We often reprint prior devotions that now reflect on the coming lectionary texts. This is a reprint from a devotion originally published on December 23, 2016.
Reading The Lord is king! Let the earth rejoice; let the many coastlands be glad! Clouds and thick darkness are all around him; righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne. Fire goes before him, and consumes his adversaries on every side. His lightnings light up the world; the earth sees and trembles. The mountains melt like wax before the Lord, before the Lord of all the earth. The heavens proclaim his righteousness; and all the peoples behold his glory. All worshippers of images are put to shame, those who make their boast in worthless idols; all gods bow down before him. Zion hears and is glad, and the towns of Judah rejoice, because of your judgements, O God. For you, O Lord, are most high over all the earth; you are exalted far above all gods. The Lord loves those who hate evil; he guards the lives of his faithful; he rescues them from the hand of the wicked. Light dawns for the righteous, and joy for the upright in heart. Rejoice in the Lord, O you righteous, and give thanks to his holy name! (Psalm 97) Reflection I don’t know the context to which this Psalm was written, but because we are near Christmas, when I read this to write this devotional writing, I imagined this being sung by the angels in the fields where the shepherds were keeping watch over the flocks by night. I know this was not the case, but it was interesting to think about the praises to God being sung by those angels. I know this is a busy time of the year, especially this week. But I think I might take a few minutes and sit down and write my own psalm of praise to God. If I were an angel in that field, what would I say or sing? How would I tell the shepherds about Jesus’ birth? Maybe you’ll take a few minutes to do the same as we get ready for our savior’s birth! --Chad Hershberger Prayer In the quiet still night and busy hours of the day, we sing our praises to you, dear God. Amen. Our devotions are based on this Sunday’s Revised Common Lectionary (RCL). The RCL is a three-year cycle of readings telling the story of our Christian faith and corresponding to the season church calendar. On any given Sunday, we are hearing and praying and examining the same Scripture with millions of Christians around the world. In our current Year C, the Old Testament readings progress through the Prophets and have the theme of the day that it is connected to the Gospel reading. The Psalm, a song the congregation sings in response to the Old Testament reading, most often corresponds to the theme of the Hebrew Lessons and/or that of the Gospel Lesson. The lesson from the Epistles or from Acts typifies the church’s focus on the meaning of Christ for today. The Gospel lesson is connected to the season of the Church Year. This year, our gospel readings are from Luke, who writes that Jesus is the universal Savior and the perfect Son of Man. In the current season of Advent, we long for Christ’s coming: Christ coming as a baby; Christ coming again; Christ in our lives today.
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