Second Sunday of Advent (Sunday, December 4th)

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Reading: Luke 3:1-6 (NRSV)

Song: Comfort, Comfort All My People (lyrics here)

Reflection

The ministry of John the Baptist is an important one for us to reflect upon during the Advent season. Among other things, John reminds us of the important role of the herald in God’s coming kingdom.

Heralds are the ones who bring important news. They go ahead of a traveling dignitary or royalty and prepare their subjects for the visit. The royal arrival may be a peaceful one, but can it also bring judgment to a rebellious people. In that light, the word of the herald can sometimes be good news, but it can sometimes be a warning.

John’s ministry is both. The coming of the Messiah is a gift, and his herald message echoes the promise of Isaiah:

“How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of the messenger who announces peace, who brings good news, who announces salvation, who says to Zion, ‘Your God reigns.’” (Isaiah 52:7)

But John also brings a prophetic warning to those who use power to oppress and subdue God’s people. He quotes another passage from Isaiah which reminds us that Jesus came to turn the established order on its head:

"...as it is written in the book of the words of the prophet Isaiah, 'The voice of one crying out in the wilderness: 'Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.

Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be made low, and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways made smooth; and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.''" (vv. 4-6)

Both the announcement of the gift and the call to repent, strangely enough, are words of comfort, at least to those who have ears to hear. The offering of peace and invitation to turn from sin are both gifts of mercy from a God who looks at the damage wrought by sin and human cruelty and says, “Enough!” The words of the herald announce not only a royal visitation, but the coming of a new kingdom altogether.

We still wait for that new kingdom to come in all of its fullness, and until that day we take comfort in the promises of the herald. And we, also, become heralds as we share the good news of Christ’s coming, as the carol encourages us:

Comfort those who sit in darkness,
groaning from their sorrows’ load.
Speak to all Jerusalem
of the peace that waits for them;
tell them that their sins I cover,
that their warfare now is over.

How might God call you to be a herald of his kingdom during this Advent season?

Spend some time today reading and thinking about the ministry of John the Baptist. How does his ministry resonate with you right now? How might God use you this Advent season to herald the good news of Christ’s coming?

You might also take some time reading and praying through Philippians 1:3-11, thinking of those for whom you are grateful to God. Who has served as a “herald” in your life, reminding you of God’s gracious gift or perhaps challenging you to follow Christ more closely? Spend some time in worship and gratitude before God for the heralds in your own life.

Seventh Day of Advent (Saturday, December 3rd)

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Reading: Luke 4:17-21 (NRSV)

Song: In Need of a Savior (lyrics here)

Reflection

The first sermon of Jesus reveals to us his own awareness of his mission. He knows why he has come to earth, and the words from Isaiah capture his purpose perfectly:

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me
to bring good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives
and recovery of sight to the blind,
to let the oppressed go free,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” (vv. 18-19)

In just a brief collection of words so much is promised and proclaimed: the poor receive good news, the captives are promised freedom, the blind are told they will regain their sight, and the oppressed are told their time of bondage is coming to and end. It is, indeed, the year of the Lord’s favor.

I’ve always been struck by the quick reversal of the synagogue crowd in this passage. Luke tells us that they, at first, “spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came out of his mouth.” (v. 22) You can feel the power of his words hanging in the air, but then doubt starts to sink into the crowd with a turn towards “Wait, we know this guy, who does he think he is anyway?” When Jesus points out that prophets are rarely welcomed in their hometown, and that others will be open to the message, their doubt quickly turns to anger and violent intent.

When Jesus was promising good things for them, the crowd seems amenable to his message. It appears as though they don’t get offended until he mentions the widow of Zarephath and Naaman the Syrian, as if it’s the idea that God’s grace is available even to Gentiles that raises their ire. I’ve always been taught that the crowd in Nazareth reacted to Jesus’ claim that he fulfills the text, which I’m sure is there, but it seems they’re also reacting to his claim that the text includes all the people of the world. They’re not just showing their incredulity, they’re also showing their bigotry.

One thing this text highlights for me is that the crowd in Nazareth isn’t really able to see themselves in the text from Isaiah: they don’t recognize that they suffer a poverty of spirit, a captivity to pride, a blindness to God’s covenant promises, and an oppression that has nothing to do with the Roman Empire. They are unable to see the reality of their need, and as such they reject the One who came to meet it.

As we reflect during Advent on God’s salvation promises coming to earth, it is good to be reminded that sometimes we fail to appreciate the richness of the gift because we fail to appreciate the depth of our need. Apart from the grace of God shown in Christ, we, too, remain poor, captive, blind, and oppressed by sin. But the truth of Christmas resonates with Isaiah’s promise: God’s favor has come to earth, and our need for a Savior has been met most miraculously!

