Daily Advent devotions, week 1: Hope

Hope can sometimes feel elusive, but if we pause to look for it with open hearts, hope is all around us.

Day 1

Luke 21:34-36: Be on guard so that your hearts are not weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of this life and that day does not catch you unexpectedly, like a trap. For it will come upon all who live on the face of the whole earth.  Be alert at all times, praying that you may have the strength to escape all these things that will take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.

As we begin Advent, we enter a time when the waiting in Church for the incarnation of Christ is not the same as the cultural expectations we have of the Christmas season. It is easy to get caught up in our to do lists, all the parties to attend, and the long shopping lists for gifts, food, and helping others. Eugene Peterson’s modern translation of this passage in The Message warns “don’t get dulled by parties and drinking and shopping.” We can get so caught up in the busyness that we forget what we are celebrating. Or worse, we are so stressed out by trying to do everything that we don’t enjoy the season at all.

Advent is the beginning of a new church year. We begin by remembering who we are as Christians: People who believe that Jesus came to us, taking on a human body with all its pains, and living among us.  It is good news to have a God that is willing to meet us on our level.  Let’s not forget that the waiting of Advent, the hope of this season, is that God meets us where we are.  Even if we are overscheduled, over-sugared, and cranky like Scrooge.  

Listen to “Come, Thou Long, Expected Jesus”

Pray: Help me to maintain focus on you this season, Lord.

Day 2

Jeremiah 33:14-16: The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will fulfill the promise I made to the house of Israel and the house of Judah. In those days and at that time I will cause a righteous Branch to spring up for David, and he shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. In those days Judah will be saved and Jerusalem will live in safety. And this is the name by which it will be called: “The Lord is our righteousness.”

Since October 7, 2023, Israel has not been a place of safety for anyone. The Jewish and Palestinian people have lost many lives, and there has been much destruction. It is yet one more time that there is no peace, when we want peace. Now the fighting extends beyond the borders of the country of Israel, and even more people have been killed and harmed, and more places destroyed. 

Though your media choice may have you leaning support in one direction or the other, the truth is that God’s children and God’s creation is being harmed.  Issues are more complex than a soundbite or headline can explain. We long for safety in Jerusalem, throughout the Middle East, and in our world.  We pray for world leaders making difficult decisions, and for those innocents who are suffering. Come, Lord Jesus, and bring your peace to our world. 

Read the poem “Hope is a Bruise” by Dasha Kelly Hamilton.

Pray: Blessed are the peacemakers; make me an instrument of your peace with my words and deeds, O Prince of Peace.

Day 3

Psalm 25:1-10: To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul. O my God, in you I trust; do not let me be put to shame; do not let my enemies exult over me. Do not let those who wait for you be put to shame; let them be ashamed who are wantonly treacherous.

Make me to know your ways, O Lord; teach me your paths. Lead me in your truth, and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all day long. 

Be mindful of your mercy, O Lord, and of your steadfast love, for they have been from of old. Do not remember the sins of my youth or my transgressions; according to your steadfast love remember me, for your goodness’ sake, O Lord!

Good and upright is the Lord; therefore he instructs sinners in the way. He leads the humble in what is right, and teaches the humble his way. All the paths of the Lord are steadfast love and faithfulness, for those who keep his covenant and his decrees.  

I put my trust in you, O Lord. I don’t trust this world, or its leaders. I barely trust myself. You are the only One who can save me. I need you, especially when the world feels chaotic and crazy.  I need you especially when it feels ludicrous to have hope.  Hope is not pie-in-the-sky optimism. Hope is hard work, grit, getting back up after being knocked down. 

Show me your ways, O Lord. I want to be like you. When I am following your ways, I trust myself more. When I am living into who you have called me to be, then I have trust.  When I look to the ways of the world and listen to the lies of my inner critic, then I lose that trust and hope. Help me regain it again. Amen.

Listen to “The First Noel” by Pentatonix.

Pray: Fill me with your hope, O Lord.

Day 4

Psalm 16:7-9: I bless the Lord who gives me counsel; in the night also my heart instruct me. I keep the Lord always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved. Therefore my heart is glad, and my soul rejoices; my body also rests secure.

