The First Sunday of Advent (Ps) December 1st

Psalm 12:1-8

¹  Save, O Lord, for the godly one is gone;

for the faithful have vanished from among the children of man.

²    Everyone utters lies to his neighbor;

with flattering lips and a double heart they speak.

³    May the Lord cut off all flattering lips,

the tongue that makes great boasts,

⁴    those who say, “With our tongue we will prevail,

our lips are with us; who is master over us?”

⁵    “Because the poor are plundered, because the needy groan,

I will now arise,” says the Lord;

“I will place him in the safety for which he longs.”

⁶    The words of the Lord are pure words,

like silver refined in a furnace on the ground,

purified seven times.

⁷    You, O Lord, will keep them;

you will guard us from this generation forever.

⁸    On every side the wicked prowl,

as vileness is exalted among the children of man.

What is confession? Answer:

Confession consists of two parts. One is that we confess our sins. The other is that we receive the absolution, that is, forgiveness, from the confessor as from God himself and by no means doubt but firmly believe that our sins are thereby forgiven before God in heaven.

Which sins is a person to confess?

Before God one is to acknowledge the guilt for all sins, even those of which we are not aware, as we do in the Lord’s Prayer. However, before the confessor we are to confess only those sins of which we have knowledge and which trouble us.

Which sins are these?

Here reflect on your walk of life in light of the Ten Commandments: whether you are father, mother, son, daughter, master, mistress, servant; whether you have been disobedient, unfaithful, lazy,⁸⁵ whether you have harmed anyone by word or deed; whether you have stolen, neglected, wasted, or injured anything.

Stir up Your power, O Lord, and come, that by Your protection we may be rescued from the threatening perils of our sins and saved by your mighty deliverance; for You live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

The First Sunday of Advent (OTA)

Isaiah 40:1-11

Comfort, comfort my people, says your God.

²    Speak tenderly to Jerusalem,

and cry to her

       that her warfare is ended,

that her iniquity is pardoned,

       that she has received from the Lord’s hand

double for all her sins.

³    A voice cries:

       “In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord;

make straight in the desert a highway for our God.

⁴    Every valley shall be lifted up,

and every mountain and hill be made low;

       the uneven ground shall become level,

and the rough places a plain.

⁵    And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed,

and all flesh shall see it together,

for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”

⁶    A voice says, “Cry!”

And I said, “What shall I cry?”

       All flesh is grass,

and all its beauty is like the flower of the field.

⁷    The grass withers, the flower fades

when the breath of the Lord blows on it;

surely the people are grass.

⁸    The grass withers, the flower fades,

but the word of our God will stand forever.

⁹    Go on up to a high mountain,

O Zion, herald of good news;

       lift up your voice with strength,

O Jerusalem, herald of good news;

lift it up, fear not;

       say to the cities of Judah,

“Behold your God!”

¹⁰    Behold, the Lord God comes with might,

and his arm rules for him;

       behold, his reward is with him,

and his recompense before him.

¹¹    He will tend his flock like a shepherd;

he will gather the lambs in his arms;

       he will carry them in his bosom,

and gently lead those that are with young.

There is a voice of one crying in the wilderness. This voice is going to prepare the way of the Lord. This is the voice that is going to point to the Lamb of God who will take away the Sins of the World. This voice is John the Baptist. This voice is similar to the voice in Malachi. This voice is calling us to repentance.

God is calling for Comfort. God is calling for judgment. The people are referenced as grass that withers and flower that fades. These people are dying. They are going to be lead into the valley of the shadow of death. These dead people will be gathered to the Holy Mountain. God will lead these dead people on level ground into the arms of their shepherd.

Wow! This sounds really confusing. But it is pretty simple. The people of God are dying because of their sin. They are going to have to pay double for all their sins. The wages of sin is clearly death. Thus, the voice in the desert is preparing the people for the coming judgment.