Spend some time in prayer before God reflecting on your need for a Savior and the way God has met that need in Jesus. How does that truth impact your journey of Advent? Read through the promises that Jesus proclaims from Isaiah—how do they speak to your soul today? What faces come to mind of people who need the truth of those promises in their own life, and how can you pray for them?

Sixth Day of Advent (Friday, December 2nd)

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Reading: Colossians 3:16-17 (NRSV)

Song: What Sweeter Music (lyrics here)

Reflection

I have a confession to make: when I was a pastor, I often caused great frustration for members of the church during Advent. Not because I wanted to. It wasn’t purposeful. Well…it was purposeful, but for a different reason than making people angry:

I refused to plan a lot of Christmas carols for worship services in Advent.

I didn’t want the congregation to “fast forward” to Christmas morn and miss the season of waiting and anticipation, so I would avoid the popular Christmas carols that speak directly to Christ’s birth in the Sundays leading up to Christmas Eve. In my mind, they were only appropriate for that evening service as we transitioned from Advent to Christmastide.

And it did not go over well. Looking back, I may have been a little over-the-top about it, like this offering from Episcopalian priest and cartoonist The Rev. Jay Sidebotham:

Don’t get me wrong—I still believe in marking Advent as a season of waiting, but these days I’m less obsessive about being the Advent Police.

What made the change? Simply this—an honest comment from a member of our church, who told me one Sunday after church, “Jack, these are some of the most beautiful, most theologically rich hymns ever written. And it’s a shame that we don’t get to enjoy them more as part of our preparation for Christmas.”

She was right. The hymnody of the incarnation is some of the most moving, most thoughtful, and most worshipful ever written. And here I was, holding all of it back for a single service, one that many people in our congregation missed because they were out of town celebrating with family. As a result, they never had the opportunity to sing these beloved carols with their church family.

From that day on I sought to make a compromise, and that compromise taught me something. It taught me that we should be careful about sacrificing meaningful opportunities to celebrate and encounter God on the altar of our own theological preference. We have so many wonderful songs and carols out there which speak to the meaning of this season, and if we hold back on all of them for the sake of “Advent purity,” we miss an opportunity to worship, both individually and corporately.

There are still some carols I don’t use in worship until Christmas Eve—”Joy to the World” and “Silent Night” being two of them. But in the years since my “carol conversion,” I have found there are many, many others that help me wait, because they remind me what the anticipation is all about.

What sweeter music can we bring
Than a carol, for to sing
The birth of this our heavenly King?

Are there carols or songs for you that are “off limits” until Christmas is at hand? How do you balance the spiritual posture of waiting and celebration in your own life? How might you make Advent an intentional time of anticipation while also engaging the glorious truths of which the carols speak?

Fifth Day of Advent (Thursday, December 1st)

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Reading: Psalm 27:13-14 (NRSV)

Song: Waiting Here for You (lyrics here)

Reflection

A friend told me a story once of a pastor who was preaching one Sunday on the return of Jesus. After setting up the message with relevant songs and Scripture readings, the pastor got up into the pulpit and preached his sermon.

It contained one line. A question:

“What are you doing while you wait for Christ to return?”

And with that, he left the pulpit, walked down the aisle of the sanctuary and out the front door, and made his way to a coffee shop across the street from the church building where he ordered something to drink and took a seat. He waited about the length of a normal sermon, then headed back to the sanctuary, wondering if his point had been made.

I wish I could have been there on that Sunday morning. I would have loved to watch the congregation’s reaction to their pastor leaving the worship service like that! And it would have been fun to watch the dawning realization that they were basically serving as a living sermon illustration—they were living in the moment they had just been asked to think about. What would they do?

When the pastor returned to the sanctuary, he found the congregation had embraced an appropriate activity in his absence—they were engaged in a hymn sing with the help of the organist and choir. In the absence of their shepherd, they were praising God.

There are lots of things we can do in seasons where we’re waiting on God, some good, some bad. But what my friend’s story reminds us is that of the many things that can fill times of waiting, perhaps one of the very best is simply praise.

May that be true of us as we wait this Advent season.

How can engaging in praise refocus you in seasons of waiting? How intentional are you about building times of personal worship into your week? What practices or resources can help you in that desire?

Fourth Day of Advent (Wednesday, November 30)

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Reading: Lamentations 3:22-26 (NRSV)

Song: Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence (instrumental) (lyrics here)

Reflection

The Christmas season can be very noisy. Christmas music everywhere (some good…some not), busy malls and grocery stores, gatherings of family and friends (both real and virtual), crowds and traffic…sometimes the “hustle and bustle” of the season can be overwhelming.