One of my spiritual gifts is a strong intuition. I know things based on feelings within my body, and my gut feelings about a situation are always right. I get into trouble when I do not honor and listen to them.  However, it can be difficult to explain “how” I know. “It’s just a feeling,” does not provide enough evidence for some to trust. I understand. Without feeling the feeling themselves, they are right to be skeptical. Over time, as trust develops, others have learned that my intuition is right. I must be willing to share and follow the feeling God has placed in me.

I believe my intuition is a way I experience the divine, and I feel it as a feminine energy, perhaps because I am female. I believe God has given me this gift to use in my ministry and life. I have had to learn to trust it, to trust God and myself, especially when making decisions. My intuition is a strength, and over time as I have experienced it always being right, I have learned to be more confident in sharing my knowing with others. It is a gift, and it enhances my leadership. 

God’s ways are not always understandable. We often want to put God in a box that we can understand. Sometimes we even want God to fit our desires rather than allowing ourselves to admit that God is a mystery we do not have to solve. I do not assume to know the many ways you may experience God. I am grateful for the gifts God has given me, and I am grateful that God is bigger than our human brains can imagine. 

Listen to “What Child is This?” by Carrie Underwood.  

Pray: Help me to have open eyes, ears, and heart to your messages, Holy One.

Day 5

1 Thessalonians 3:9-13: How can we thank God enough for you in return for all the joy that we feel before our God because of you? Night and day we pray most earnestly that we may see you face to face and restore whatever is lacking in your faith.

Now may our God and Father himself and our Lord Jesus direct our way to you. And may the Lord make you increase and abound in love for you. And may he so strengthen your hearts in holiness that you may be blameless before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints.

My paternal grandma used to sing a song about counting blessings instead of sheep from the movie “White Christmas.” You can listen to the song here.

She loved musicals, and when we would spend the night with her, or even an afternoon, we would pile in her bed and watch musicals together. “White Christmas” was just one of the many we watched together. Watching it again brings up all the good memories.    

During the holiday season, we think about others. We think about those with whom we only exchange Christmas cards.  We think about the poor. We think about who we want to buy gifts for and what to get them.  What if we were so focused on others more than just once a year? What if we sent Valentines or Easter cards? What if we gave gifts randomly, just because? We can give thanks for each other year-round, but it is this time of year, that we often take stock and count our blessings. 

Pray: Thank you, God for the many blessings you give me, and help me to notice and appreciate each one.

Day 6

Mark 13:24-27: But in those days, after that suffering, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will be falling from heaven, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken. Then they will see ‘the Son of Man coming in clouds’ with great power and glory. Then he will send out the angels, and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven.

For many years, people have been talking about the end times. The disciples thought Jesus would return in their lifetime, and when it didn’t happen, then the followers of Jesus had to adjust their faith to the waiting. We are still waiting. Signs are everywhere, some say.

The signs I see are of a broken world that needs healing. Of hurting people that need love and compassion. We have the power, given to us by God, to make our little part of the world a better place. Whether these are indeed the end times, or there are millennia to go, loving God and our neighbor is our privilege and responsibility.

Listen to the Advent hymn “Hail, to the Lord’s Anointed” by New Scottish Hymns Band.

Pray: God, give me a heart full of love for all your children.

Day 7

Matthew 24:32-35: From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near. So also, when you see all these things, you know that he is near, at the very gates. Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all these things have taken place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my worlds will not pass away.  

The fig tree signals summer. The maple’s changing leaves signals autumn. The world keeps turning, day after day, and yet God’s Word doesn’t change. People interpret the Bible differently, but God’s Word of love is constant. 

I am someone who doesn’t mind change. I get bored if things stay the same for too long. However, not everyone feels that way. Change is constant, and yet it is very human to want things to stay the same. God is constant, immutable, unchanging, enduring and everlasting. Even when everything around us feels off kilter, God is the steady, abiding presence.

Listen to a children's choir sing “Light of the World,” originally by Lauren Daigle.

Pray: Eternal One, thank you for your abiding presence.

Reprinted from the Rev. McDonald’s blog: redheadedrev.org

All Scripture is from the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV).

The Rev. Tiffany McDonald is an Ordained Elder in The United Methodist Church serving in the Minnesota Annual Conference. She has served as a University Chaplain, solo pastor and associate pastor, and is currently appointed to family leave. Tiffany lives in Minnetonka, Minnesota, with her husband and two daughters.

This page was published on November 20, 2024. The contact is Laura Buchanan.