A fresh devotional for the new year.

UPDATE: This post was originally from December 29, 2019. Seems a good time to bump it to the top of the stack.

I really like and frequently recommend these one-year Bible reading plans, as much for their manageable structure as for their probing and thought-provoking devotional commentary. The Spirit at Work starts at Pentecost. The Word at Work starts on the second Sunday of Easter. Now I see there is a new one, Sitometrion, that starts (or started) on Christmas Day. Each of them, with just a bit of adjustment, can be taken up at any time of year. Just jump in on the day (you can ignore the year for the most part), then wrap around when the time comes.

        

First Sunday of Advent

Malachi 1:1-14

Psalm 18

Luke 1:1-25

Hebrews 1:13—2:4


  

PRAYER OF CONFESSION [Elements from GREATER ATTENTION: LERW, YEAR D]

O LORD our God, we confess that we have been slow to believe your promises, and quick to drift away from you. We have paid far too little attention to your word, to your testimony, to your miraculous signs and wonders, and far too much attention to selfish concerns. We have held back from you our very best, even though you gladly and graciously sent us your beloved and only begotten Son. Forgive us, O God, for our sinful thoughtlessness! Let us never again neglect so great a salvation as you have provided for us in Jesus Christ!

ASSURANCE OF PARDON

The LORD shows himself loyal to those who show themselves loyal, but with the crooked he shows himself perverse. The way of God is perfect. The promise of the LORD proves true. He is a rock for all who take refuge in him. You who have confessed and cried out to the LORD, know that you are delivered and forgiven, and be at peace.


FEATURES OF NOTE:
On this very First Sunday of Advent, you will soon notice a peculiar feature of Year D. Some of the selections are quite long, and therefore you need to plan ahead if you wish to shorten the readings. 

Psalm 18, for example, is a rich and wonderful psalm with many unique spiritual and historical insights, but it is also much longer than the usual Psalm selection for a Sunday service. It falls to you to either make room for such a long psalm and cue the congregation that it will be a lengthy, or to make a shorter selection of key verses that you wish to accentuate. In this instance, Year D "narrows" the selection, but does not make the final cut for you. You must do this yourself. 

The Assurance above, for instance, makes use of the provocative, but intriguing language of Psalm 18:25-26, which contains (I suspect) an important perspective on the human experience of evil and a clue to the mysterious and troublesome doctrine of theodicy. These words will no doubt strike some as controversial, but to others, they issue a summons to self-examination and personal responsibility. The one undeniable thing is this: there they are ... in Scripture! 

May the Spirit inspire your study and planning!

TMS

First Sunday of Advent (Year C)

OPENING PRAYER [from THE JOYFUL FEAST: LERW, YEAR C] 

God of truth and righteousness, we turn to you in anticipation of your coming to bring justice and peace into our world. Strengthen our hearts in holiness, unite us with our neighbors in love, direct our way along your righteous paths and among your righteous people of every time and place, that we may be found blameless at your return.