Which is why during our Advent journey we are going to mark what we’re calling “Wordless Wednesdays.” For our devotions on Wednesdays we will sit prayerfully with instrumental versions of familiar carols as part of our invitation to wait. As the author of Lamentations reminds us:

“The Lord is good to those who wait for him,
to the soul that seeks him.
It is good that one should wait quietly
for the salvation of the Lord.” (vv. 25-26)

Although the recordings we will be listening to are “wordless,” the carols we will be sitting with on these Wednesdays do have powerful lyrics that you’re invited to read through prayerfully in a style similar to “lectio divina.” Here is a suggested approach for these Wednesday reflections:

1. Close your eyes and listen to the instrumental once on its own. Breathe deep and open yourself to the idea of “waiting quietly” for God.

2. Read through the lyrics slowly and prayerfully, more than once. Look for words and phrases that catch your attention and stir your soul.

3. Listen to the instrumental again while praying with the word or phrase that has caught your attention. What about it has grabbed you? What does the resonance you feel with it reveal about the longings of your heart and soul? Offer these reflections to God in still, quiet surrender.

May God use these times in blessed escape from from the cacophony that often surrounds us this time of year.

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Let all mortal flesh keep silence,
and with fear and trembling stand.
Ponder nothing earthly minded,
for with blessing in his hand
Christ our God to earth descending
comes, our homage to demand.

King of kings, yet born of Mary,
as of old on earth he stood,
Lord of heaven now incarnate
in the body and the blood,
he will give to all the faithful
his own self for heav’nly food.

Rank on rank the host of heaven
streams before him on the way,
as the Light of light descending
from the realms of endless day
comes, that pow’rs of hell may vanish,
as the shadows pass away.

At his feet the six-winged seraph,
cherubim with sleepless eye,
veil their faces to the Presence,
as with ceaseless voice they cry,
“Alleluia! Alleluia!
Alleluia, Lord Most High!”

Third Day of Advent (Tuesday, November 29th)

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Reading: Acts 4:5-12 (NRSV)

Song: His Name is Jesus (Heaven’s Hope) (lyrics here)

Reflection

During our Advent journey we often find ourselves meditating on the names and titles associated with Jesus, such as:

Emmanuel (God With Us)
Christ (Messiah)
Prince of Peace
Logos (Word of God)

And of course, Jesus/Yeshua, which literally means “salvation.” We’re reminded of this when we read of the angel’s visit to Joseph:

“Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” (Matthew 1:20-21, NRSV)

How often does it occur to us that whenever we use the name “Jesus,” we are proclaiming God’s saving grace? Throughout the centuries the name of Jesus has inspired some of the most meaningful lyrics in Christian hymns and worship songs, any of which can become a powerful meditation during our Christmas preparations. (for a list of worship songs around this theme, many of which are Advent-related, click here)

But the truth is that if we’re not careful, we can take his name for granted…or worse. All around us at this time of year are signs that read, “Jesus is the Reason for the Season,” and we need to be on guard that we don’t become numbed by overexposure and familiarity. With that warning in mind, Advent can become a time for us to intentionally and prayerfully sit with the meaning of Christ’s name, the name that Peter proclaimed as the heart of his salvation message:

“This Jesus is

‘the stone that was rejected by you, the builders; it has become the cornerstone.’

There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among mortals by which we must be saved.” (vv. 11-12)

As you make your way through Advent, pay attention to the number of times you encounter the name “Jesus.” Let each of those moments be a place of gratitude and worship as you remember God’s salvation.

He is Almighty God, Immanuel
The Prince of peace, so wonderful
They worshipped then, and we do still
His name is Jesus
Almighty God, Immanuel
The Prince of peace, so wonderful
They worshipped then, and we do still
His name is Jesus

Spend some time simply sitting before God and contemplating the name “Jesus” and how it points us to God’s grace and salvation. What can you do during this Advent season to pay closer attention to the ways Christ’s name comes to us in song and by other means? What practices could help you turn those occurrences into moments of prayer and worship?

Second Day of Advent (Monday, November 28th)

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Reading: Psalm 121 (NRSV)

Song: I Lift My Eyes (lyrics here)

Reflection

Psalm 121 may not be a text we traditionally associate with Advent, but in keeping with the theme of waiting and anticipation, it is one that fits perfectly. Advent is all about the coming of hope, and during these weeks we remind ourselves that for many generations that hope seemed a distant thing.

