It is a radical and complete overhaul of who and what we are. To paraphrase CS Lewis, Christ tells us he wants all of us; no half measures. “I don’t want to cut off a branch here and a branch there. I want to have the whole tree down.” How scary and overwhelming is that?

There’s a great little book, The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse. In it, a boy and his friends – a mole, fox, and horse – talk about the mysteries of life. At one point the boy asks the horse, “What is the bravest thing you’ve ever said?” “Help.” said the horse.

Maybe that is what our Advent prayer should be: “Help me, dear God, to deal with this world. I can’t do it alone. I’ve tried many things and none of them really fill the void in my heart. I know that you are here, that you know me, and that you love me more than I can understand. I know that you came into this world, but what I need now is for you to come fully into my heart. Come, Sweet Jesus, come.”

— Robert Esleeck

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