6 Dec 2009
Advent Devotional
Luke 3:1-6
In the 15th year of the reign of Tiberius, … [John] went into all the region … proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins … (v. 1, 3)
We anticipate the coming of peace in order to prepare for the birth of Jesus. Yet there cannot be peace unless there is reconciliation. And there cannot be reconciliation unless there is forgiveness.
Forgiveness is a hard thing to give. It requires that we recall a time and a place where we were done harm. And it requires that the one to be forgiven is aware of that need.
Forgiveness is a hard thing to receive. It requires that we recall a time and a place where we did harm to another. It means to say that what we did was wrong.
Yet without the giving and receiving of forgiveness there cannot be the fullness of peace.
When we participate in forgiveness, we are participating in a moment of being vulnerable to others, to God and to ourselves. It is not simply saying “I’m sorry.” It is part of a new beginning, a new awakening. It is the coming of one who can bring a peace that we cannot produce on our own. Let us prepare to share the peace that Jesus brings.
PRAYER: God of Peace, may we find ways of preparing for your peace. Kindle in us an awareness of who we have been wronged by and who we have wronged. Provide the ways and methods we need to ask for and give forgiveness as we anticipate the birth of Christ. Amen.
Joel Alvis