2021 Advent Guide

BELMONT UNIVERSITY ADVENT DEVOTIONAL GUIDE 2 0 21

P EACE H O P E L O V E

A D V E N T 2 0 21

It is my pleasure to offer to the Belmont University community our 18th annual Advent Guide. May we call out together, “Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus.”

We long for Jesus and Advent provides a way for us to lean into that longing. This season of waiting calls attention to our priorities and challenges us to find, anew, our place and hope before God. It is a time we can call out for God to come among us!

Our hope is these devotionals help all who read to prepare their hearts and minds for the coming of Jesus. Each day, please read the scripture and the accompanying brief devotion. Pause for a moment in your daily life and begin to make a space in your heart for the coming Christ.

This Advent Guide comes from faculty, staff and students who begin longing for Advent in September when they work on this guide. I am thankful for their kind and thoughtful participation. Join them now in longing for the coming Christ!

I am grateful to Thomas Burns, the Provost of Belmont University, for his annual support of this project. I also especially thank Tola Pokrywka, Assistant to the Dean for the College of Theology and Christian Ministry. Tola concludes her seventh year with us during this Advent season and we are deeply grateful for her faithful service, love for students and commitment to the work of the CTCM! Without her, this Advent Guide would not happen.

The old hymn calls for the long-expected Jesus to come and release us from our fears and sin so we may find our rest in him. Come to us, O Lord, and give us rest! May the Christ come to all of us this Christmas!

Blessings,

Dr. Darrell Gwaltney Dean, College of Theology and Christian Ministry

G U I D E TO DA I LY P R AY E R

Opening Prayer Comfort, comfort your people, O God! Speak peace to your people.

Comfort those who sit in darkness and mourn, Forgive us our sins and end the conflict in our lives.

Confession of Sin Reflect quietly before God asking for forgiveness for all those things done and left undone that are unpleasing to God. Remember, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1.9).

Scripture Lessons Read the Psalms for the day.

Read the Old Testament passage for the day.

Read the Gospel passage for the day.

Read the Epistle passage for the day.

Prayers The following is a suggested guide for prayer during Advent.

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Pray for all Christians around the world and especially for those who endure persecution for their faith.

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Pray for our nation and all those in authority.

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Pray that Christ’s peace may cover the world. Pray for the end of conflict and war, and the triumph of truth and justice.

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Pray for all those who engage in the educational ministry of the Church and especially for Belmont University.

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Pray for those who suffer and grieve.

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As a closing prayer, read the words to Come Thou Long-Expected Jesus appointed for the week.

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WEEK ONE Come, thou long-expected Jesus, Born to set thy people free, From our fears and sins release us, Let us find our rest in thee.

S U N D A Y , N O V E M B E R 2 8 , 2 0 21 Psalms 111, 112, 113, 146, 147 Amos 1.1-5, 1.13-2.8 Luke 21.5-19 1 Thessalonians 5.1-11

“For you yourselves know full well that the day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night” (1 Thessalonians 5.2).

The familiar Advent hymn declares: “Come thou long expected Jesus;” but, in fact, when Jesus showed up, not many were expecting him. Mary, Joseph, King Herod, the scribes and teachers of the law, certainly the shepherds in the field, responded to the news of Jesus’ arrival not only with surprise, but with alarm. This, Paul suggests in 1 Thessalonians, is God’s modus operandi. He comes unexpected, on a different timetable and in a very different manner than we might imagine.

The suddenness of this arrival (Paul refers to it using a phrase characteristic of the Old Testament prophets—the Day of the Lord) is unsettling, but it is also a great comfort. Jesus’ first Advent did not come about as a result of careful planning on the part of God’s people—as a strategic response to the Roman Empire, carefully orchestrated by God’s covenant people. Rather, he was born “not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.” (John 1.13) If this was true of Jesus’ first appearance among us, then, Paul says, it also will be true of the Day of the Lord—the appearance we still await.

We are, this passage reminds us, a people between times. The early church declared both: The Lord has come, and Come quickly Lord Jesus! Our King has arrived, and we await the arrival of the King. The Kingdom of God has arrived, and we pray: “thy kingdom come.”

Jesus’ followers are called to be faithful; to work and pray for the arrival of the kingdom. “Let us be alert and self-controlled,” Paul writes; “encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.” And yet, in the midst of our working and praying, it is good to remember: the day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night; the children of God are born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God; and, “The kingdom of God does not come with your careful observation” (Luke 17.20). God arrives in a way that is surprising, in a way that is unforeseen; in his own time, and with his own agenda. This, as I’ve said, is a great comfort; particularly when we face situations that seem hopeless, or feel at the end of our own resources. God comes unexpected, unbidden, to the most unlikely places and to make his home among the most unlikely company: people like us.

Steve Guthrie Professor of Theology/Religion & The Arts

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M O N D A Y , N O V E M B E R 2 9 , 2 0 21 Psalms 1, 2, 3, 4, 7 Amos 2.6-16 2 Peter 1.1-11 Matthew 21.1-11

In the season of Advent, we are collectively invited to acknowledge what it means to remember that Jesus Christ came to save humanity. We get to come together to celebrate what this means for us as the Kindom of God. In this season, we must ask ourselves how do we want to remember the work that God has done for us? How should we act following the great news that God sacrificially sent God’s Son to save the world? How can we live and build our lives as Ebenezer’s to this great news?

In 2 Peter 1.1-11, the Apostle Peter gives us an idea of what it could look like to live well together. In his letter, Peter urges the church to “make every effort” to live faithfully, be wise, and encourage our community to live under the teachings of Jesus. Peter warns his readers that being “short-sighted and blind” is what inhibits us from connecting with the divine. In contrast to this, when we approach the throne of God eagerly and with mutual affection for our Godly family, Peter says, this is what brings us closer to God. In this Advent, consider what it would look like for you to commit yourself to live in a sacrificial way in which you deny your inclination towards self-reliance in exchange for the Christian Call to fearlessly pursue a connection with God. When we do this, we are preparing our hearts for a celebration of the inherent value that God bestows in God’s creation, and we are recognizing that all humanity and creation are a part of this beautiful picture.

Kaela Buggy Senior, Faith and Social Justice

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T U E S D A Y , N O V E M B E R 3 0 , 2 0 21 Psalms 5, 6, 10,11 Amos 3.1-11 2 Peter 1.12-21 Matthew 21.12-22

As I write these thoughts related to Advent, it is Michaelmas, September 29. Because of my roots in the agricultural culture of the South, I observed an interesting phenomenon in my youth. The revivalistic tradition of the Baptists, Methodists, Presbyterians, Churches of Christ/ Christian Churches and other such related churches abolished the pre-Protestant traditions of the liturgical year—sort of. What I mean is that in the meeting houses the liturgical year had been forbidden; however, in the fields and woods it survived. Why? Because a close observation of nature links the great events of life to the inherent rhythms of the earth.

The Bible reflects a pattern of marking of time with darkness followed by light. Genesis affirms: “And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.” That pattern is extended to the lunar year. The new year, Rosh Hashanah, literally “the head of the year,” begins with the summer yielding its sway to the fall. The Christian celebration of Michaelmas is related to this theme. Michael, traditionally understood as one of four archangels, is a warrior who ultimately triumphs over the dragon. In the Northern Hemi-sphere, Michaelmas was associated with the coming of fall, the precursor to the dark and cold of winter.

In the North of England and the Lowlands of Scotland (from whence my ancestors came to Virginia, then North Carolina, then Tennessee and places farther west), Michael transfigured into St. George, an early Christian martyr, who also does legendary battle with the dragon—the epic fight between darkness and light.

