We talk about Advent as if we
all understand what Advent is, and yet, the experience of Advent occurs
distinctly for each of us. In the
church, Advent is our time of preparation for the coming of the Messiah, a time
to prayerfully listen to God’s Word and inscribe that Word on our hearts. It is
a time of making ready, of quiet anticipation. Frederick Buechner captures this
sense in his book, “Whistling in the
Dark, a Doubter’s Dictionary.” He defines Advent as follows:
The house lights go off and the footlights
come on. Even the chattiest stop chattering as they wait in darkness for the
curtain to rise. In the orchestra pit,
the violin bows are poised. The
conductor has raised his baton.
In the silence of a midwinter dusk there
is far off in the deeps of it somewhere a sound so faint that for all you can
tell it may be only the sound of the silence itself. You hold your breath to
listen.
You walk up the steps to the front
door. The empty windows at either side
of it tell you nothing, or almost nothing.
For a second you catch a whiff in the air of some fragrance that reminds
you of a place you’ve never been and a time you have no words for. You are aware of the beating of your heart.
The extraordinary thing that is about to
happen is matched only by the extraordinary moment just before it happens. Advent is the name of that moment.
The Salvation Army Santa Claus clangs his
bell. The sidewalks are so crowded you
can hardly move. Exhaust fumes are the
chief fragrance in the air, and everybody is as bundled up against any sense of
what all the fuss is really about as they are bundled up against the windchill
factor.
But if you concentrate just for an
instant, far off in the deeps of you somewhere you can feel the beating of your
heart. For all its madness and lostness,
not to mention your own, you can hear the world itself holding its breath.
As we hold our breaths
awaiting the coming of our Messiah, we contemplate that first year—the year of
the birth of Jesus -- and we consider the words of God preparing His people for
the birth of the Holy Infant. The theme of this Advent season is God
revealed through His messengers. Today’s Scripture for the opening Advent
devotional is from the Book of Isaiah. The message of it shouts God’s sovereignty.
It upholds God’s perfect majesty. It affirms His covenant relationship with His
people.
Listen to the words of the Lord as told in Isaiah
55:8-13:
8 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways,”
declares the Lord.
9 “As the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.
10 As the rain and the snow
come down from heaven,
and do not return to it
without watering the earth
and making it bud and flourish,
so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater,
11 so is my word that goes out from my mouth:
It will not return to me empty,
but will accomplish what I desire
and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.
12 You will go out in joy
and be led forth in peace;
the mountains and hills
will burst into song before you,
and all the trees of the field
will clap their hands.
13 Instead of the thornbush will grow the juniper,
and instead of briers the myrtle will grow.
This will be for the Lord’s renown,
for an everlasting sign,
that will endure forever.”
neither are your ways my ways,”
declares the Lord.
9 “As the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.
10 As the rain and the snow
come down from heaven,
and do not return to it
without watering the earth
and making it bud and flourish,
so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater,
11 so is my word that goes out from my mouth:
It will not return to me empty,
but will accomplish what I desire
and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.
12 You will go out in joy
and be led forth in peace;
the mountains and hills
will burst into song before you,
and all the trees of the field
will clap their hands.
13 Instead of the thornbush will grow the juniper,
and instead of briers the myrtle will grow.
This will be for the Lord’s renown,
for an everlasting sign,
that will endure forever.”
Father thank You for speaking to us, sending Your messengers and
Your message that we may become Your children, that we may seek You, that we
may know Your Word and Your Way, that we may wonder at Your mighty power and
that You still regard us. This Advent season open our hearts and our minds to
the wonder of Your sovereignty, oh God. Your words created the impossible, that
Zechariah and Elizabeth should have a child. You humbled Yourself in the form
of Your Son, sacrificed Him for the propitiation of our sins, loving us before
we knew You. Let this season be one of joy, love, worship and surrender. May
Your message plant deep in our hearts. Amen
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