A WORD FOR TODAY, November 30, 2021
Peggy Hoppes
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Blessings. Peg
A WORD FOR TODAY, November 30, 2021
“He who doesn’t take his cross and follow after me isn’t worthy of me. He who seeks his life will lose it; and he who loses his life for my sake will find it. He who receives you receives me, and he who receives me receives him who sent me. He who receives a prophet in the name of a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward. He who receives a righteous man in the name of a righteous man will receive a righteous man’s reward. Whoever gives one of these little ones just a cup of cold water to drink in the name of a disciple, most certainly I tell you, he will in no way lose his reward.” Matthew 10:38-42, WEB
The early days of Advent call us to look forward to the day Christ will come again. It is good for us to look forward to that day, not out of fear for what will happen, but in hope for the fulfillment of God’s saving work. We long for the day when we will dwell in the presence of God forever. And we become particularly desperate when we see what’s happening in the world around us. Surely now is the time for Christ to come and save us from the evils of this day?
Every generation has dealt with the dangers and evil of the world. Ask someone who survived a concentration camp if it is more difficult to live today than in 1944. We can’t ask those who lived through the plagues of Europe about that time, but I imagine they would tell us that they, too, were crying out for God’s mercy. War might be different today, and in some ways harder, but we can’t say it is worse for us than for all the other generations. As a matter of fact, thanks to modern medicine and technology, many people who would have died in plagues or war a hundred years ago survive to live and serve God today.
Do we really think that today is more dangerous than it was for the first disciples? They believed that Jesus was coming soon, they were certain that Jesus would return before those who knew Him died. Yet, as they began to die, those left behind must have suffered doubt and uncertainty. “Where is Jesus?” they might have cried. Two thousand years later we are asking the same question. Why doesn’t He just come today and finish this so that we can enjoy our eternal inheritance? Why? The answer is that the full measure of those whom God intends to be saved have not yet heard the Word and been saved. The very last person may not even have been born yet. The last person may not be saved for a thousand years. Are we so selfish and self-centered that we would demand Jesus come before all God’s chosen received the promise?
Meanwhile, we live in this world. We live in between the first Advent, when Christ was born in Bethlehem and the Final Advent when Christ comes again as King. However, our Lord Jesus Christ has not abandoned us as we wait; He is here and comes to us in “little advents” all the time. These little advents, or small comings, are moments when He reveals Himself to us in words of forgiveness and acts of grace. They come to us when we need to be reminded of His promises, but also when there is someone in our path who needs to see the grace of God. We are reminded by the scriptures to see Jesus in the faces of those we serve, for when we do so for the least of Jesus’ brethren, we do so for Him.
We wait and watch for the coming of Christ, but let’s not spend our days looking to the sky. Christ comes to us every day in some way, and we will see Him in our neighbor when we pay attention to the opportunities that cross our path. It doesn’t have to be a grand accomplishment; we don’t have to build a church or save a village. We don’t have to do something that makes a worldwide impact. Perhaps that is our calling; if it is, then let us do as God commands. However, Jesus tells us in today’s scripture passage that it merely takes a simple glass of water to serve Christ in this world. As we go through this Advent season, let’s look for the little advents of Jesus Christ, those opportunities to serve Him and meet the needs of our neighbors.
A WORD FOR TODAY is posted five days a week – Monday through Friday. The devotional on Wednesday takes a look at the scripture from the Revised Common Lectionary for the upcoming Sunday. A WORD FOR TODAY is posted on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/pages/A-Word-for-Today-Devotional/339428839418276. Like the page to receive the devotion through Facebook. For information and to access our archives, visit http://www.awordfortoday.org.
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