Today, November 30, the nights are longer than when I wrote this on Michaelmas. They will grow even longer during Advent as we await the turning tide of the battle between darkness and light to usher in Christmas. Sometimes in these troubling days we are tempted to believe that the darkness has overcome the light. Like the author of the four Psalms in our readings today, we fluctuate between despair and hope for a better day. That is a fully human and understandable response. But once we experience the depth of darkness, like the Psalmist, we turn the corner and hope once again seizes the day. Our most dreaded dragons shed their skin and stunningly reveal the image of God. Marty Bell Professor of Religion

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W E D N E S D A Y , D E C E M B E R 1 , 2 0 21 Psalms 12, 13, 14, 119.1-24 Amos 3.12-4.5 2 Peter 3.1-10 Matthew 21.23-32

The Psalm readings for today, especially 12, 13, and 14, are not particularly cheery. They are not what one would expect to read as we prepare for the joyful coming of the Messiah. And yet I wonder how many of us are able to find ourselves in the words of the Psalmist written almost 3,000 years ago. We know people who lie to their neighbor. We know people who flatter with their lips but harbor deception in their hearts (Psalm 12.2), or we have times in our lives when we feel like God has forgotten us and hidden God’s face from us (Psalm 13.1), or perhaps we find ourselves wondering if anyone understands or seeks the Lord (Psalm 14:2).

What I love about these Psalms of lament that no doubt bring to mind our own experience of life is that while each begins with a complaint, it ends with an affirmation of who God is. In the midst of all that is wrong with the world and even in our own lives, we are reminded of a God who protects the needy and keeps us safe; the God in whose unfailing love we can trust; the God who is the refuge of the poor. These Psalms remind us that no matter what we are experiencing or what the world around us looks like, God is with us.

This is also what the season of Advent does for us. We don’t have to look for long at the world around us to realize that the world is not the way that it should be. There is violence, wars, rumors of wars, uncertainty, difficulty and pain. Many are suffering and death often comes too soon.

But this season reminds us of the truth that God’s work is not yet done.

Advent reminds us that the God who came as a baby in Bethlehem and turned the world upside down will one day come again to renew and restore all things. Despite the difficulties we face in the present time, there is a day coming in which there will be a new heaven and a new earth and all things will be as they should be. Advent reminds us that until that day comes we can put our trust in Emmanuel, the God who is with us.

Heather Gerbsch Daugherty University Minister

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T H U R S D A Y , D E C E M B E R 2 , 2 0 21 Psalms 18.1-20, 18.21-50 Amos 4.6-13 2 Peter 3.11-18 Matthew 21.33-46

We like to think of ourselves as reasonably good people. We are not prone to be hateful, and we try to treat others fairly, even kindly. And when we mess up, we console ourselves that at least we were trying to do the right thing for the right reason.

The Bible will have none of our humanistic self-delusion. God is desperate to get our attention, so He skates right over our high opinion of ourselves to expose our manic desire to maintain control over our own lives. Far from wanting God to be a part of our lives, we would— left to our own devices—gladly kill God or those He sends on His behalf, if only we could get our hands on them.

Jesus paints the picture of our sordid history in a very disturbing parable in Matthew 21.33-46. He compares humanity to those who are working in a vineyard planted by a landowner. It is the landowner who went to all the trouble to give us everything we need to thrive. Yet when He sends people—prophets—to remind us of Whose world it is that we are enjoying, we are incensed by the very idea that our independence is being compromised. The prophets who came before Jesus we “beat,” “killed,” and “stoned.” Not just in one era, but in every era.

God at Christmas gave humanity one last opportunity to get things right. Jesus tells what happens next: “Last of all, he sent his son to them. ‘They will respect my son,’ he said. But when the tenants saw the son, they said to each other, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him...!’”

The Christmas Season includes King Herod trying to kill the infant King Jesus in Bethlehem, and Jesus and his family becoming refugees in Egypt. Things don’t improve from there. We all know how that the story ends—at least as far as we humans contributed to it—with Jesus’ violent death orchestrated by the combined powers of religion, government and the people.

Is there any hope in such a grim version of the Christmas story? Yes, but not for everyone. Jesus goes on to say, “the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit.”

At Christmas, let’s help each other be sure we are among those fruitful kingdom people.

Todd Lake Vice President for Spiritual Development

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F R I D A Y , D E C E M B E R 3 , 2 0 21 Psalms 16, 17, 22 Amos 5.1-17 Jude 1-16 Matthew 22.1-14

Hurt and pain surrounds us at all times. This world is literally consumed with pain. There are those who are homeless, those who have incurable diseases and those who have lost loved ones. We look around at this home we call earth and see that it, too, is hurting. Animals and plants are dying off, the climate is slowly heating up, our natural resources are being depleted and it is evident that we are suffering. In this hour of pain we cry, “Why have you forsaken me?”

Why must I struggle? Why must I see pain? Why must this world cry out in anguish? An anguish, more often than not, we have helped cause.

What do we do when we look at society and the world around us and see that many of the problems that we have caused we don’t have the power to fix? What happens when we have made our society our God, and the things that it produces, our sacrifice? At a time where corruption seems to be increasing, God calls us back to him. “Come back to me and live,” He tells us. At a time when we feel God is becoming further and further away, God invites us to a wedding feast to be close to him.

Advent helps us remember Christ’s coming, and with His coming came hope. This hope holds in His hand the power of love. The hope that came into the world is still here because His spirit lives inside each and every one of his children. When we look at the pain and hurt that surrounds us, we should not look at it with hopelessness because the hope that came into the world still lives inside of us and has given us the power of love: a power that can begin to comfort the hurting. When we look at the destruction that often times we have had our hand in, we should not look at it in hopelessness because the hope that came into the world still lives inside of us and has given us the power of love: a power that can reconcile and reconstruct. Although judgment is coming, hope gives us a chance to come back to our first love, and to one day receive peace from our suffering.

Rev. Dr. Larry Crudup CTCM Alumni ‘10

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S A T U R D A Y , D E C E M B E R 4 , 2 0 21 Psalms 20, 21.1-7, 110.1-7, 116, 117 Amos 5.18-27 Jude 17-25 Matthew 22.15-22

How do we approach the Advent season? How do we think about the annual observance of the birth of Christ, in the context of a global community? Do we even think about the birth of Jesus as an event that has universal implications? Let us ponder these questions as we consider the words in Psalm 117, which calls for an all-embracing notion of worship. Using the inclusive language of “all” and “us,” the Psalmist calls for worship to take place across many lands and nations. Are we ready to worship and honor Christ together?

When thinking about the worship of Christ, we also must think about what it means to celebrate Jesus’s birth. In this season of Advent, we should come to the celebration with great anticipation and expectation.

Just like the nervous excitement that wells up in our bodies when preparing to receive material gifts or greet beloved friends and family, the same should be true of the observance of the coming of Christ.

The anticipation of Advent should also come with an understanding of the solemnity of the season. It is not just the birth of the Christ that has significance in our Christian faith, but also our preparation for the blessed event. How do we prepare to celebrate this seminal milestone on the Christian calendar? How do we center ourselves and prepare to honor the babe born on the margins of society?

Each year, the Advent season gives us an opportunity to reconsider our faith practices and rituals. How will we recalibrate our worship in this season in order to capture the anticipation of Advent in concert with all of the nations?

Michelle E. Shaw Communication Studies

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WEEK TWO Israel’s strength and consolation, Hope of all the earth thou art, Dear desire of every nation, Joy of every longing heart.

