Advent Reflection: Dec. 10, 2017

Seasonal Devotions

Scripture: Amos 6:1–14  (Today’s Readings)

A world where some lie in luxury on soft couches, oblivious to the sufferings of others; where pride swells in the hearts of those convinced of their own righteousness; where justice has been so twisted and distorted that it feels more like poison than cleansing rain; where the name of the Lord is stifled, rather than joyously proclaimed . . . Is this a description of 21st-century America? Perhaps.

But first, this picture portrays the world of the prophet Amos. It is a world where God’s once-faithful people have become complacent and have allowed apathy to seep into the fabric of their community. It is a disturbing image of what happens when God is pushed to the margins of our lives.

Part of our challenge in this Advent season is to look around us, and, like Amos, name the brokenness that we see. But the greater challenge is to hold fast to our hope that God is coming, even into this world of sin, to redeem and make new. May our prayer continue to be, “Come, Lord Jesus, come.”

Prayer: O God, Creator and Ruler of all, open our eyes to see our world as You see it, and open our hearts to discover signs of Your coming, each and every day. Keep us vigilant and faithful, Lord, until the day when all creation joins in praising You in glory.  Amen.

Contributed by the Reverend Lynn M. Portz

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Artwork: Detail of No Between © Jan L. Richardson. janrichardson.com. Inspired by Isaiah 64:1: “O that You would tear open the heavens and come down … .”