But then there is the Herald in Jerusalem, on Mt Zion, and the cities of Judah. This herald tells of Good news. There is good news of great joy, to be shared with all people. That born a long time ago was a child, a Savior, in the City of David. This Savior is going to be their Shepherd. This is Jesus Christ our King. Jesus Christ pays the price (double price) for our sins. He brings comfort to his people. He brings hope to people.

Christ has died. Christ is Risen. Christ will come again. He will come and raise us to new life.

The First Sunday of Advent (GA)

Luke 2:22-35

²² And when the time came for their purification according to the Law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord ²³ (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every male who first opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord”) ²⁴ and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the Law of the Lord, “a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.” ²⁵ Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. ²⁶ And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. ²⁷ And he came in the Spirit into the temple, and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him according to the custom of the Law, ²⁸ he took him up in his arms and blessed God and said,

²⁹    “Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace,

according to your word;

³⁰    for my eyes have seen your salvation

³¹        that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples,

³²    a light for revelation to the Gentiles,

and for glory to your people Israel.”

³³ And his father and his mother marveled at what was said about him. ³⁴ And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, “Behold, this child is appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is opposed ³⁵ (and a sword will pierce through your own soul also), so that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.”

“This child is appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel.” This child will cause people to stumble and fall. This child will condemn people to eternal damnation and Hell. This child will also redeem the lost children of Israel. This child will become a blessing to all nations. The Christ child should be honored and praised. This is the Savior of the Nations.

Simeon is a very interesting character. He has a strong faith and trust in the word of God. He has been revealed personal things, with regarding to the coming of the Christ. He is moved from one location to another location by the power of Holy Spirit. Every time I read this I wonder how the spirit is revealing things to me, and how the Holy Spirit is moving me to be certain places.

Then I know that it is this Child. God keeps calling me to look at this child. The Spirit moves me to look to the Word of God for strength and truth. If you really want to understand what God has in store for your life listen to the words of Scripture. Don’t listen to my words, or other devotionals words, but God’s Word.

Simeon reminds us that he has seen his redeemer. He will see this redeemer again in the flesh. This child is going to judge the living and the dead. This child is going to die for the sins of the World. He is going to remove the curse as far as it is found. This is the joy that allows Simeon to rest in peace and joy. Let us all depart in this same peace and joy.

The First Sunday of Advent (NTA)

Colossians 3:1-17

If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. ² Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. ³ For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. ⁴ When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

⁵ Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. ⁶ On account of these the wrath of God is coming. ⁷ In these you too once walked, when you were living in them. ⁸ But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. ⁹ Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices ¹⁰ and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. ¹¹ Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all.

¹² Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, ¹³ bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. ¹⁴ And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. ¹⁵ And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. ¹⁶ Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. ¹⁷ And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

God has called his people out of the darkness into his marvelous light. Malachi speaks of a messenger who is preparing the Way for the Lord. This messenger is calling people to turn from these deeds of darkness. You need to put away the old self. It may be difficult but stop using the foul language. Stop committing sexual immorality. Stop doing these evil things.

Many of us live in various sins. We have a life that is consumed with one sin or another. I will not claim to know whether you are a thief, adulterer, murder, or gossip. But St Paul makes it clear that this is what you were. Don’t be that anymore. Christ has made you a son, co-heir. Fear God and do what is right. Turn from these deeds.

Many us want to claim but it is too tough. I am not capable of being anything more than I am. The answer is start small. Avoid locative temptations. When you see yourself doing these deeds, repent and look at where, what, and who you were with, then avoid those things in the future. The second answer is: you can’t save yourself. Jesus Christ died for the forgiveness of your sin as well as the sin of your neighbor. He sent the Holy Spirit into your heart to strengthen you, to fight with you in times of temptation.

We live in a dark world. We live in a world willing to accept your blemishes, dirt, abominable acts, etc. God calls us to a higher standard. He tells each us, “You need to clean.” Then he provides the mysterious cleansing agent in the blood of Christ. He even is willing to reach down and wash you with the blood of Christ (each day in daily repentance, as we daily die and rise again to new life).