Narrative Lectionary Key Verse for Today
“With joy they celebrated the festival of unleavened bread seven days; for the Lord had made them joyful, and had turned the heart of the king of Assyria to them, so that he aided them in the work on the house of God, the God of Israel.”
NL Daily Devotion for Thursday, December 10, 2020
by R. M. Fergus, Clergy Stuff
I love my traditional festivals! Here we are deep in the middle of Advent, lighting candles over time to show the brightening of the world culminating in the coming of the One Light into the world. Then the festivities of Christmas—even separated as we are this year by the ravages of the pandemic, we can still observe our festivals, dig into our faith traditions, and celebrate God’s incredible gift of Jesus.
Sure, the pandemic will force us to change things up a bit. But can you imagine being the people of Israel, who spent years unable to practice their holiest festival while they were in exile under foreign rule? Then can you imagine the joy they must have felt when their new overlords gave them the freedom to resume their ways? I don’t think this verse does justice to what it must have been like. Joyful? Ecstatic! Euphoric!
If nothing else, the way the pandemic will change things for us this year can certainly give us a new appreciation of our traditional festivals and what we might be taking for granted. May this years celebrations open our eyes to the ways in which our traditions deepen and enrich our faith.
How can I bring real joy into my Advent and Christmas celebrations this year?
An
Exceptional
People
Blog Posts
SIGN UP NOW