S U N D A Y , D E C E M B E R 5 , 2 0 21 Psalms 114, 115, 148, 149, 150 Amos 6.1-14 2 Thesselonians 1.5-12 Luke 1.57-68

There is an undeniably festive and celebratory character to today’s scripture reading. All of creation is invited to join in singing God’s praises. The psalm begins in the heavens, with the angels and the heavenly host. From there the song extends out to sun, moon and stars; then on again to the depths of the seas, and to the elements of fire, snow and wind. It reaches to mountains, trees and animals, before finally enlisting human beings (of every sort) in worship of God. If we are in a Christmas frame of mind, this psalm may even remind us of the scene in Luke 2, where ‘suddenly there was . . . a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace.’”

There is indeed good reason to associate Psalm 148 with Jesus’ birth.

In Jesus’ birth, God joins himself, not only to humanity, but to the created world itself, in the most dramatic way imaginable. In Jesus, the dust of this earth—the oxygen, carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen and other elements that make up his body—are taken up into the very life of God! Reflecting on this, Pope Benedict XVI writes: “the incarnation is the greatest and most beautiful work of the entire history of salvation[.] . . . [I]t is . . . God’s original idea of ultimately uniting with himself the whole of creation, in the Person and Flesh of the Son.” More than a millennium before Benedict, the theologian Maximus the Confessor would articulate this same idea: “the Word of God, who is God, wills always and in all things to accomplish the mystery of His incarnation.”

This is good news for us in a time when we have often been reminded— through pandemic, droughts, earthquakes, wildfires and floods—that not only human beings, but the created world is broken, and in need of a savior. So at Advent we look forward to the arrival of One who is concerned not only with the “sins and sorrows [that] grow,” but also with the “thorns [that] infest the ground.” It’s no surprise then that whole choir described in Psalm 148 should join in worship, and “fields, and floods, rocks, hills and plains, repeat the sounding joy.”

Steve Guthrie Professor of Theology/Religion and the Arts

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M O N D A Y , D E C E M B E R 6 , 2 0 21 Psalms 9, 15, 25 Amos 7.1-9 Revelation 1.1-8 Matthew 22.23-33

Revelations 1.1-8 takes up an important theme running throughout Advent: Wake up! Pay attention! Jesus is coming! The Revelation’s verses include admonitions that “the time is near” and “Look! He is coming with the clouds.”

We can interpret this message at many levels. Certainly, Advent anticipates Christmas when we will celebrate the literal coming of God to earth in the form of man. But in John’s book of Revelation, we are more inclined to tune our thoughts to the prophesy of Jesus’ second coming at the end of time, when our anticipation and watch-keeping are focused on the ultimate judgment day.

Christianity has sometimes been taken to task for too much attention to future events rather than living in and for the present. The point is not to order our lives in pursuit of some afterlife reward (presumably and desirably in heaven), but to live “on earth as it is in heaven.” The Lord’s prayer reminds us that “Thy will be done” is our OUR responsibility— not God’s—to bring heaven to earth every day.

This creates the possibility of a third interpretation that is more like “Snap out of it!” Life isn’t a rehearsal for some anticipated, future event.

This is for real. We are in “the show” right now. So, wake up and get on with it.

The season of Advent (like its companion season of introspection during Lent) is set aside for us to (re)set our hearts and minds on the eternal “now” (for God is timeless) and to live into our best Christ-centered intentions every day.

Sarah Fisher Gardial Dean, Jack Massey College of Business

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T U E S D A Y , D E C E M B E R 7, 2 0 21 Psalms 26, 28, 36, 39 Amos 7.10-17 Revelation 1.9-16 Matthew 22.34-46

Waiting is difficult. Whether it is in great anticipation for something wonderful or the uncertain nervousness that accompanies the unknown, the wait can seem to defy the steady march of time. We grow impatient, wanting to skip to the moment. But the waiting period permits an immense amount of imagination. When at our best, we can adopt a posture of curiosity and interest, mentally exploring a wide range of potential experiences. At our worst, we grow fearful, anxious and perseverate on the same worst-case scenario. How do we learn to wait in a spiritually healthy way?

In Psalm 39, David reflects on how fleeting life truly is when placed in the context of God’s eternity. No matter how much we feel we are waiting (for the right relationship, the right opportunity, the right answer), it is but a blip in the cosmos. I sometimes wonder if God felt a great anticipation of revealing His Son to us. From the many generations of Abraham to Jesus’s birth, as hundreds of human lifetimes passed, was the Lord experiencing a version of our excitement to share good news?

To provide a foretaste of the perfect love and harmony we can experience when we will glorify God and enjoy Him forever in Heaven?

In all our times of waiting, we are called to Love God with all our heart and soul and mind, and to love our neighbors as ourselves. Practicing these two greatest commandments prepares us for that ultimate end, the one so worth waiting for, when we can be fully reconciled to God. So in the wait for your coffee to brew, practice loving the Lord through prayers of gratitude. In the wait at the checkout line, practice loving your neighbor through a quick message of encouragement. Ask God to reveal opportunities for you to do good in the small, daily ways that help reflect His love to others, and use your waiting times as blessed respites to creatively serve Him better.

As we walk through this Advent season and prepare our hearts for Christmas, I pray that we will experience a most wondrous wait.

Amy E. Crook Vice President for Transformative Innovation, Character, & Purpose

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W E D N E S D A Y , D E C E M B E R 8 , 2 0 21 Psalms 38, 119.25-48 Amos 8.1-14 Revelation 1.17-19, 2.7 Matthew 23.1-12

Come quickly to help me, my Lord and my Savior (Psalm 38.22).

Navigating through the pandemic the past eighteen months has been exhausting! I believe most of us, if we were honest with ourselves, must admit we have needed help getting through this unprecedented season in our lives.

When faced with struggles and heartaches in our homes and communities, we should be reminded of the unfailing love of Jesus Christ that brings us comfort (Psalms 119.41). In a world where love is often transactional and fleeting, God’s love is stable, healing, comforting and a place of refuge. Our possessions, accomplishments, even people in our lives, are blessings that make us happy and fuel joyfulness. However, the true source of all joy is Jesus.

Our joy as believers cannot be stolen, though we endure pain and strife.

We must hold on to Him for the hope we need to live out our life purpose. In happy or sad times, in comfort or difficulty, we can find joy in the presence of the Lord.

We know that God gave mankind the perfect gift when He sent His Son Jesus. As we prepare to celebrate the birth of Christ, let’s be mindful of “why” we celebrate, and not merely focus on the giving and receiving of gifts. Since Christmas is celebrating and giving to those we love, we must not forget to be thankful for God’s love and perfect Gift to you and me!

Merry Christmas!

Cosonya Stephens Senior Budget Officer, Office of Finance & Accounting

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T H U R S D A Y , D E C E M B E R 9 , 2 0 21 Psalms 37.1-18, 37.19-42 Amos 9.1-10 Revelation 2.8-17 Matthew 23.13-26

In the years leading up to the birth of Christ, Israel was restless. The nation was under an oppressive regime, and they longed for a Messiah to set them free. These were dark days, and Israel needed hope. Amid their waiting, the people of Israel often read and prayed Psalm 37, a psalm about waiting on the Lord. In this Psalm of David, Israel is reminded to “Wait for the LORD, and keep to his way, and he will exalt you to inherit the land . . . the salvation of the righteous is from the LORD; he is their refuge in the time of trouble” (v. 34, 39). Israel was promised that the LORD would come through for them when they needed Him. He would not let the cry of the oppressed go unheard.

