2024 Advent Devotion: Day 18

Wednesday, December 18

Micah 4:8-13; Luke 7:31-35

This past Sunday, many of us lit the pink candle on the Advent wreath. You know, the one that stands out from all the others, that obscure candle most churches light to give reference to Joy within the Advent season. We approach this season filled with the beauty of decorated trees and the anticipation and wonder from a spectacle of lights. On a Sunday that is supposed to bring smiles and good cheer, many may be thinking otherwise.

It may seem obscure to read the passages of Micah 4:8-13 and Luke 7:31-35 together, especially during a week when the big day of Christmas is fast approaching. There are no shepherds or wise men. No hearing one of God’s messengers trying their best to explain to Mary and Joseph what to expect upon the arrival of God’s Son into the world.

Instead, we are reminded of the Israelites being held captive and living lives of exile. We hear the familiarity of John the Baptist being compared to Jesus. So, where’s the joy? The same can be said of our own busyness, running to catch up with overbooked schedules over the next few weeks. How many practices does everyone need to get the Christmas play just right? Are we not doing enough out of the ordinary to bring people to the manger on Christmas Eve? In essence, are we not playing our own flutes of remorse and wailing due to the onset of stressors completely out of our control?

Perhaps the joy during Advent is reminding ourselves to take a step back and see all that God is still doing in our lives and the lives of others. We are not made to do this work on our own. It is God who chooses to work through us, if we simply allow God to do so. Take time to sit down and reflect on what it means for God to break through the cries and pleadings of our hearts and the hearts of others. Be filled again with a sense of awe at how God still rescues us through the infant cries of a baby lying in a lowly manger.

May we seek to hear the sounds of joy echoing across the room when the baby grows into the Son of Man, the One who dines with those who wouldn’t dare enter the doors of a church. They are the tax collectors and sinners in Jesus’ day. We know who these same folks are in our day and time. If we carry the message of joy from the old barn with Mary, Joseph, and a baby named Jesus, would we find ourselves sitting at the table of God’s redemption and grace? Would the light of the pink candle glow brighter still?

Kevin Moore
Senior Pastor, LaFayette Baptist Church, Fayetteville, NC