PBAU Advent Devotional: Day 8

Sunday, December 8
 
THE JOURNEY
 
It is striking how deeply the coming of Christ is connected to the journey motif. It is, after all, about the “coming” of the Son of God from the realm of eternity to the realm of time and history. But the journey appears in other ways, too. Mary and Joseph journeyed to Bethlehem to register for the census, and soon after on to Egypt as refugees. Sages journeyed from the East in search of the King. Angels came from the glories of heaven to the hills of Judea. Shepherds left their flocks to journey into town. And the one whose life began as a journey of incarnation would live out his ministry in the context of travel: through Samaria; to Galilee; to Jerusalem; and ultimately, to Golgotha.
 
At the core of it all is an epic narrative of God’s Son who set aside glory and privilege to journey through life as a servant, laying down his life sacrificially before being raised to life as the first born of a new creation into which he invites those who would live as his disciples, his followers.
 
Growing up with my grandparents in rural East Texas, I looked forward to Christmas because all the extended family would come home to celebrate together. I never realized how appropriate it was for them to celebrate by means of a journey the coming of the Christ. We are all sojourners, aliens whose allegiance is to God and who press toward a destination made possible by a visit to our world that started in a manger.
 
Dr. Gerald Wright
Professor Emeritus of Intercultural Studies
 


PBAU Advent Devotional: Day 7

Saturday, December 7
 
 
LOVE IS KING
 

All creation is groaning
We feel it in our bones
The hope of love returning
For the lowly and alone
The heart of God is beating
Through a mother’s suffering
With us in our weakness
Emmanuel, the King

Can you hear the savior sing
Welcome home, welcome in
Peace on earth shall he bring
Born to us the baby king
Let all creation see
And together let us sing
Peace on earth shall he bring
God is love, love is king

The brightness of the vision
When days of strife will cease
Is swaddled in a manger
Born to bring us peace
Soon will dawn the morning
When all will be set free
So let there be peace
And let it start with me

Written by senior ministry major Emily Blaylock and Daniel Brunjes
With Paradise Hymns
 


PBAU Advent Devotional: Day 6

Friday, December 6
 
SEEING WITH NEW EYES
 
 
 
Reflect on the miracle of Christmas through the eyes of the mother of the Christ child — with eyes of wonder and love. I can barely get through listening to the song, “Mary, Did You Know?” without choking up, imagining Mary kissing the face of God.
 
I came to real understanding of God’s gift to us when I had children of my own. We all have experienced the wonder and awe of seeing those little ones as they behold the beauty of the season and grow to love the little baby they kiss and place in the manger at night. As I got older, I grew in appreciation for that gift as I watched my own parents and in-laws renew their love for that Christ child when our kids came to visit at the holidays. Seeing their grandkids place little Baby in the manger became a highlight for my mom and dad. My in-laws took us to their church not only to celebrate the birth of that Baby, but also to delight the grandkids with the gorgeous Nativity set up on the side altar. My understanding of God’s precious gift grew during those happy years. And now?
 
Our own kids are grown and live too far away, but have given us the most precious gift in our grandson, Maddon. Seeing the world through his eyes gives us all new appreciation for the truly wonderful gift that God sent to us, in his only begotten Son, our Lord, Jesus Christ. Children are a gift and heritage from the Lord, reminding us that the most wonderful time of the year is a time to thank Him for all these good gifts.
 
Dr. Ann Yanchura
Associate Professor of Education
 


PBAU Advent Devotional: Day 5

Thursday, December 5
 
BEHOLD THE LAMB
 
 
“Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.”
(John 1:29, RSV)
 
When this scripture is read the accent is most often placed on the second part of the verse: sin. Because God’s plan of salvation is such a wonderful provision, we are prone to continually re-examine the fact that Jesus came into the world to free us from it. Indeed, freedom from the bondage of sin is at the core of the Good News of the Gospel, but I would like to take a few moments to examine the first part of the verse: Behold, the Lamb.
 