God heard their cries. Into this world of oppression came the Incarnation. God became human and entered the world in the form of Jesus Christ. However, the oppression seemed to persist. Those around Jesus were expecting the Messiah to overthrow the oppressive government and usher in a new kingdom. They were right, but not in the way they expected. The government that Christ overthrew was the rule of sin in the world, and the new kingdom was the Kingdom of God. Jesus did not take away our physical pains and sufferings, but He gave us a much greater gift: joy.

The joy that Christ gives us comes from the promise that He will come again. In Revelation 2.8-17, Jesus speaks to the churches in Smyrna and Pergamum. In His message to both churches, there is a clear theme of hope. The church in Smyrna learns they will undergo much suffering, and the church in Pergamum suffers so much that their location is described as the place of Satan’s throne. Amid this oppression and evil, Jesus’ message to both churches is that He is coming back to give the crown of life to the righteous and to destroy the wicked. The incarnation gives us hope, and we can have joy in knowing that the Kingdom of God is still coming and will one day be here in its fullness. Just like the churches in Revelation, we face oppression, evil and injustice today.

The coming of Christ gives us joy because it tells us that those things are coming to an end.

Luke Litz Philosophy of Religion Major

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F R I D A Y , D E C E M B E R 1 0 , 2 0 21 Psalms 31, 35 Haggai 1.1-15 Revelation 2.18-29 Matthew 23.27-39

A powerful deity sends a messenger to a group of people to tell them that he has been sabotaging their efforts to grow enough food to feed their families because they built houses for themselves before they built one for him. The prophet threatens that things are going to get even worse if they do not alter their behavior. The people believe the prophet and are afraid that the predicted disaster will come to pass, so they start building a temple for the deity. This plot summary of Haggai 1 presents a challenge to the concept of waiting that lies at the core of the Advent season. Are we waiting to be extorted? Dare we ask why a God powerful enough to send destructive weather is incapable of a simple task like building His own house?

The Bible is a site of fierce debate about the nature of God and God’s relation to humanity, and the little “book” of Haggai has a voice in that debate. Unfortunately, the book takes the position that divine favor must be purchased, while other portions of the Bible push back against such an idea. Portions of Psalm 31 would indicate that divine help does not require payment, but that God simply has favorites of whom God takes special care. Psalm 35 may provide a surer sense that God protects the singer from evil plots. Lest we think the New Testament simplifies the matter, Matthew 23 finds Jesus railing against the enemies of the community for whom the gospel of Matthew was written. The debate may look quaint in our own time, when a scientific understanding of weather, economics and other phenomena explain our successes and failures. Still, echoes of the past abound, and the nature of God is a subject worthy of contested consideration. An active understanding of Advent provides an arena for such a contest. How inclusive is God’s care? How can I reflect a vision of God’s care in my own work in the world? To put this into a stricter sense of an Advent question, what kind of God am I waiting for? Is it just one who will make me successful, make me feel special, or beat up my enemies, or is it one who can expand my vision of a hospitable world?

Mark McEntire Professor of Biblical Studies

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S A T U R D A Y , D E C E M B E R 11 , 2 0 2 1 Psalms 32, 42, 43 Haggai 2.1-9 Revelation 3.1-6 Matthew 24.1-14

“My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and behold the face of God? My tears have been my food day and night, while people say to me continually, ‘Where is your God?’” (Psalm 42.2-3) “Look for God like a man with his head on fire looks for water.”

Elizabeth Gilbert I confess I have sometimes found it difficult to see God this past year and a half. Together as a nation we have experienced so much loss and grief that it has sometimes been hard to keep up. Just when we thought we could begin to heal from the pain of one alarming atrocity, another struck. I suspect that this large-scale sense of hopelessness leaked into many of our personal lives as well. Collective grief and fear of the unknown cannot help but cause us anxiety that may affect our relations with others.

I find myself strangely comforted by the despair expressed by the psalmist in Psalm 42. It is one of the passages of scripture that helps me get outside of myself and recognize that I am not the first person to feel this way—that this is not the first time the world has seemed devoid of the presence of the Holy. The prophet in Lamentations also does this, crying out, “Why have you forgotten us completely? Why have you forsaken us these many days?” (5.20) Elsewhere in scripture, wisdom writers express a clear-eyed, unflinching view of the world as a mixed bag of good, evil and indifferent. Texts like these teach me that just as giving voice to awe, praise and joy is a holy act, giving voice to grief and acknowledging a sense of abandonment can be similarly sacred.

I do not even really need to get to the end of the psalm and hear the psalmist admonishing his soul to “hope in God,” offering the encouragement that someday his soul will again praise God. I can just appreciate the psalmist’s patience: That day does not have to be today.

Today can simply involve feeling the weight of God’s apparent absence.

Reading this Psalm and other similarly bleak-sounding texts during Advent, however, adds a layer of urgency. We are sitting, waiting, often in darkness, for God to show up. We acknowledge the darkness. We name the grief. But during this season, we never stop looking.

Beth Ritter-Conn Instructor

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S U N D A Y , D E C E M B E R 12 , 2 0 21 Psalms 41, 44, 52 Zechariah 1.7-17 Revelation 3.7-13 Matthew 24.15-31

The readings for today are largely from the apocalyptic tradition, which doesn’t always feel very “Christmas-y.” While apocalypticism is associated with widespread destruction in modern English usage, its original meaning in Koine Greek is to reveal or uncover. We often tend to think of The ApocalypseTM as one big event, the “end of the world.” But in reality there are smaller events happening all the time that uncover and reveal truths about the world and about how we live together in it.

At the beginning of the pandemic almost two years ago, my Johannine Literature class had just started a unit on apocalypticism and the book of Revelation. In the second half of the semester, online and quarantined in separate places, we talked a lot about what this little-A apocalypse of unknown disease and sudden isolation was revealing, about ourselves and especially about the inequities of our world. An apocalypse is simply an uncovering of truth that will hopefully jolt us out of complacency and into action.

Today’s apocalyptic texts in Revelation 3, Matthew 24, and Zechariah 1 contain warnings about the dire state of the world—something that is not unfamiliar today, as we wrestle with accelerating climate change, a national legacy of white supremacy, the continuing Covid-19 pandemic and threats to the stability of our democratic government. But along with judgments and warnings, apocalyptic texts also speak of hope and the active perseverance it can inspire. Now that we see the portents that Jesus speaks of, and that Zechariah prophesies, and that John the Seer envisions—now that these truths are made clear to us, what will we do in response?

Where do we see God acting to restore abundant life and prosperity for all who live in the cities (Zechariah 1.17)? Will we recognize God’s presence in the coming of the Son of Humanity, gathering together those who suffer under the status quo (Matthew 24.15-31)? Will we use whatever little power we have to hear what the Spirit is saying to the churches, and to join in God’s work of transforming the world into a more just place for everyone (Revelation 3.8, 13)? Hope is active, not passive, and it calls us to keep seeking out the apocalypses where Jesus is revealed as present in the world, and to join in the work of God’s reign with whatever we have to offer. May we embrace the apocalyptic as we learn from new revelations, try to do better, make mistakes, and then try again. For our hope is in the truth that lies at both the beginning and the end of the story: God is with us.

