Advent and Lenten Devotions by Goshen
College students, faculty, and staff - Welcome to Goshen College Advent
Devotions 2013: Beginning Monday, 25 November 2013
“O the mystery of God’s dwelling” by Bob
Yoder, campus pastor
THIS WEEK’S THEME: We may walk in God’s
paths
THIS WEEK’S SCRIPTURES: Isaiah 2: The Future House of God
The word that Isaiah son of Amoz saw
concerning Judah and Jerusalem.
2 In days to come
the mountain of the Lord’s house
shall be established as the highest of
the mountains,
and shall be raised above the hills;
all the nations shall stream to it.
3
Many peoples shall come and say,
“Come, let us go up to the mountain of
the Lord,
to the house of the God of Jacob;
that he may teach us his ways
and that we may walk in his paths.”
For out of Zion shall go forth
instruction,
and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
4 He shall judge between the nations,
and shall arbitrate for many peoples;
they shall beat their swords into
plowshares,
and their spears into pruning hooks;
nation shall not lift up sword against
nation,
neither shall they learn war any more.
Judgment Pronounced on Arrogance
5 O house of Jacob,
come, let us walk
in the light of the Lord!
Psalm 122: Song of
Praise and Prayer for Jerusalem
A Song of Ascents. Of David.
1 I was glad when they said to me,
“Let us go to the house of the Lord!”
2 Our feet are standing
within your gates, O Jerusalem.
3 Jerusalem—built as a city
that is bound firmly together.
4 To it the tribes go up,
the tribes of the Lord,
as was decreed for Israel,
to give thanks to the name of the Lord.
5 For there the thrones for judgment were
set up,
the thrones of the house of David.
6 Pray for the peace of Jerusalem:
“May they prosper who love you.
7 Peace be within your walls,
and security within your towers.
8 For the sake of my relatives and
friends
I will say, “Peace be within you.”
9 For the sake of the house of the Lord
our God,
I will seek your good.
Romans 13: An
Urgent Appeal
11 Besides this, you know what time it
is, how it is now the moment for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is
nearer to us now than when we became believers; 12 the night is far gone, the
day is near. Let us then lay aside the works of darkness and put on the armor
of light; 13 let us live honorably as in the day, not in reveling and
drunkenness, not in debauchery and licentiousness, not in quarreling and
jealousy. 14 Instead, put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for
the flesh, to gratify its desires.
Matthew 24: The Necessity for Watchfulness
36 “But about that day and hour no one
knows, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son,[a] but only the Father. 37
For as the days of Noah were, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 38 For
as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and
giving in marriage, until the day Noah entered the ark, 39 and they knew
nothing until the flood came and swept them all away, so too will be the coming
of the Son of Man. 40 Then two will be in the field; one will be taken and one
will be left. 41 Two women will be grinding meal together; one will be taken
and one will be left. 42 Keep awake therefore, for you do not know on what
day[b] your Lord is coming. 43 But understand this: if the owner of the house
had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed
awake and would not have let his house be broken into. 44 Therefore you also
must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour.
Footnotes:
Matthew 24:36 Other ancient authorities
lack nor the Son
Matthew 24:42 Other ancient authorities
read at what hour (New Revised Standard Version)
WELCOME:
Welcome to Goshen College’s online
devotionals for the 2013 Advent season! Our theme this year, taken from the
Mennonite Church USA worship resources found in Leader magazine, is “O the
Mystery of God’s Dwelling.” Every Monday an author will introduce the
sub-theme, and on the following weekdays authors will reflect on a specific
Scripture passage. The theme for this week, Advent 1, is “We may walk in God’s
paths.”
DEVOTIONAL:
“O the mystery of God’s dwelling”
expresses a sense of awe and wonder. Will we hold these words as a reverential
expression for God’s act of incarnation? Will we mutter them with a sense of
frustration and confusion trying to fully make sense of God entering the human
world? The Advent Scriptures present us with a plethora of images of judgment,
pain, suffering, idolatry and oppression in both the natural and the human
worlds, as well as the parallel images of restoration, redemption, salvation,
wholeness and peace.
When you consider the literal and
metaphorical paths you have walked in life, what comes to mind? I go back to
the woods of my childhood farm. There were different paths traversed for
various reasons. Some were made by our tractor, others by human feet, and still
others by deer that regularly bounded through. Most of the paths were contained
within our property boundaries that I knew well. As long as I stayed on them I
was sure to circle back to a place of familiarity. But other paths went beyond
our property to unknown destinations. What was on the other side? Where would
it take me? Were those lands more of the same or different? Should I go there?
What will happen if I do?
I have had both joyful surprises and
unexpected annoyances on the paths of life. But sometimes the paths I trekked
delivered tragic realities for which I wondered if there could have been
another way, or why this happened. Like the Psalmist, I questioned and
exclaimed, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from
helping me, from the words of my groaning? O my God, I cry by day, but you do
not answer; and by night, but find no rest,” (Psalm 22).
PRAYER:
O God, wander with me in the paths of
life. Help me recognize your presence when mystery is my close companion.
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Goshen College
1700 South Main Street
Goshen, IN 46526 United States
(574) 535-7569
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