Sunday, December 21
Suggested Readings:
Each of these three lessons for the fourth Sunday of Advent describe people living in challenging circumstances –– people who, despite difficulties, find a way to be faithful and obedient before God. They all look toward a future marked by God’s promise of salvation. Rather than living in fear, each passage points to trusting God for the future.
Let’s hear their stories.
First, on behalf of the whole community, the psalmist writes a prayer for deliverance from enemies, a lament to God during a time of war or invasion. Repeated throughout the psalm’s plaintive verses is a refrain pleading for God’s help, restoration, and salvation:
Restore us, O God, let your face shine,
that we may be saved!
During uncertain times, the psalmist sees a way forward through the grace of a loving God who will bring salvation and restoration.
Centuries later, when an angel brings news to Joseph that the baby his fiancée Mary is carrying is of the Holy Spirit, the angel begins the message with the words, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid…” This is deeply unsettling to Joseph who was planning to “dismiss Mary quietly.” The angel’s news changes everything. The baby is to be named Jesus, which means “he will save.” For Joseph, the promise of this child’s birth has shifted from an awkward problem to be dealt with carefully to a hope-filled sign of the long-awaited Savior –– Emmanuel, God with us. Joseph’s fear is transformed into faith and obedience.
Similarly, Paul writes to the church in Rome amid profound uncertainty. Stephen has been martyred, Peter and John have been arrested and jailed and Paul himself has been imprisoned several times for preaching the good news of the risen Christ. Yet he writes from Corinth to encourage the young church in Rome to remain steadfast. In his opening greeting, he calls these people “God’s beloved” and reminds them of the grace they have received through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus.
Today, as we sing carols of both comfort and joy, we bring the hardships and uncertainties of our lives before God and ask for His face to shine upon us. The third verse of “It Came Upon the Midnight Clear” offers a beautiful word of encouragement in these uncertain times, especially during this season of light and hope. Edmund Sears writes:
And ye, beneath life’s crushing load, whose forms are bending low, who toil along the climbing way with painful steps and slow, look now! for glad and golden hours come swiftly on the wing. O rest beside the weary road, and hear the angels sing!
Whether in triumph or tragedy, we are always called to faithfulness and obedience before God. As many of us struggle with loss and uncertainty during this Advent season, may we find time to rest beside the weary road and hear the angels sing! Their song is for the shepherds of old and for us too: good tidings of great joy for all people!
Susan Pendleton Jones & Greg Jones
Senior Fellow of Christ-Centered Visioning and First Lady of Belmont University | University President
Daily Readings
Susan Pendleton Jones