Amanda C. Miller Associate Professor of Biblical Studies

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M O N D A Y , D E C E M B E R 1 3 , 2 0 21 Psalms 45, 47, 48 Zechariah 2.1-13 Revelation 3.14-22 Matthew 24.32-44

Trying to get the Bible right is a very big deal. When we call it the Word of God, we do well to remember as well that it is also the composition notebook of a centuries-long caravan of asylum seekers. In a time like Advent, we might be prone to skip straight to skip to the baby Jesus and . . . whatever else we might find comforting. If we do that, we risk losing a sense of our own context as well as that of the people whose experience of God yields the Bible itself. We need to take it slow.

“Let anyone who has an ear listen to what the Spirit is saying.” These are the words of a letter to “the angel of the church” in Laodicea within the larger letter, or collection of image and admonition, that is Revelation.

The theme is that of conquering and, after long tribulation, assuming a seat on the throne of God, the Father. This part of John’s apocalypse is addressing a community in Laodicea who lack for little in the way of material wealth and can perhaps afford a degree of detachment when it comes to the political struggle which has placed John in exile on Patmos. They appear to have mistaken their own social status for righteousness, and John’s vision-epistle demands of these Laodiceans a less passive posture toward their sisters and brothers who suffer under the boot of Roman law enforcement. They might yet conquer, but not without repenting; and not without treating those with less means as their own flesh and kin.

The throne imagery is also alive in our psalm (“Your throne, O God, endures forever and ever”), but it isn’t just any old image of authority.

It’s accompanied by a “royal scepter” that is also a “scepter of equity” (45.7) or even, we might imagine, royal because equitable. A call to poetic awareness is also put forth in Jesus’ admonition concerning the tenderness of a fig tree’s branches as it’s about to bear fruit. Next to that image, words like “power,” “productive,” “success” and “leadership” are cast in a new light. What would it mean to let tenderness toward others serve as a core value in the days to come?

David Dark Associate Professor of Religion and the Arts

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WEEK THREE Born thy people to deliver, Born a child and yet a king, Born to reign in us forever, Now thy gracious kingdom bring.

T U E S D A Y , D E C E M B E R 14 , 2 0 2 1 Psalms 49, 119.49-72 Zechariah 3.1-10 Revelation 4.1-8 Matthew 24.45-51

We have a laundry problem that never seems to stop. I mean, we wash laundry almost every day (full disclosure: by “we,” I mean primarily myself ). Why? Because my clothing becomes filthy on a daily basis.

Dirty laundry, believe it or not, is a biblical metaphor for sin. We have a problem with spiritual laundry. We are guilty, and we demonstrate it every day. In Zechariah’s fourth vision, he sees the high priest Joshua dressed in filth. He, as well as the people, must be cleansed of their sin.

The goal of this vision is not to discourage us, but rather to inspire us.

In verse 4, the Angel of the Lord instructs those around to remove the filthy clothes and says to Joshua, “See, I have taken away your sins, and now I am giving you these fine new clothes.” Notice that the angel doesn’t just clean Joshua’s clothes but he gives him new clothes. Sinners must be cleansed. This image of Joshua the high priest changing his garments is a striking representation of God’s forgiveness. Specifically, God cleanses his people of sin and guilt and he gives us newness of life, of stature, of mindset.

We sometimes deny that we are filthy. There is no benefit to such an attitude since we know deep down that we will have to answer to the Lord for our transgression. The better (and only) choice is to own our mistake for what it is. However, as we admit, we must watch from falling into despair or sadness. We are, indeed, sinners, but that is not the end of the tale. Yes, Satan will condemn us, but we have an advocate before the Father!

Most essential, we must avoid the temptation to try to clean ourselves.

The entire idea of this vision is that our hope is not in ourselves, but in God’s provision for us via Jesus’ sacrifice. This Advent season, praise God for the substitutionary sacrifice of Jesus on our behalf. Thank him that he died to atone for our sins and that he supplies us with holiness through his resurrection. Let us not believe the lies of our enemy that seeks to restrict us and hold us back. The truth is that we are free and beautiful before God. The truth is by His grace we are good enough to serve Him and know Him. DJ Carr Senior, Worship Leadership

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W E D N E S D A Y , D E C E M B E R 15 , 2 0 21 Psalms 33, 50 Zechariah 4.1-14 Revelation 4.9-5.5 Matthew 25.1-13

I have no need of a bull from your stall or of goats from your pens, for every animal of the forest is mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills.

I know every bird in the mountains, and the insects in the fields are mine.

If I were hungry I would not tell you, for the world is mine, and all that is in it (Psalm 50. 9-12).

Any parent of a toddler will recognize the scene. It’s a few days before Christmas . . . a child and her parent walk tirelessly up and down each aisle at Walgreens as she gets to ‘shop’ for her family’s Christmas presents. She takes her bounty to the register (socks with fish on them, a tape measure, an air freshener for the car, and a bag of candy) lays it on the counter, and then proudly hands over the crumpled $20 she has held tightly in her hand for 20 minutes.

It is an exercise in independence, or perhaps even and early lesson in budgeting. Most certainly family members will find more joy in seeing what was chosen for them than in whatever random trinket they receive.

Nonetheless, as we see this scenario play out time and time again, we almost never ask: Where did the child get the $20 bill? We have a pretty good idea.

The writer of Psalm 50 is setting a similar scene for us. Heaven and earth have been called together to bear witness to the judgement of God’s people. However, God’s displeasure is not in their actual offerings, but in their empty acts of worship. These acts seem to overlook the acknowledgement that God did not need the sacrifices, because everything in creation (including anything to be offered) belonged to God already. It is a call to remember God’s faithfulness to us—even providing the very things for us to offer back as a sacrifice in worship.

Advent serves as a similar reminder. As we wait in this season of anticipation, we are reminded that any act of worship we make, any token of sacrifice we could bring, was first created and provided for us by God. The coming of Christ once again repeats the sounding joy of God’s provision for us. It is a sentiment articulated in this song of worship . . . may it serve as a reflection for us today: We have nothing to give that didn’t first come from Your hands We have nothing to offer You which You did not provide Every good, perfect gift comes from your kind and gracious heart And all we do is give back to You what always has been Yours.

–Breathing the Breath, Matt Redmond Christy Ridings Associate University Minister

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T H U R S D A Y , D E C E M B E R 16 , 2 0 21 Psalms 40, 51, 54 Zechariah 7.8-8.8 Revelation 5.6-14 Matthew 25.14-30

The Parable of the Talents in Matthew 25 once was, for me, a story of dutiful investment in God’s kingdom. I heard it in capital campaign sermons and on missions Sunday. It was a story in which I had identified with the good slave. I later understood the self-deception and privilege of my interpretation.

Yet, who would not want to be the slave that made such a ridiculous, unreal financial return for the master? Who would not want to reap the reward of being the master’s favorite slave? No one would want to be the wicked slave from whom everything was taken and was thrown into the outer darkness. No one.

Perhaps some of us might want to be the master; however, the one who earned the equivalent of 105 years wages while on vacation (a talent was 15 years of wages). We could fictionalize ourselves as a good master of loyal servants who got us a 500% return rate. We could be kind in our reward and just in our punishment. We would be lying, of course.

Not so fast, Ched Myers says in a 1999 article on The Other Side.

“Though lauded by modern interpreters, this feat would have elicited disgust from the first-century audience.” With new eyes we see that the rich slave owner (v. 14) does indeed admit to being fraudulent, extortionist, harsh, and greedy (v. 26). Myers suggests, then, if the original audience would have viewed the master as wicked, is it possible they would have viewed the third slave as the hero? Perhaps even the “least of these” in the following parable, he proposes?

I can imagine children role-playing this story. What a good slave you are, says the little boy playing the role of a master. Thank you for letting me be your slave, says another child with full sincerity. The little girl who didn’t want to play a slave at all whimpers in fear, “Here, have what is yours.” The other two slaves look on with feigned, horrified smiles.

