Devotional from Pastor Dave November 29, 2023

This coming Sunday, December 3, marks the start of the season of Advent, the four Sundays leading up to the celebration of Christ’s birth at Christmas. The word Advent comes from the Latin adventus, which means “coming.” There are really three “comings” of Christ that are the focus of the season of Advent: the first coming of Christ in his birth in Bethlehem, his second coming at the fulfillment of history when he promised he would return to establish the reign of God on earth, and his coming into our hearts and lives through our faith and trust in his presence with us, his promises to us, and his purposes for us.

One of the words that I think about when I think of Advent is the word journey. Advent is about the journey of the God of the universe to enfleshment on earth in the baby born in Bethlehem. It’s also about the journey Mary made early in her unexpected expectancy to visit her relative Elizabeth, and then later the journey Mary and Joseph made from Nazareth in Galilee to Bethlehem in Judea. It’s about the journey the Magi made from a far country in the East to see the new king born of the Jews. Many of us make journeys to be with family and friends this time of year. Advent is all about journey.

Some of our church members were scheduled to have taken a journey to the Holy Land this fall, but that trip got canceled after the war there began. Having traveled to the Holy Land with Tracy in the spring of 2014, I’m so sad that they weren’t able to go this year, and I hope that someday soon the situation there will allow them to make that journey. In the meanwhile, for our worship services in Advent this year, I would like to invite all of us to take a journey in our imaginations to Bethlehem. I’d like to trace the role and significance of Bethlehem through the Bible leading up to Jesus’ birth.

We’ll start this Sunday by looking at the story of Ruth, which took place in Bethlehem, and its emphasis on redemption. The next Sunday, the 10th , is the choir’s cantata, “Love Made A Way,” which is about the journey the love of God made to the manger in Bethlehem. On the 17th , we’ll explore the anointing of a new king, the shepherd boy David, in Bethlehem. Then on Christmas Eve, in the morning, we’ll explore the ancient prophecy of Micah of the birth of a shepherd king in Bethlehem, and in our evening services, we’ll journey with the shepherds from the fields to the manger of the Messiah.

On Thursday, December 20th , which is the longest night of the year, we’ll offer a “Blue Christmas” service which might be meaningful for those for whom the holidays this year might be especially hard. In that service, we’ll recall the matriarch Rachel’s death and burial in Bethlehem and her inconsolable weeping for the suffering of her children, a grief that is painfully relevant with the suffering taking place over there today.

I hope that you’ll come along for our journey to Bethlehem this Advent, and that you’ll invite someone—a friend, a neighbor, a classmate or a coworker—to join you on this journey as well. It’s a journey that we do not take alone. We are in this together, and most importantly, God is with us. Emmanuel. That’s what it’s all about.