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God

The voice of one

crying

in the

Prepare

way

Lord

makestraight in the

the paths of our

desert

wilderness

of theye the

F i r s t S u n d a y, N o v e m b e r 2 9

Luke 21:25-36

“… Be on the alert, praying at all times for strength …”

efore we get to words of the babe and swad-dling clothes, we begin this Advent season with words like helpless and roar and terror andthe passing of heaven and earth echoing from thisapocalyptic passage. Luke offers not an invitationbut a command to pray, and so I do:Holy Jesus, Son of the Most Holy God, We are not worthy to call you Lord. We paintyou in pastel robes with a Mona Lisa smile. Wecover up the stern words of the Sermon on theMount with layers of pious decoupage. We imag-ine that you must forgive us everything and thatnothing will be required of us. We make you intoour own personal Jesus. Yet you are the Son of Man. You rule over theblack holes of space and every mind that thinks “Iam.” No secret prison is unknown to you. Nosmug hacker can hide from your gaze. You gave upparadise for obedience and comfort for a cross. Youmade forgiveness of sins as real as bread and wine.In your presence, the arrow of time is broken andall is calm. Without you, our being falls away intonothingness. You call us to have eyes to see God in this world and to move our hands to caress the weary,the frightened, and the forgotten in your name.

Prayer: Forgive our blindness to the signs of our times. Burn away our sloth. Rouse us fromhopelessness. Show us our strength. Open our eyes to welcome you in this season with fear and trembling, with dread and holy awe. For you live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit,one God, though heaven and earth pass away. Amen.

Timothy D. Lincoln

Associate Dean for Seminary Effectiveness and Director of the Stitt Library

Greetings

n this season of anticipation, we inviteyou to explore these Advent reflections written by students, faculty, and alumni/aeof Austin Presbyterian TheologicalSeminary. We take seriously our mission toprepare outstanding leaders for Christ’schurch, and one of the ways we nurturethose leaders is by building a lovingcommunity of faith and extending God’sgrace to others. Through this collection of meditations and prayers, please join us as we prepare to receive God’s greatest gift—the birth of Jesus Christ. We with to acknowledge with gratitude thegracious assistance of Margaret Talbot(MATS’09) in preparing this booklet. You’ll find an audio version of eachdevotional at our web site, www.austinseminary.edu, beginning onSunday, November 29.

T u e s d a y, D e c e m b e r 1

2 Peter 1:12-21

his text comes to us, we who lose our way inthe demands of our lives, as a reminder, a callto think again the story of Jesus Christ.There is nosuggestion here that we neglect the duties anddetails of our lives. Instead, we are reminded thatin the darkness that haunts our lives, the story of Jesus is and always will be our light.This should beno surprise. That is the point: that we already know this. We simply forget to think it. We forgetto remember this light.But how do we remember? How do we findthis light? Where is it? What do we need to do?It is striking that the text does not suggest that Jesus is everywhere, that his light shines within usand around us. We cannot, for instance, go to themount ourselves and witness the transfigurationfirsthand. Instead, we have witnesses. We haveprophets. We have texts.This text assures us that the witnesses are true,that the apostles really saw the glory of Jesus, thatprophets speak not their own mind but, carried by the spirit, speak from God.The light of Jesus and the words of God cometo us in the holy texts. We find the light by read-ing. And reading again. Until the day dawns when Jesus’ light is everywhere, the light comes to us in written words.The morning star rises in our hearts when we read the prophecies and stories of Jesus.The Bible is our memory and our light.

Prayer: Gracious God, open our minds and hearts to your word, that as we read the Scriptures, the light will dawn and your truth will hold us forever, through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Lewis Donelson

Ruth A. Campbell Professor of New Testament Studies

M o n d a y, N o v e m b e r 3 0

Amos 2:6-16

mos doesn’t seem to fit. His writings begin with a searing judgment on the nations sur-rounding Israel, and then his gaze turns to both Judah and Israel. The reigns of Uzziah in Judahand Jeroboam II in Israel were marked by a periodof relative peace and prosperity. Amos tells us,however, that not all is well. His scathing critiqueincludes both the abuse of the poor by the rich andpowerful and the liturgical practices in the temple, which he dismisses as mere noise.I remember Advent from two years ago. I wasa missionary working in the slums and shanty-towns of Buenos Aires, Argentina. The hot sum-mer sun beat down on the metal roofs, making themakeshift homes unbearable during the day; therunning of sewer rats on the metal roofs made fora lack of sleep by night. It was seven square blocksof misery. One of hundreds around the city. One of thousands in Argentina. One of millions aroundthe world. During this Advent season, let us reflecton the meaning of Christmas from their perspec-tive. Can we hear the voices of the crucified poor?Is all well? An Argentine priest, Carlos Múgica, wrote“Mass for the Third World.” I’ve translated part of it for you. Let it be our prayer.

Prayer: “Glory to the God that is love and in the land peace to those who struggle for justice! We praise you as we struggle so that our starving children eat. We glorify you as we want to destroy today the instruments of torture. We give youthanks, for there are men who give their lives inthe revolution. We give you thanks, Lord, because you are not a spectator God, but rather a God who became human, who suffers along withsuffering humanity. We give you thanks, Lord.”

Brian Plescher

Middler student from Grand Rapids, Michigan