Suddenly a parent peaks into the room and asks, Who’s playing Jesus?

The little boy starts to raise his hand, but the little girl gets there first.

The church missed an opportunity in this parable. It could have distanced God from slavery, and distanced Jesus from what Myers calls “mercenary economics and the inevitable polarization of wealth.” But it chose to reinforce a view of the world where winners win and losers lose.

Our hope is in you, Immanuel!

Andy Watts Professor of Religion

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F R I D A Y , D E C E M B E R 17, 2 0 21 Psalms 55, 138, 139.1-17 Zechariah 8.9-17 Revelation 6.1-17 Matthew 25.31-46

Do you ever feel like you are distant from God? In this day and age, social media has become one of the biggest distractors that forces us away from God and God’s plan for us. With this difficult season, it can be easy to find an escape with everything going on around us. With the convenience of social media being right within our fingertips it has made it so easy for us to seek out our own pursuits and ambitions and ignore God’s true plan for us. We become so caught up in the negativity of the world around us, that we come to expect nothing more than the pain that we are used to feeling. In these moments, I have questioned God about where God is at and why everything in our lives is turning into chaos.

I was living a life that was close minded to God’s plan. I was getting caught up by the words and actions of hurt and hate that is all around the world. We are living in a time that has become immune to suffering.

Psalm 139.1-17 helps us dial back to the reality that God is there with us. It paints a beautiful picture of the way that God sees us and the true love God has for us. God sees you. God notices you. God knows everything, from when you get up in the morning to when you go to sleep. God knows when you are feeling weary and alone and when you are in the brightest of moments. God is omniscient and omnipresent.

God is in our past, our present and our future. God knows when we are about to go through a hardship, God is with us during that suffering, and then after God is right there with us during the healing. Nothing can separate us from this kind of love and connection. So, in this season that we are in, let us remember that God knows everything about us and God has an entire plan for you. God wants you and God loves you dearly. Let us not forget that God is right there holding us during this season of pain and suffering and remember that God created you for a purpose. You are fearfully and wonderfully made.

Kaitlyn Duron Junior, Worship Leadership

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S A T U R D A Y , D E C E M B E R 18 , 2 0 21 Psalms 8, 24, 29, 84 Genesis 3.8-15 Revelation 12.1-10 John 3.16-20

As the growing darkness of autumn and winter settle in to the shortest days of the year, pondering what the Gospel writer John is saying about darkness and light can be exceedingly clear or mistakenly rigid.

When I think of Christmas, so many favorite things come to mind and anticipation settles into my thoughts. But when I think of Advent, there is as much unsettling as there is expectancy. Our study of texts gathered to move us toward preparedness for Jesus has become an important turning point in the year’s work of spiritual rhythms and practices. But each year, the texts which greet us as we read scripture toward Christmas prod us to look again, think again, let go again.

Advent is the season of anticipating the coming of the Lord. More than the celebration of Jesus’ birth, this is the acknowledgement that God has been coming to the whole world and that God’s coming always surprises and rearranges. At Christmas we remember something that happened thousands of years ago. In Advent we prepare for the God who comes to us now.

Some of today’s verses are familiar passages cast a bit differently when read in Advent. There is a lesson to be learned from pondering darkness and light. We are living at a time when the either/or of most things is pointed at and emphasized. John 3 is often used to point the reader to see those who believe and those who don’t believe. Look behind that and you find the God who is always reaching to make whole, the God who is reconciling all things, the whole cosmos, which God loved so much He sent His Son. When it comes to darkness and light these short winter days and long dark nights beckon some reflection. The darkness of winter nights is not the darkness we are to resist. John is telling us to resist the darkness in us that tries to hide who we are, what we are capable of, both good and bad.

Those who love God in response to God’s love for them are drawn into the open, wanting to please God, setting aside the fear of being exposed as flawed and welcoming the one who makes all things new.

Judy Skeen Professor of Religion

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S U N D A Y , D E C E M B E R 19 , 2 0 21 Psalms 61, 62, 112, 115 Zepheniah 3.14-20 Titus 1.1-16 Luke 1.1-25

Today’s psalms and stories bring us into the realities of anxious hope, stretching our hearts like a rubber band. “I can’t handle it! The anticipation is killing me. I can’t wait anymore!” It’s the sentiment of lovers—boyfriends and girlfriends, mothers and daughters, God and her children—awaiting that deep embrace and cherished homecoming after a time apart. They’re the words of Afghan refugees sleeping on cots in a Wisconsin Air Force hangar, fearfully hoping for news of their loved ones left behind in Kabul, anxiously longing for a glimpse of what this new life will bring. Will the embrace still feel like home? Will I find a home in this new life?

Advent is a season of migration. When least expected, glimmers of light shine on the darkened horizon of a home we could only contemplate in celestial dreams and visions. The disruptive stirrings of hopes long abandoned compel us to prepare our lives and our hearts, as the news of forgiveness and restoration spreads like wildfire across the settled prairies.

If you are firmly planted, it is time to uproot and embark on a spiritual migration, if only until Christmas. Set aside the nourishing habits that have structured your days in the last year, and take up a new spiritual practice. Worship at an African-American church or a Catholic church.

Fast for a day (or a week!) from Instagram or non-essential spending or Spotify. Try praying the Bible, instead of reading it. It’s called lectio divina; go check it out at pray-as-you-go.org. The promise we find in our readings is that God will bless and bless these migratory movements with uncontainable joy and profound love.

Now, turn your attention to the habits or relationships that have encouraged your blissful apathy to divine Love and neighborly justice.

Hear the words of Zephaniah and the angel Gabriel (Luke), your judgment and disgrace has been lifted. Do not be afraid, but rejoice, for the Lord is preparing to dwell within your innermost depths, as he did with Elizabeth.

Manuel Cruz Assistant Professor of Theology

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M O N D A Y , D E C E M B E R 2 0 , 2 0 21 Psalms 66, 67, 116, 117 1 Samuel 2.1b-10 Titus 2.1-10 Luke 1.26-38

Promises that the birth of a child will overturn the social order and bring about justice in the world are difficult to receive. Even those in 1 Samuel 2 and Luke 1 talk about the use of power to enact these reversals. The change comes about by victory in warfare, or the appointment of a new king. It seems too likely that the same old systems will remain in place but with a new boss, “same as the old boss.” We are tempted to shout with Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey, “Won’t get fooled again.”

The women in these stories offer us hope in their expressions of faithfulness and determination that their sons might bring deliverance to the world. The traditional site of Mary’s annunciation is a cave in Nazareth that is now covered by a beautiful church. The walls of the church are covered with images of Mary sent as gifts to the church from all over the world. The sense that this person and her story inspires so many people all over the world is moving, but this is at least the fourth church built on the site, as it has gone through cycles of warfare, upheaval and destruction.

Coming to another Advent season amid a pandemic, with images of warfare and refugees fleeing violence and natural disasters all around us, challenges our capacity to see a way forward to redemption for the world. We went through this season last year, and a year later the world is no better, or even worse, for many. Sometimes the best we can do is to fix our gaze on one small thing in front of us, like Hannah and Mary thinking of their baby boys. The potential of these children to bring change to the world was still many years away, but their mothers gave attention to these occasions and moved on with determination to what came next.

Mark McEntire Professor of Biblical Studies

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WEEK FOUR By thine own eternal Spirit, Rule in all our hearts alone; By thine all-sufficient merit Raise us to thy glorious throne.

