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Yesterday we began the season of Advent. Over the next four Mondays we will shift from the liturgical prayers we have been doing each week to a devotional particularly focused on Advent and the themes and invitations in this season. We will be using a resource called “Our Hope and Expectation: Devotions for Advent and Christmas.” Here is today’s devotional:

Isaiah 64:4
From ages past no one has heard,
no ear has perceived,
no eye has seen any God besides you,
who works for those who wait for him.

To ponder
How silently, how silently
the wondrous gift is giv’n!…
No ear can hear his coming;
but, in this world of sin,
where meek souls will receive him,
still the dear Christ enters in.
- O Little Town of Bethlehem, “ELW 279, st.3)

In unexpected places
Sometimes God’s presence is so real that it cannot be mistaken. But often, it is more like prophet and poet describe: “no ear has perceived, no eye has seen”; “no ear can hear his coming.”
One of Advent’s gifts is pausing to sharpen our senses. In a chaotic, cacophonous world, we wait, and watch, and wonder. During this time-out, sometimes God’s presence is so palpable that it cannot be mistaken. It is like Christ is standing on top of the world, arms outstretched, with hope and expectation. Advent is a season for us to sharpen our ears and eyes to see Jesus in less obvious places too. As we do, we will be awed by the one “who works for those who wait for him.”
How silently Christ is visible with arms outstretched holding a cardboard sign on the freeway entrance ramp. No ear may hear him coming in the teenage voice crying out for environmental awareness, yet there Christ is. Where meek souls will receive him, Christ is visible in the plaintive eyes we encounter in the Alzheimer’s wing.
Christ promises his presence in all of creation. By his rising, he ratifies that promise. Look for Jesus at all times and in all places. He will not disappoint.

Prayer
Lord Jesus, with outstretched arms you boldly come. In the silent, unexpected places, you come to us as well. We are grateful. Amen.


From: “Our Hope and Expectation: Devotions for Advent and Christmas 2020-2021”, Augsburg Fortress 2020, p. 8-9.