SCRIPTURE: The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. John 1:14a NIV
The first advent of Jesus brought a lot of light into the world, but many people missed it. Light is helpful, even miraculous the way it exposes everything — from the beautiful, to the mundane, to the downright evil. Journey with author and blogger Amy Clemens as she explores the advent of one who said he was the light of the world…a light that shines in darkness…that exposes. A light that will make a second advent, with a power and glory no one will miss.
THOUGHT: Paul, who took up tent making as a trade when all the letters behind his name ceased to have meaning, refers to our bodies as tents. I don’t know about you, but thinking of my flesh as a tent gets traction, especially as I age. I see it sagging against the poles, with scars here and there that don’t belong and weren’t there when I was younger. With Paul I say, “while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life (2 Cor. 5:4 NIV). When Paul speaks of life, he isn’t thinking of what’s going on right now – true life is the ‘not yet.’ We haven’t really begun to live, I think he would testify.
The Tree of Life version of Scripture, copyrighted in 2015 by The Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society translates this verse, “the Word became flesh and tabernacled among us.” I like the analogy. The tent is thin and vulnerable, and the tabernacle, also a tent, housed the presence of God. That God would make his power and glory vulnerable to transient fabric is a complete mystery, but in Jesus, God learned what it was like to be made of dust, and aren’t we forever grateful?
Chris Rice put it like this in a lyric that is never far from my mind at Advent (or anytime), “Wrap our injured flesh around you / breathe our air and walk our sod / rob our sin and make us holy / perfect son of God / welcome to our world.”
SONG: Welcome to Our World https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QrgwL5r7IcU
PRAYER: O God, as we wrap up our gifts in thin paper this year, bring to mind how you wrapped your best gift in paper-thin tenting, knowing it would eventually come off to reveal the power of a resurrected savior, a hope that also sustains us who dwell in humble tents and tabernacles.
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Blogger Amy Clemens is the author of Walking When You’d Rather Fly: Meditations on Faith After the Fall. In it she explores childhood sexual abuse and how it impacted her faith (or lack thereof) for four decades. You’ll find not only her story, but better yet, the Big Story of God.
Check out Walking When You’d Rather Fly, and learn more about the book and Amy’s other ministries. You will also find her devotional work at Words of Hope.
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