T U E S D A Y , D E C E M B E R 21 , 2 0 21 Psalms 72, 111, 113 2 Samuel 7.1-17 Titus 2.11-3.8a Luke 1.39-48a (48b-56)

Reading about Mary and Elizabeth interacting with one another in Luke’s narrative brings a feeling of joy. For me, the importance of these women in the scriptures is edifying, as so often the voices of women in the texts are not necessarily the focus. These women, who could be labeled with so many different descriptors, are capable, obedient, inspired, strong and faithful. Mary and Elizabeth set the stage for the rest of Luke’s story with their encounter. Their relationship is the link for John’s relationship with Jesus, as John recognizes Jesus even from within the womb. The incredible significance of the moment causes Mary to break into song, the famed Magnificat setting the theme for reversal of roles that this gospel.

In Luke’s gospel, the powerful are brought down from thrones and the lowly are lifted. The reversal of roles continues to be a focus in Jesus’s parables throughout the remainder of the gospel. The rich man resides in hell while the poor Lazarus rests in heaven. Jesus instructs a guest at a wedding banquet to take a lower place at the table and teaches the banquet host to invite the crippled and poor to eat his food. These narratives are about hope. We are waiting for the birth of John and the birth of Jesus; we are waiting for the poor to be recognized and for the proud to be humble; we are waiting for some form of restorative justice.

We know what happens though. Mary and Elizabeth suffer the loss of their sons under horrifying circumstances. The deaths are brutal and the losses indescribable and unimaginable. These women are sufferers. They suffer and we still suffer. We still wait.

Here, the book of Titus may give us some hope. The author of Titus reminds us to be good people during the wait. This is because we see in the gift of Jesus the very goodness of God. We are recipients of God’s kindness. And through Jesus’s suffering, we receive mercy. Might we express kindness in the midst of our own sort of suffering? The image of water and rebirth utilized in the text is moving, leading us to have hope in our own constant renewal.

Can there be a better understanding of waiting or a better understanding of hope? Birth demands all of us physically, emotionally and mentally.

When the time arrives, nothing else can garner our attention. The ugliness of our world, our failings, our politics, our perversions of religious belief, may all be set aside with the hope and beauty that comes from a struggling new life, or a new chance at this world.

This advent may we be like Mary and Elizabeth, not only as they awaited the births of their sons, but also as they remained faithful throughout their days. And may we be kind.

Sally Holt Professor of Religion

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W E D N E S D A Y , D E C E M B E R 2 2 , 2 0 21 Psalms 80, 146, 147 2 Samuel 7.18-29 Galatians 3.1-14 Luke 1.57-66

“Restore us, O God: let your face shine, that we may be saved” (Psalms 80.3). Our psalmist for today gives words to our cry here in the lingering days of this pandemic. They resonate so well with our hymn for this Advent season as we sing out “come, thou long-expected Jesus.” This is the language of the people of God who call out of darkness to the one who can bring us into the light.

Yesterday was the winter solstice which gave us the shortest day of the year and now we begin that incremental walk toward summer with each day gaining a minute or two more daylight. There is not much we can do about this slow walk toward summer except live each day in just a little bit less darkness as we patiently following the path of the sun.

When we feel like life is out of our control, we will often lean into things that give us comfort. On a cold winter’s night, there’s nothing quite like a warm drink, a family quilt wrapped around us and a favorite chair. Sometimes we turn to things that distract us from that which gives us unease—we scroll social media, we watch pundits chatter on the television, or we bounce from one website to another. Sometimes we even latch onto unreasonable explanations of things because we just need an explanation and if enough people parrot something as an explanation it is so very easy to find ourselves inching closer to them because at least we have someone else with whom to be uneasy.

Paul wrote to the Galatians and called them out for their foolishness in trusting something other than the gospel. They had taken a step back in their belief and began to lean on the Law because it gave them explanations to calm their uneasiness. We really cannot blame those foolish Galatians because it is an easy thing for any of us to do.

We live in this place of uneasiness and we step closer to Christmas.

Elizabeth, Zechariah and the baby John return to our Advent story today and we are reminded of another couple living in longing. Their son comes to them late in life and his very arrival creates fear because of the way God is working. “What will this child become?” People ask this powerful question, and Luke reminds us the answer is with God for “the hand of the Lord [is] with him” (Luke 1.66).

We may be uneasy. The answers we seek are not in what we see when we scroll through social media or hear from some talking head. We call out to God. We ask him to bring us out of darkness. We believe the hand of the Lord is with us to guide out of these dark days.

Darrell Gwaltney Dean, College of Theology and Christian Ministry

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T H U R S D A Y , D E C E M B E R 2 3 , 2 0 21 Psalms 93, 96, 148, 150 Isaiah 61.1-11 Galatians 3.15-22 Luke 1.67-80 or Matthew 1.1-17

The genealogies are admittedly not the most thrilling parts of the biblical texts. It’s easy to let my eyes glaze over when a genealogical account shows up in my Scripture reading. But today’s genealogy, from the beginning of the Gospel according to Matthew, holds some interest if we look closely.

Five women appear in this genealogy: Tamar (v. 3); Rahab (v. 5); Ruth (v. 5); Bathsheba, identified here as “the wife of Uriah” (v. 6); and Mary, the mother of Jesus (v. 16). Two of these women, Tamar and Bathsheba, become survivors of intimate violence at the hands of powerful men in the biblical texts (see their harrowing stories in 2 Samuel 11 and 13).

Two of them, Rahab and Ruth, occupy precarious social statuses—one a sex worker (see Joshua 2), the other a vulnerable immigrant encouraged by her mother-in-law to use her body to gain security (see the book of Ruth, especially chapter 3), both cultural outsiders to the covenant community. One of them, Mary, perhaps has unwittingly caused the stirrings of a scandal by becoming pregnant by someone other than her betrothed (even if that someone is divine!).

There is no hint of shame in this list. These women are included alongside the expected giants of faith: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and David.

Here is what I find myself thinking about when I consider these women: A God who sees and loves those who have found themselves powerless and desperate in the face of exploitative systems. A God who sees and loves those who have suffered victimization. A God who sees and loves and does not shame.

As we celebrate the birth of Jesus this season, let us not forget the women—resilient out of necessity, surviving in the face of forces that could destroy them—who made it possible for him to come into the world. And may their memories inspire us to attend to those people today who are similarly vulnerable.

Beth Ritter-Conn Instructor

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F R I D A Y , D E C E M B E R 2 4 , 2 0 21 Psalms 45, 46 Isaiah 59.15b-21 Galatians 3.23-4.7 Matthew 1.18- 25

Why must it be so difficult to live a righteous life? To live righteous cannot be just believing, because even the demons believe there is a God and that He has a son. And even though we know we are no longer bound to the law, where does the law now fit in our life? Maybe you have been like me and grew to see the Law as an adversary. Not the adversary, but an obstacle that you alone could never overcome. Yet no matter how much prayer, fasting, and church you ascribe to, you and the Law always seem to come face to face again. Bumping heads over grace and mercy.

If God was all knowing and knew we could never keep the Law, then why did God give us the Law? Because before there was ever law, there has always been the promise. It was a promise of a fulfillment of the law.

It was a promise of the world not just seeing the Word become flesh, but experiencing the Word becoming flesh. If the promise was for God to put on flesh in order to fulfill the law, then the law must be good for our flesh. Galatians 4.4 says, “But when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law.”

Is the struggle with understanding the purpose of the law, the struggle of understanding what is salvation? The Law was never meant to save, the promise was. Galatians 3.27 says, “And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to the promise.” The promise covers the slave and the slave master, the free and the oppressed.

