2024 Advent Devotion: Day 1

Sunday, December 1

Jeremiah 33:14-16; Psalm 25:1-10; Luke 21:25-36

Psalm 25:1-10 by David sets the tone for a great Christmas. Now that the presidential election campaigns and results are behind us, shortening of days are before us, and Christmas break is upon us, taking a moment (with David) to “lift up my soul” (v. 1) to the Lord is a good thing.

Of course, to ask God to show, teach, and guide us (key words found in this psalm) first requires an admission by us that we need God’s help. As a first order of business, we need the Lord to forget our sins and rebellious ways and to remember instead God’s love (v. 7). So long as God remembers us in love, and not according to our sins, we are in a good place, the best possible place, actually. Should we receive what we deserve, that outcome will be sad and disastrous for

all of us.

The Christmas season reminds us that God’s greatest expression of love occurred when Jesus came into the world. The psalmist’s prayer (maybe it was a song) was that God instruct and guide us (vv. 8-9). God ultimately answered David’s prayer by sending Jesus and his Holy Spirit to be with us. The only requirement, as this psalm wisely reminds us, is to be “humble” (v. 9).

These days we are hard-pressed to find very many (if any) people who are humble. People seem drawn instead to the bold and boisterous more than to the meek, mild, and lowly. Both the Hebrew and Greek words translated into English as “humble” refer to reliance upon God and not dependence on the self. Jesus exhibited such reliance. David, in his better moments, did the same. Popular figures in today’s political, entertainment, athletic, and even religious circles often do the opposite. They put themselves forward, chests extended, and elevate themselves more than they uplift God. All it takes, sadly, is a setback or two for most of us and the once-arrogant quickly become humble. David, of course, knew all-too-well about that too.

The intriguing thing about the way v. 10 ends is its focus on God’s “covenant demands.” Demands, for most of us, suggest burdens or requirements that we would prefer to live without. They seem hardly fun or good. In reality, God’s demands are like Jesus’ statements about an “easy yoke” and a “light burden” (Matt 11:30). Truth is, the more we practice God’s ways, the more fulfilling our life’s journey becomes. We look more like the athlete who places herself under a strict coach’s discipline and supervision. After years of training, she amazes us with her brilliant performances (thinking back on the 2024 summer Olympics). She performs at the highest possible level. Her counter-intuitive strategy of submitting to discipline and struggle demanded by her coach makes her truly humble. In time, she exhibits seemingly effortless, nearly flawless performances, the end product of meeting the demands placed on her.

So, we begin this Advent season with an important phrase and reminder: “Stay humble!” by submitting to our Lord’s demands.

Robert W. Canoy
Dean, School of Divinity and Professor of Theology