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2010 Advent Devotional
St. Stephen United Methodist Church |
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Psalm 80
1 Hear us, Shepherd of Israel,
you who lead Joseph like a flock.
You who sit enthroned between the cherubim,
shine forth 2 before Ephraim, Benjamin and Manasseh.
Awaken your might;
come and save us.
3 Restore us, O God;
make your face shine on us,
that we may be saved.
4 How long, LORD God Almighty,
will your anger smolder
against the prayers of your people?
5 You have fed them with the bread of tears;
you have made them drink tears by the bowlful.
6 You have made us an object of derision to our neighbors,
and our enemies mock us.
7 Restore us, God Almighty;
make your face shine on us,
that we may be saved.
8 You transplanted a vine from Egypt;
you drove out the nations and planted it.
9 You cleared the ground for it,
and it took root and filled the land.
10 The mountains were covered with its shade,
the mighty cedars with its branches.
11 Its branches reached as far as the Sea,
its shoots as far as the River.
12 Why have you broken down its walls
so that all who pass by pick its grapes?
13 Boars from the forest ravage it,
and insects from the fields feed on it.
14 Return to us, God Almighty!
Look down from heaven and see!
Watch over this vine,
15 the root your right hand has planted,
the son you have raised up for yourself.
16 Your vine is cut down, it is burned with fire;
at your rebuke your people perish.
17 Let your hand rest on the man at your right hand,
the son of man you have raised up for yourself.
18 Then we will not turn away from you;
revive us, and we will call on your name.
19 Restore us, LORD God Almighty;
make your face shine on us,
that we may be saved. |
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When I was growing up, I had a poster in my room that read:
I believe in the sun when it is not shining.
I believe in love when I am alone.
I believe in God even when God is silent.
It was hard for me to imagine a time when I would not feel love or God's presence in my life, but the words were reassuring that any lack of "feeling" on my part would never constitute an absence of love or God.
On this poster, the script was signed "author unknown." It was not until I was an adult that I read that this writing was found scrawled on a cellar wall in Cologne, Germany, where Jews were hiding from Nazi persecution during World War II. I've also seen it attributed to writings found on a wall inside a concentration camp. In the midst of these horrific conditions, someone held onto a faith in God. This fact gave added significance to these words of hope I had known growing up.
The scripture for today is described as a prayer for deliverance, a cry for help. "Restore us, O God; let Thy face shine that we may be saved!" In this season of "waiting" for the birth of Jesus, the coming of Jesus into our lives, there are so many things that get in the way of our having eyes to see our Lord. Our own busyness, physical ailments, economic challenges, struggles with mental health, grief, strained relationships may all interfere with our ability to feel God's love and presence in our lives. May we all hold tight to the assurance that God remains steadfast, ready to receive us with open arms. May God's face shine for you today in new and unexpected ways. |
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