Begins today and runs daily through the end of December.
There is a plodding tension between celebration and longing during these seasons called Advent, Christmas and Epiphany, a chasm that separates things as they are and as they will be. In the space between we sometimes dangle, as if on a swinging bridge; ecstatic one moment at the adventure we live, full of fear the next that the twisted strands might give way beneath the weight of expectations and experience. We plan the perfect Christmas, but experience teaches it will rarely live up to our Norman Rockwell imaginations. We sing “Joy to the World” while tragedy invades our living rooms nightly.
Amy Grant once penned this truth so eloquently, “But I’m caught in between the now and the not yet / Sometimes it seems like forever and ever.” Advent is a season of waiting, a storyline of great joy and deep suspense. A child has been born to show us what God is like, but the wiping away of tears and sorrow is yet to come. Somehow, in the chasm between, we must swing on a sturdy faith, laughing, singing, dancing, mourning, living as if.
May you find joy – even in the tension – this season. —Amy Clemens
Sunday, November 27
Read: John 18:33-38
The Gift of Truth Telling
For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world, to bear witness to the truth. (v. 37)
During the last few years, my understanding of the prophetic voice has enlarged to include pastors, counselors, parents, or Christian friends who speak God’s truth. Modern prophets mirror ancient ones when they tell the unvarnished truth about us, and also the truth about God. They speak words of correction as well as words of hope and life. Things and people are messy, but prophets tell of a plan to heal the gap between our messiness and God’s holiness. They tell of the advent of a Savior who bears witness to God’s unfailing heart.
I’ve often wrestled with the prophets, both the ones from Scripture and the ones God has placed right in front of me. Sometimes the plain truth about my heart is ugly. But like most, when I come hungry and thirsty, emptied of trying to save myself, I understand grace much better and am indebted to the one who dared to speak truth.
If you are lighting the first purple candle of the advent wreath today, remember that it symbolizes prophecy, not just a word from the past, or a word for the future, but a word from God for today, a gift from a voice who loves God, listens intently, and cares enough to call out the truth of who we are, and who God is.
Prayer: Giver of good gifts, help us both embrace and practice truth telling. And may we welcome again the advent of the one who is the truth.
Dear Reader,
I’m glad you’re along and I pray you will be blessed, challenged, and encouraged in your faith by something you read here.
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ABOUT ME:
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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