What does it mean to behold? The dictionary defines the process of beholding as, “to gaze at, or look upon.” The word is also used to express amazement. Middle English usage includes the idea of possessing or holding onto something. Today, that meaning is nearly lost, and the notion of beholding is rarely used. But just what is beholding, particularly in the context of “the Lamb of God,” and why is it of any significance?
 
It is one thing to read the scriptures and learn of God’s wonderful purpose of salvation entering the world the day Jesus of Nazareth was born, and quite another thing to behold Him in our hearts and realize that He, indeed, is our Savior, our Shepherd! Something deep and transformational happens when we begin to behold our Lord.
 

My first Christmas in Christ was like that. For 17 Christmases I was in church with my family. From infancy, mom had me by her side. But it was not until I truly beheld the Lord and received Him as my own, that I knew what the Presence of the Lord meant. What a joy to learn that the incarnation was not only an event in history, but that Jesus Christ was alive, and I could know Him and actually walk with Him in the Spirit! It was not until that 17th year of my life that I began to turn my gaze upon the living Lord and experience the reality of salvation, truth, meaning and purpose in my life. What dazzling Christmas gifts ⏤ gifts that far surpass anything money could buy. “Oh what fellowship, oh what joy divine” ⏤ I began to learn the true meaning of Christmas!

Before very long I learned that to “behold the Lamb of God” was not just for Christmas day or for the three wise men. With each year it seemed the Lord bid me to come and fellowship with Him, to transform me and get a hold of my heart in deeper ways. This process is part of the normal Christian life and accomplished in as many ways as there are people, but always through the Lord Jesus Christ (Rom. 12:1-5). As I grew in my faith I learned that the great Apostle Paul discusses this need for transformation at length and in one instance to the young Christians in Corinth he wrote, “But we all are beholding the glory of the Lord, and being transformed into His same image, from glory, to glory” (2 Cor. 3:18). Indeed! There is a glory and a joy of first beholding the Christ, but there is an ongoing and increasing glory as we get to know Him better! As we behold the Lord, or gaze upon Him intently, our lives are inexplicably changed. How the Lord actually does it, we do not really know, but in beholding Him, it is clear that we take the focus of our eyes off our needs, our desires and our day-to-day challenges, and bring the focus of our attention on who He is and all that He is doing. In His Presence, we begin to see things as they really are; we begin to gain a view of life from the eternal perspective.

 
Moving more deeply into this Christmas season let us remember that He is the gift, and we need only behold Him. Behold … the Lamb of God.
 
Dr. Stephanie Bennett
Professor of Communication and Media Ecology
Fellow for Student Engagement
 


PBAU Advent Devotional: Day 4

Wednesday, December 4
 
ANTICIPATION
 
 
The poetry of Advent has little warmth or cheer in it. Christina Rossetti begins one of her poems on the subject by rhyming “cold” with “old”:
 

Earth grown old, yet still so green,
Deep beneath her crust of cold
Nurses fire unfelt, unseen:
Earth grown old.

John Betjman’s “Advent 1955” rhymes “gale” with “pale”:

And rain-wet roads the wind blows dry
And branches bending to the gale
Against great skies all silver-pale.

T. S. Eliot’s Advent poem, “Journey of the Magi,” opens with the line:

 

“A cold night we had of it.”

The absence of Christmas warmth in these works is not simply a function of the fact that Advent and late autumn coincide on the calendar. After all, Christmas occurs in winter-proper, and it is wrapped in metaphors of warmth: hearths, steaming punch, roasted chestnuts and hot gravy on turkey.

This tendency to chill Advent poems is more than a necessity of the weather. It is a poetic plea not to confuse Advent and Christmas. Or rather it is a plea to allow Advent to lead us into the warmth of Christmas by way of cold and long expectation — the expectation both of Israel and of The Church awaiting the Messiah as strangers in a strange land.