So how much more can the promise cover the law, when the promise precedes the law. Therefore, the law was our disciplinarian until Christ came, so that we might be justified by faith (Galatians 3.24). You and I are justified heirs to this throne laid out by the promise. Now that we know the power of the promise, may our understanding of the law lead us to worshipping the grace and mercy that upholds the throne to which we are now heirs.

Hope Dennis Junior, Faith and Social Justice

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S A T U R D A Y , D E C E M B E R 2 5 , 2 0 21 Psalms 2, 85, 110.1-5, 132 Micah 4.1-5, 5.2-4 1 John 4.7-16 John 3.31-36

What is true? In this world of manufactured news and sound bites and click bait and outrage cultivated to capture our attention, what is true?

Whom or what can we trust?

If we are discomforted by something, do we just call it “fake” and dismiss it? If we do not like the result, do we dismiss it? Do we frame our own version of reality because it is what we need to comfort ourselves in a discomforting world? If we can call them “fake” must we love them?

We come to the end of our Advent journey here on this Christmas Day. The Christ Child resides among us, so now we know the long-expected Jesus has come.

Whatever shall we do with him?

When this Christ Child grows up a little later on in the Gospels he does things and says things that can be very discomforting to us. He calls us out in all our selfish and discriminating behaviors. He challenges us to follow him and deny the things that we want to do (Luke 9.23).

He asks a lot of us. Whatever shall we do with him?

If we do not like what he calls us to do, then can we just affix a “fake” to his claim on us and continue on our merry way? I think not.

Here at the end of this Advent journey we are called to decide what is true for our lives. To whom will we listen and whom will we follow and how will we act?

John reminds us that “God is true” (John 3.33) and the one God has sent, Jesus, “speaks the words of God, for he gives the Spirit without measure” (v. 34). Let us celebrate this Christmas Day with the truth revealed to us by Jesus through the Spirit, the truth that we should love one another. For as 1 John says, “God loved us so much, we ought also to love one another” (1 John 4.11).

May all of us this Christmas day love one another, because God loved us so much. May we embrace the truth of God on this Christmas Day that calls us to listen to the voice of Jesus and follow him each day of our lives.

Merry Christmas!

Darrell Gwaltney Dean, College of Theology and Christian Ministry

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COLLEGE OF THEOLOGY & CHRISTIAN MINISTRY

Vision The College of Theology & Christian Ministry seeks to be a premier academic community that nurtures a living faith in God, reflects critically on its discipline, develops skills for Christian ministry and distinguishes itself through its emphases on contemplative spirituality and social justice.

Purpose The purpose of the College of Theology & Christian Ministry is to provide student-centered, academically challenging religion classes to the diverse student body of Belmont University and to provide a foundation of religious studies for students preparing for congregational ministry and advanced theological studies.

Goals 1. To provide all Belmont students with a solid foundation in biblical and theological studies.

2. To teach courses for religion majors and minors in the following areas: biblical languages, biblical studies, religion and society, theological and historical studies, practical studies, seminars and special studies. To offer professional education courses in practical ministry.

3. To offer continuing education opportunities to ministers and laity.

4. To integrate contemplative spirituality and social justice into the curricular and co-curricular program.

Belmont at a Glance Belmont University is a student-centered Christian community providing an academically challenging education that empowers men and women of diverse backgrounds to engage and transform the world with disciplined intelligence, compassion, courage and faith.

Belmont University—home of the October 22, 2020 Presidential Debate, the third and final in the election season—is made up of more than 8,200 students who come from every state and 28 countries. Nationally ranked and consistently recognized by U.S. News & World Report for its innovation and commitment to teaching, Belmont brings together the best of liberal arts and professional education in a Christian community of learning and service. The University’s purpose is to help students explore their passions and develop their talents to meet the world’s needs. With more than 100 areas of undergraduate study, 27 master’s programs and five doctoral degrees, there is no limit to the ways Belmont University can expand an individual’s horizon. For more information, visit belmont.edu.

Accreditation Belmont University is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges to award baccalaureate, master’s, and doctoral degrees. Contact the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges at 1866 Southern Lane, Decatur, Georgia 30033-4097, or call 404.679.4500 for questions about the accreditation of Belmont University.

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COLLEGE OF THEOLOGY & CHRISTIAN MINISTRY FACULTY AND STAFF

Dr. Darrell Gwaltney, Dean Ms. Tola Akhom-Pokrywka, Assistant to the Dean & Budget Manager Mr. Cory Bishop, Program Assistant Dr. Marty Bell, Church History Dr. Robert Byrd, Greek & New Testament (Emeritus) Dr. Janel Cassidy, Lecturer in Mental Health Counseling Dr. Ann Coble, Instructor Dr. Sarah Criss, Lecturer in Mental Health Counseling Dr. Manuel Cruz, Theology Dr. Ben Curtis, Pastoral Care & Spiritual Formation (Emeritus) Dr. Cynthia Curtis, Practical Theology & Spiritual Formation Dr. David Dark, Religion and the Arts Dr. Brad Daugherty, Lecturer in Religion Dr. Steve Guthrie, Theology & Religion and the Arts Dr. Ernest Heard, Visiting Professor Dr. Janet Hicks, Mental Health Counseling Dr. Sally Holt, Christian Ethics Dr. Tom Knowles-Bagwell, Mental Health Counseling Dr. Layla Bonner, Mental Health Counseling Dr. Donovan McAbee, Religion and the Arts Dr. Mark McEntire, Hebrew & Old Testament Dr. Amanda Miller, Greek & New Testament Dr. Gideon Park, Biblical Studies Ms. Cassandra Riedy, Lecturer in Mental Health Counseling Dr. Beth Ritter-Conn, Instructor Dr. Steven Simpler, Theology (Emeritus) Dr. Judy Skeen, Biblical Studies & Spiritual Formation Dr. Andy Watts, Christian Ethics

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1900 Belmont Boulevard Nashville, TN 37212 BELMONT.EDU

Nondiscrimination statement: Belmont University is a Christian community. The University faculty, administration, and staff uphold Jesus as the Christ and as the measure for all things. As a community seeking to uphold Christian standards of morality, ethics, and conduct, Belmont University holds high expectations of each person who chooses to join the community. In compliance with federal law, including provisions of Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Sections 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, Belmont University does not discriminate on the basis of race, sex, color, national or ethnic origin, age, disability, military service, or sexual orientation in its administration of education policies programs or activities; its admissions policies; or employment. Consistent with applicable civil rights law, the University seeks employees of Christian faith who are committed to the mission of the University. The University has appointed the director of the Office of Human Resources to serve as coordinator of compliance with Title VII and IX issues and questions for staff and faculty. The Director of Title IX Compliance and Prevention Programs serves as coordinator of compliance for Title IX issues and questions for students. Inquiries or complaints should be directed to: Lauri Chaudoin, Director, Title IX Compliance and Prevention Programs, Freeman Hall, 3rd Floor, 1900 Belmont Boulevard, Nashville, TN 37212. Phone: 615.460.5661. Email: lauri.chaudoin@belmont.edu. Leslie Lenser, Chief Human Resources Officer/Sr. Director & Deputy Title IX Coordinator, Office of Human Resources, Fidelity Hall, Room 426, 1900 Belmont Boulevard, Nashville, TN 37212. Phone: 615.460.6456. Email: leslie.lenser@belmont.edu. For more information on Belmont’s nondiscrimination policy, visit www.belmont.edu/nondiscrimination.

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