And yet even when it seemed distant, the people of Israel were reminded in texts like this one that hope was not absent. They were also reminded that the hope they longed for had one source and one source alone: God.

“My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.” (v. 2)

When we are desperate for hope, we can fall prey to the temptation to seek it in places it can’t truly be found. Temporary pleasures, earthly powers, wealth, and other false sources of hope can present themselves to us with promises they are completely unable to keep, but which seem appealing when the promises of God seem far off.

When we face our own seasons of waiting, we do well to remember the Hebrews who looked for the hope that was yet to come. They looked to the hills of Jerusalem and were reminded that God watches over all their comings and goings, and that he neither slumbers or sleeps as he keeps guard over his people. During Advent our eyes are drawn to other hills as well—the hill country of Judea, where the village of Bethlehem will give testimony to God’s provision and hope in the most unbelievable way. The birth of the Christ child is the ultimate expression of the truth that “our help comes from God” Can we hold to that hope, even when in the midst of seemingly hopeless times?

How has God brought hope to you in difficult times? What songs or passages of Scripture are good reminders to you of hope? How can you keep that hope before you every day and respond to the call to “lift your eyes?” Spend some time in prayer and worship, gazing on the One who made heaven and earth, and who moved heaven and earth to demonstrate his love for you.

First Sunday of Advent (Sunday, November 27th)

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Reading: Jeremiah 33:14-16 (NRSV)

Song: O Come, O Come Emmanuel (lyrics here)

Reflection

The return of Christ figures prominently in this week’s Advent texts, calling us to be mindful of the truth that we, like the ancient Hebrews of old, are people who wait. We are people of the “now and not yet.”

Our “now” is infused with the reality of Christ’s presence: we live in the glorious light of the incarnation, crucifixion, and resurrection. Because of his first coming we are people who know the truth of God’s mercy and presence in ways the ancient Hebrew people could only imagine.

Our “not yet” is reflective of the truth that the final culmination of Christ’s work has yet to happen. As we look around our world we are painfully aware of this reality. While the path to God has been illuminated by what Jesus accomplished when he first visited this planet, there are still many forces that seek to dim that light and obscure the path.

We are still waiting.

Perhaps no Christmas hymn has captured this tension of “now and not yet” as well as “O Come, O Come Emmanuel.” In one of the oldest Advent texts we have, the author captures powerfully the longing of Israel and of our own hearts, pleading on behalf of all those who “mourn in lonely exile.” The author also reminds us of the many ways we have come to know the child born that first Christmas morn, the one whose birth marked our beginning of exodus from that exile:

He is Emmanuel…God with us

He is the Dayspring…the dawn of new life

He is the Key of David…who unlocks the gate to eternal life

So we sit with the truth that God is with us, and that he has granted us new life. We also look to the day when that life will be experienced in all of its fullness, when a day will spring forth that will have no end, for as John tells us:

“The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp. The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it. On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there.” (Rev. 21:24-25, NIV)

Until that day comes, let’s join our voices with all who have cried out in anticipation: O come, o come Emmanuel!

What does it mean for you to live in the tension between the “now” and the “not yet?” What practices and disciplines help you to stay balanced in that tension? How does looking forward to Christ’s eventual return stir hope in your soul? Spend some time in prayer pouring out before God the parts of our world you are eager to see transformed in the light of his kingdom, and ask him to speak hope to you where you need it most.

Welcome to Advent Song Reflections 2022

Welcome to Advent Song Reflections, a daily resource during this season of Advent from Abiding Way Ministries. Each day during Advent you will find a short reflection here based on a worship song, hymn, or other piece of music that echoes the themes of this season. It is our prayer that this resource will draw you into reflection and worship as you reflect on the meaning of the incarnation for these next four weeks.

Advent is a time of great joy and anticipation. We prepare our hearts and our homes for the celebration of Christ’s birth, but as with other seasons of the church year we must resist the temptation to “fast forward” to the end of the story. Advent is a time when we also identify with the ancient Hebrew people who longed for the coming of the Savior, and in our identification we acknowledge that we, too, await his coming. Each of the songs offered through this daily devotional will center on images, texts, and ideas that seek to balance our celebration and hope, and each will be accompanied by a few thoughts and questions for refection. Use these in your personal devotions, or perhaps listen together with family members or friends, spending time in conversation afterwards.

Each song will be linked to an online opportunity to listen, and will be embedded in the post if possible. Due to the policies of some streaming sites, the song may be preceded by an advertisement, which is unfortunately out of our control. You may wish to mute the advertisement and sit in silence until the song begins.

Each post will also have suggested Scripture readings for meditation and reflection.

God bless you as you draw near to him during this most joyous time of the year!