First Friday of Advent
Scripture Reading for Today:
Psalm 85:1-2, 8-13
For the director of music. Of the Sons of Korah. A psalm.You, Lord, showed favor to your land; you restored the fortunes of Jacob. 2 You forgave the iniquity of your people and covered all their sins.
8 I will listen to what God the Lord says; he promises peace to his people, his faithful servants— but let them not turn to folly. 9 Surely his salvation is near those who fear him, that his glory may dwell in our land. 10 Love and faithfulness meet together; righteousness and peace kiss each other. 11 Faithfulness springs forth from the earth, and righteousness looks down from heaven. 12 The Lord will indeed give what is good, and our land will yield its harvest. 13 Righteousness goes before him and prepares the way for his steps.
Jeremiah 1:4-10
The Call of Jeremiah4 The word of the Lord came to me, saying, 5 “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.” 6 “Alas, Sovereign Lord,” I said, “I do not know how to speak; I am too young.” 7 But the Lord said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am too young.’ You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you. 8 Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you,” declares the Lord. 9 Then the Lord reached out his hand and touched my mouth and said to me, “I have put my words in your mouth. 10 See, today I appoint you over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant.”
Acts 11:19-26
The Church in Antioch19 Now those who had been scattered by the persecution that broke out when Stephen was killed traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus and Antioch, spreading the word only among Jews. 20 Some of them, however, men from Cyprus and Cyrene, went to Antioch and began to speak to Greeks also, telling them the good news about the Lord Jesus. 21 The Lord’s hand was with them, and a great number of people believed and turned to the Lord. 22 News of this reached the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. 23 When he arrived and saw what the grace of God had done, he was glad and encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord with all their hearts. 24 He was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith, and a great number of people were brought to the Lord. 25 Then Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul, 26 and when he found him, he brought him to Antioch. So for a whole year Barnabas and Saul met with the church and taught great numbers of people. The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch.
Love and Faithfulness Collide
by Jared Siebert
Jared Siebert serves in many capacities in the Canadian Church. He founded an organization of missionary church leaders called the New Leaf Network and is one of Canada’s leading inter-denominational church planter trainers. But church planting isn’t the only kind of experience he has garnered. In his ministry roles Jared has had the opportunity to work with churches of all kinds from all over Canada. He has acted as a consultant in churches large and small, urban and rural, and new and long established. He has written a discipleship curriculum, a handbook on church planter training, and a Church Health workbook called the LifePlan. As a sought after speaker and consultant Jared is uniquely able to draw insight and inspiration from a variety of sources and bring that to the table as he helps churches move toward unity and the mission of God.
In today’s reading from Psalm 85:10-13, the poet describes the divine forces of love, faithfulness, righteousness, and peace all reaching out for one another from every which way, meeting in a surprising collision that results in the healing of the land and paves the way for the arrival of the Messiah.
We begin our poetic contemplation where the love of God and the faithfulness of God meet. The meeting brings out new dimensions and depths. The love of God is deepened when it is nested in God’s faithfulness to God’s people. God’s faithfulness goes way beyond simple tolerance or endurance when we see it as fueled by love. God wants to be faithful. God wants to be connected to us. God’s faithfulness is rooted in God’s love for us. God’s love is not temporary or a fleeting emotion; it is deeply rooted in a long history of faithfulness. This invites reciprocity from God’s people. A pattern to follow. As God’s people, we can respond in kind. We can express our love of God through our own long and deliberate faithfulness. Our love is deepened by our faithfulness. Our faithfulness is deepened by our love.
Next, the poet moves on to the imagery of the contrasting forces of righteousness and peace finally finding one another and engaging in a tender kiss. Righteousness is the divine standard of justice and moral integrity. Righteousness is what leads to holiness, wholeness, and wholesomeness. Peace, in turn, is a deep and needed settledness, balance, and calm. In the tender kiss, they are both transformed and deepened. In the sloppy wet kiss, we see that true peace can never truly form in the absence of righteousness. A healed world, a peaceful world, is a just and moral world. It is a world made right.
False peace papers over injustice. Real peace is married to justice. Righteousness is made holy, whole, and wholesome when peace is the lasting result. Righteousness that is not headed straight for peace, settledness, balance, and calm can often be a prelude to violence and destruction and unrighteousness. When righteousness is in a committed and intimate relationship with peace it guarantees a good future. It can be trusted. It can be submitted to. The process it entails can be followed. They complete each other. They fulfill each other.
These goods in the world are depicted as forces of nature. Coming down from heaven and springing up from the earth. We depend on them. We can expect them. We can count on them. But we cannot control them. They are beyond us. Faithfulness, like a growing crop, emerges from the ground, while righteousness, like rain and snow, watches and then falls from the sky. The strength and beauty of God’s redemptive plan literally come at us from every direction. From high above and from deep beneath us.
God’s plan for the world operates without our intervention and brings good to us and to the world unprompted. We get caught up in it. Swept away in it. Wholly and totally blanketed and supported by it. We can work with it. But we never direct it. And because we are not its owner it works on us rather than the reverse. By working with God’s plan we are healed and restored. God’s plan brings a harvest of good things. A cupboard full of needed and nourishing things.
And finally, God’s plan yields a final and unexpected thing. These forces of good, this wholesome and helpful plan literally pave the way for a beautiful surprise: Jesus.
Over this past year, I have been reimaging my life. I have embarked on new paths, found new work, and I lead a still-forming community of Jesus-followers here in Saskatoon. I have felt the forces of good swirling around me. They have met and kissed and collided in unexpected ways in unexpected places. I am caught up in something much larger than myself. This hasn’t always felt safe but it has always felt good. Not everything is within my grasp and control. But I am grateful to know that the churn and swirl is nested deeply in love, faithfulness, righteousness, and peace. I take great pleasure in watching it spring up from the ground and having it look down on me from the sky. This Advent I can already feel the road ahead smoothing out and I know the best is still yet to come.
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