December 13 | Jeremiah 23:1-8

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DAILY READING

Jeremiah 23:1-8

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REFLECTION

The LORD Our Righteousness

by Beth Voltmann

Our passage today begins with a rebuke, “Woe to the shepherds who are destroying and scattering the sheep of my pasture!” How sobering. It should make us tremble to realize how often we fail when God trusts us to follow Him closely, to follow His perfect law, to train others in the way of righteousness. There is hope to be found in this passage because of God’s plan for his people! 

We tend to mark our days with a timestamp.

• Would you agree that most of us have memories of the world Pre-9/11 and Post-9/11? 

• In the same way, I find myself identifying more recent events as Pre-Covid or Post-Covid. 

• The joy for us is that we are not living in the Pre-Birth of Jesus world, but the Post-Birth of Jesus' days! 

Even as God rebuked the religious leaders of the day, he used his prophet, Jeremiah, to speak hope. Our merciful and loving God cares deeply for the sheep of his pasture.

God said:

• “I myself will gather the remnant…” (Jeremiah 23:3)

• “I will place shepherds over them who will tend them…” (v. 4)

• “I will raise up to David a righteous Branch, a King…” (v. 5)

• “This is the name by which he will be called: The LORD Our Righteousness…” (v. 6)

And God fulfilled his promise. God stepped in and God stepped down. God sent his One and only Son into the world to be our Good Shepherd, our righteous Branch, our King - and God still calls leaders in our day to partner with Jesus in guiding his sheep while proclaiming the Gospel. 

Perhaps with Jeremiah’s prophetic warning in mind, Paul encouraged the leaders of the Ephesian Church: “Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood.” (Acts 20:28)

When John the Baptist was born, his father, Zechariah, knew with certainty that the Messiah was about to be sent into the world. He was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied:

“Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, because he has come and has redeemed his people. He has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David (as he said through his holy prophets of long ago)..." (Luke 1:68-70)

We know with certainty that Jesus has come. May we follow him with our whole heart.  May we proclaim his praise, and may we remember to pray for our shepherds here on earth as we proclaim the Good News of our Messiah.

PRAYER

Father God, thank you that you did not forsake us but sent Jesus into the world to be our Good Shepherd, our King, the Lord Our Righteousness. We praise you because he has come and has redeemed us!   

O come all ye faithful,

Come, let us adore him.

December 12 | Malachi 3:6-18

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DAILY READING

Malachi 3:6-18

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REFLECTION

A Thrill of Hope, The Weary World Rejoices

by Dan Kidd

The final book of the Old Testament, the last words in the Christian Bible before the first Gospel book begins, come from a minor prophet named Malachi. Though Israel had returned from exile and the temple had been rebuilt, the things that the Lord had promised the Israelites, and expected from them, had not come to be. In today's passage the Lord calls Israel to put an end to their greed and scarcity mindset and return to the generosity God intended for them. God then hears the complaints of his people, that justice alludes them and so what is the point of faithfully obeying the Lord. He responds by telling them to write a book of remembering the faithfulness of God. How appropriate that at the end of the Old Testament, even as the people longed for the full fulfillment of God that had not yet come, they are reminded of the treasure of Scripture--that, as we remember together what God has done, we can have faith and a living, animating hope in what God will do.

Earlier this week we heard the song of Zechariah, where he praises the Lord who delivers his people from the hands of the enemy, allows them to serve him without fear, and grants them salvation through forgiveness. Hundreds of years after Malachi prophesied about the Lord reconciling his treasured possessions to himself, Zechariah can sing a similar song about the near birth of his son, John, who would be the one preparing the way for Jesus--the fulfillment of God's word through Malachi.

When I think about all this, how the Lord prepared his people for the Gospel of Jesus over 400 years before he would make it so, I can't help but marvel at how different God's sense of timing is from my own. And this is something that Advent invites us to recognize, speak about, and experience: that we continue to wait on the coming of Jesus both impatiently and with faith. It doesn't take a particularly attentive person to notice that there are many ways that this world is not as the Lord created it to be. Perhaps it's simply the coincidence that Advent occurs as the sun starts setting so early in the evening, but I find myself with a sense of waiting on Jesus, the Light of the World, as I sit uncomfortable in the darkness, waiting for things to mend. Not so unlike those Israelites who, centuries ago, had returned home only to fall right back into the patterns of rebellion and waywardness that had led to their exile, and again feeling the disappointment and dissonance from the God who loved them.

Today, I endeavor to live in the fullness of Advent. Acknowledging the present moment where there's darkness and dissonance, where I long for the things of the Kingdom that aren't yet here. At the same time, I remember the faithfulness of God's history, throughout the world with his people, and in my own story, which fuels the faith to look ahead, "for yonder breaks a new and glorious morn."

PRAYER

Lord, let it be that we would not ignore or quiet the discontent of our hearts that longs for you. Rather, allow us to see with clear, sober eyes the darkness we might find ourselves in, and the darkness within us. Do this so that we would remember again how deeply we need you, how much we long for you, and what a true thrill it is that you have come near to us, forgiven us, delivered us, reconciled us, and promised us the Light that will extinguish all darkness--even replace the sun itself; that we can know this is true because you are, and have been, so very faithful. Amen.

December 11 | Genesis 22:15-18

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DAILY READING

Genesis 22:15-18

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REFLECTION

Reminders

by Pr. Dave Mann

How many times do you need to be reminded of the faithfulness of God for you? How many times did God remind Abraham and his offspring of the certainty of God’s promise?

The first time we see God’s promise to Abram is in Genesis 12:1-3. God promised many things to Abram, including to make him a great nation and to bless all families on earth through him.

Perhaps as Abraham aged and still did not have a son through Sarah, he doubted the promise. So, the Lord reminded him in Genesis 15:1-6, "Indeed I will greatly bless you, and I will greatly multiply your seed as the stars of the sky.... And Abram believed and it was reckoned to him as righteousness."

Then, again in Genesis 17:1-6, Abraham received another reminder of the promise of God to him and his offspring.

Then, we have the major test of Abraham’s faith with the offering of Isaac. Today’s text is God’s reiteration of the promise in Genesis 22:15-18. We also have a testimony to Abraham’s faith in Hebrews 11:17-19 that he believed God could even raise Isaac back from the dead.

The reminders of God’s promise did not stop with Abraham. The Lord repeated the covenant to Abraham’s son Isaac in Genesis 26:4. And later, he even reiterated the promise to his grandson Jacob in Genesis 35:10-12.

How many times do you and I need to be reminded of the goodness of God and the certainty of his promises to us? A LOT! I would like to think that I only need to be told once. But judging from the witness of Scripture and from my own experience, I need to hear God speak more often than just once.

We need to be reminded every time that we doubt. Whenever we let the promises of the world encroach on our understanding of what is real and valid, whenever we believe that having stuff is the measure of our value and worth, we need a reminder that what God says is true. That reminder comes as we read God’s word daily, as we celebrate the Sacrament of the Altar and hear the words, “Take and eat,” “Take and drink,” “Do this in remembrance of me,” “Christ has died. Christ is risen. Christ will come again.” As we receive with faith, the body and blood of our crucified and risen Lord, we are reminded that what God has done in Christ is sufficient for our needs.

PRAYER

O God of the covenants, we are grateful you remind us of your goodness. Keep on coming with your frequent reminders. We need them more than we think. If Abraham needed them, if Isaac and Jacob needed them, if your people of biblical times needed them, how much more do we need them today? We believe because of your grace and faithfulness, in Jesus’ name, Amen.