2009 Advent Devotional: December 4

December 4: Luke 21.25-36 Deb Murphy

My first thought on reading this passage was “This is for Advent?” When I think of Advent, I return to childhood – Advent calendars, decorations, the tree, my brother waking me up at 6 am to tell me I’d gotten a rat (it was actually a gerbil). Family, friends, food, gifts, Santa, Christmas carols, mom painting a Christmas card on the picture window — the list is practically endless. It all seemed to be a sort of countdown until the baby Jesus arrived. Everything pointed toward the coming of The Big Day.

The author of Luke has Jesus telling his disciples what to look for to know that the kingdom of God is near. The kingdom of God? Wow, that’s huge — it’s not just the birth of the baby Jesus we should be preparing for. It’s also the coming of the kingdom of God. That actually sounds a bit scary. I mean, celebrating the birth of a baby seems kind of easy, even fun. Preparing for the kingdom of God? Well, that sounds like a much bigger and tougher job.

Earlier in Luke, we read of Jesus telling the Pharisees that the kingdom of God is among us. Among us? Here on earth? It’s not an off-in-the-distance, after-I-die, in-heaven-kingdom? How do I deal with that? Which brings me back to Advent. The things we read about Jesus in the Gospels – about how he lived his life, how he dealt with others, his concern for the marginalized people – certainly give me a road map toward that kingdom. Celebrating the coming of the baby is a first step in working towards the kingdom of God among us.

Prayer:

Be with us and among us as we grow closer to your kingdom. Help us not to lose sight of the importance of this season to your kingdom. Amen.