Links for today’s readings:
Dec 12 Read: 2 Chronicles 13 Listen: (3:56) Read: Psalms 119.49-72 Listen: (15:14)
Links for this weekend’s readings:
Dec 13 Read: 2 Chronicles 14-15 Listen: (5:49) Read: Psalms 119.73-96 Listen: (15:14)
Dec 14 Read: 2 Chronicles 16 Listen: (2:51) Read: Psalms 119.97-120 Listen: (15:14)
Scripture Focus: Psalm 119:106
105 Your word is a lamp for my feet,
a light on my path.
Reflection: Peace for Our Path – Peace of Advent
By Erin Newton
Robert Frost penned “The Road Not Taken” in 1915.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
Some tend to read a hopeful tone, seeing the untraveled road as a counter-cultural move. Frost admitted that the speaker echoes the laments of a friend who consistently regretted whichever path he had not taken. But therein lies the irony of life. Some paths are brave; others are disappointing. Some are good; some are dreadful.
The diversity of our options is one of God’s greatest gifts to us. We are granted a measure of creativity in how our lives go. Some paths, however, are laid under our feet. Hardships and difficulty come upon us, perhaps having no measurable connection to any decision we’ve made. It just happens. On those paths, it feels rather dark and trepidatious.
I imagine Mary and Joseph seeing their calling as a daunting road to travel. She responded with joy, but we know she must have questioned how the path laid before her was really going to work out. Raise a divine child? I don’t envy that calling! Joseph struggled with his part in the story, even the “right choice” to dismiss Mary was one he likely struggled with. Accepting his role as the guardian of the divine infant is literally the most untraveled road in history.
But we know that they were guided and encouraged (and helped!) by messengers from God and friends and family. Their path was not a darkened, obscure journey. It was lit by the Light of the World—the very same Prince of Peace who called them would be the one to guide them.
I have found myself walking down the unexpected path of raising a special needs child or burying my mother or struggling against my own intrusive thoughts. I have often thought, “I don’t know how I’ll do this,” as I take one step after another.
I have tried to think of peace as a source of light in my life. When there is no peace, it does feel awfully dark.
As we reflect on the peace of Advent, may we ask for God to light our paths—which I think might just mean finding peace where we are.
Divine Hours Prayer: The Request for Presence
Lead me, O Lord, in your righteousness,…make your way straight before me. — Psalm 5.8
– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Autumn and Wintertime by Phyllis Tickle.
Read more: Peace from Uncertainty — Peace of Advent
This is no Canaanite tale of a weak god against the sea-serpent. This is Emmanuel. The God who puts the dragon on the leash…
Read The Bible With Us
Advent is a great time to join our Bible reading plan. Invite friends to read the Bible with us at a sustainable, two-year pace.