The poetry of Advent is not warm or jolly. Waiting is rarely warm or jolly. But it is hopeful, and if Advent cannot warm, it can help us to understand, by contrast, what the incarnate warmth of Christmas means. It helps us to know and to experience in a small way the contrast between the God of Job who speaks out of the whirlwind and says he has “entered into the treasures of the snow” and the infant God of Luke who lies on a woman’s chest, sharing her body heat.

Dr. Eric Tippin
Assistant Professor of English
 


PBAU Advent Devotional: Day 3

Tuesday, December 3
 
FLICKERING
 
Growing up, I always felt Christmas to be a time of beginnings. Even more than my own birthday or New Year’s Day, Christmas seemed to mark new time and a fresh start.
 
I grew up in Alaska, where more often than not fresh snow muffled the sounds of busy life on Christmas morning, and time would reorient to the rhythms of steadily glowing lights, slowly rising cinnamon rolls and just one more mug of hot cocoa with tiny marshmallows on top.
 
Looking back, I wonder if I wasn’t somehow sensing the newness of time measured by the Church’s calendar — the anticipation of Advent and the collectively held breath of humanity, culminating in the little town of Bethlehem, a new baby tucked away in a manger, with angels and shepherds looking on in wonder on this holiest of silent nights.
Then I had children of my own. And I realized that the slow, peaceful, contemplative wonder of Christmas morning was only part of the story.
 
It has taken me awhile to come to grips with redefining the “wonder of Christmas.” The bulbs on the Christmas tree never work the way I remember from childhood. The cinnamon buns fail to rise (because I forgot the yeast!) and the coffee grows cold while one more dirty diaper is changed and the spilled apple juice is mopped up.
 
On other Christmases, between childhood and children, the “wonder of Christmas” felt much more brittle — in the absence of children, in the grief of losing what once seemed so stable and permanent, in the presence of a world gone mad.
 
The wonder of Christmas is a mysterious thing. When the bulbs burn out, the rolls don’t rise and the coffee grows cold … the wonder is still there, even if it’s flickering. May God bless you today with unexpected life in the midst of death, and small lights pushing back darkness.
 
Dr. Kathy Maxwell
Associate Professor of Biblical and Theological Studies
 


PBAU Advent Devotional: Day 2

Monday, December 2
 
HOLY DAYS
 
 
“These are my appointed festivals, the appointed festivals of the Lord, which you are to proclaim as sacred assemblies.”
(Leviticus 23:2, NIV)
 
Old Testament life was full of feasts and festivals. These feasts were extended pauses in the normal rhythm of life. Extended times of reflection replaced the normal busyness of life. At the Feast of Passover, the ancient Israelites remembered God’s deliverance from Egypt. At the Feast of Tabernacles, God’s provision in the wilderness was in their minds. At the Feast of Firstfruits, they gave thanks for another good harvest. These Holy Days (holidays) were celebrated with the simple but enduring pleasures of life — great meals, family and a break from work — with each offering a chance and reason to give thanks and remember God’s goodness.
 
As we are entering into the Christmas Holy Days, we should take a break from the normal chaos that surrounds us. It’s a great time to enjoy simple pleasures: mom’s cinnamon rolls on Christmas morning, extended time with our family, catching up with old friends, lazy afternoons in front of the TV. Like the festivals of the Old Testament, these times are God’s gift to us that we can use to break away from our normal routine and remember the miraculous provision of the Incarnation.
 
Unfortunately, we too often let the busyness of our normal lives get replaced with the busyness of the holidays. Endless preparations, buying of gifts, and parties supersede moments to remember and time to simply enjoy. I hope that you find some calm and stillness on this Holy Day to remember God’s great gift to us in Jesus Christ and all that for which we are thankful.
Dr. Nathan Lane
Associate Provost for Instruction
 


PBAU Advent Devotional: Day 1

Sunday, December 1
 
WILL YOU MAKE ROOM?
Reading: Luke 2:7
 
As a little boy growing up in Central Virginia, I can remember how excited I would be about the Christmas season. There were several ways I knew the season was upon us; but I would get most excited when I came home from school and the furniture would be rearranged. On the couch I would find boxes that I hadn’t seen since last January, full of Christmas ornaments, lights and tinsel for the tree. My parents were making room and I knew that our Christmas tree would soon follow.
 
