Narrative Lectionary Key Verse for Today
“I am the Lord, I have called you in righteousness, I have taken you by the hand and kept you; I have given you as a covenant to the people, a light to the nations, to open the eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison those who sit in darkness.”
NL Daily Devotion for Wednesday, December 13, 2023
by R. M. Fergus, Clergy Stuff
Ultimately, this is about Jesus. But it is also about us. As followers in the Way of Jesus, we are called to this same task: to carry out God’s promises, to be beacons of light and hope in a dim and confusing world, to open people’s eyes to the truth, and to free the oppressed. As we watch and wait for the coming of Jesus at Bethlehem and again at the end of time, it is good to contemplate how we might bear this promise into the world on a day to day basis. It doesn’t need to be in any major or showy way, though if you feel called to public service or direct action by all means, go big! We need you! Anyone can serve God in the way Isaiah lays out. We serve God when we serve others. Jesus modeled this by humbly washing his disciples’ feet. A small, intimate thing. We, too, can bear God’s love to others in simple acts like donating to an important cause, serving a meal—at a homeless shelter or to an individual, cleaning up a mess—in the neighborhood or in your basement, writing a letter to a congressperson, reading to someone, the list could go on. Perhaps it would be a fun spiritual practice to write ideas on strips of paper and draw them out of a jar each day. However you do it, I encourage you to enrich your Advent with acts of service.
How can I serve others today?