But as you read Luke’s Gospel you will find this was not the case for Jesus. The text tells us that Mary had to give birth to Jesus, God Incarnate, the Light of the World, in the presence of dirty animals, and he was laid in a manger because there was no room in the inn.
 
During the Christmas season, how many of us make room for Jesus? We make room for Christmas trees, decorations, parties and gifts, but if we are not careful, we can neglect the One who is the true reason for the season. We should all remember the greatest gift given to humanity — Jesus.
 
Gospel recording artist Jonathan McReynolds penned a song entitled “Make Room.” In this song the artist makes a public declaration that Jesus is central in his life and he is committed to making his relationship with Jesus a priority. He commits to making room.
 
If Jesus is what we treasure during this season, I challenge you to make room for Jesus in your plans, in your attitude, in your itinerary, in your celebrations, in your hearts and minds. In this glorious season, as we celebrate the birth of Jesus, the Christ, will you make room?
 
The Rev. Kevin Jones ’07
Alumnus, Assistant Pastor of Tabernacle Church
 
 


Advent Devotional: Palm Beach Atlantic

Saturday, November 30
 
PREFACE
 
As the season of Advent begins December 1st, you will receive daily devotionals written by members of the Palm Beach Atlantic University family. Dr. Brittany N. Melton, editor of this digital Advent Guide, introduces the theme today.
 
“Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be.” (Luke 1:29, NIV)
 
We often wonder at the magnificent, the unlikely, and even the ridiculous.
 
Think of the sense of magnificence and majesty you feel at the foot of a great mountain, the puzzlement and intrigue at the unlikelihood of “the miracle of life” and even the marvel and curiosity of a circus, with its ridiculous cast of interesting characters.
 
The fact that God sent his Son into the world as a baby is reason to wonder in all of these respects. Mary marveled at the magnificence (Luke 1:46-55); Zechariah was dumbstruck at the unlikelihood that he and Elizabeth would give birth to a child in their old age who would announce the coming of the Lord (Luke 1:8); and Mary was perplexed by the ridiculous, the seemingly “impossible” (Luke 1:37, ESV); indeed, “How will this be?” (Luke 1:34, ESV).
 
The whole cast of characters in Luke 1 is filled with wonder about what is about to happen, at these strange things God is doing among them. Even “the neighbors were all filled with awe, and throughout the hill country of Judea people were talking about all these things. Everyone who heard this wondered about it, asking, ‘What then is this child going to be?’ For the Lord’s hand was with him” (speaking of John the Baptist in Luke 1:65-66, NIV). They see clearly that God is working, but they don’t understand his strange methods.
 
It is magnificent that God would take on human flesh and enter into everyday life with humanity. It is unlikely that in Jesus we would find all the expectations of the Messiah satisfied, exceeded. And it is also ridiculous, according to our values of efficiency and hierarchical structures, that God would entrust his Son in the form of a helpless babe to a young girl and lower himself to be born in a mere stable. What kind of plan is this? What kind of Savior? One we should wonder at, one we should be in awe of, because the ways of God, in his infinite wisdom and grace, are so much higher than ours, so far beyond what we could grasp or imagine. I am struck with wonder every time I hear the bridge of the Hillsong worship song “Seasons,” which speaks of how God could have saved us in a second, but instead He sent a child.
My prayer is that this season you would stop to be struck with wonder at the birth of Christ, because that is the wellspring of our worship this and every Christmas.
 
Dr. Brittany N. Melton
Assistant Professor of Biblical and Theological Studies
Advent Guide Editor
 


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