2 min
Facing the Vortex Daily Advent Devotional
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- Religion & Spirituality
Week Four
December 22, 2022
Facing the Vortex
Isaiah 33:17-22
But there the Lord in majesty will be for us a place of broad rivers and streams, where no galley with oars can go, nor stately ship can pass. Isaiah 33:21
The late Civil Rights champion, James Baldwin once asserted that not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced. During Advent, we must face that fact that we are living during perilous times.
Our era has been accented by the enactment of blatant anti-democracy policies and punctuated by the theologically bankrupt system of white christian nationalism. Many thought our nation was rid of such scandalous schemes, yet like a vicious monster in a low-budget horror movie, they keep reemerging and seemingly will not die.
Daily installments of these absurdities are forming a swirling vortex of misery that can seemingly sweep away any hope we have for a more just future.
However, we who are motivated by love to seek justice are not hopeless. We await the coming king, one whose beauty and majesty will cause us to focus not on insolent people, but the promise of an immovable sanctuary city, Jerusalem, not in the heavenly realm but in the world we know.
People will experience him as a place of broad, nurturing waterways where no offending force can prevail. Through him, people will flourish and be saved.
We know this king to be Jesus. Through his love, we are able to withstand the vortex of fear and hate.
The love of Jesus confers onto us the boldness necessary to forge equitable relationships with people in underserved ZIP codes, and the courage required to have hard conversations on ways we can leverage our privilege in the name of justice. Through the love of Jesus, we are given the honor of living as agents of hope.
O, come, O come, Immanuel. Amen
Rev. Dr. Jack Sullivan, Jr.
Adjunct Instructor, The Center for Ministry and Lay Training and
Executive Director, The Ohio Council of Churches
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Week Four
December 22, 2022
Facing the Vortex
Isaiah 33:17-22
But there the Lord in majesty will be for us a place of broad rivers and streams, where no galley with oars can go, nor stately ship can pass. Isaiah 33:21
The late Civil Rights champion, James Baldwin once asserted that not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced. During Advent, we must face that fact that we are living during perilous times.
Our era has been accented by the enactment of blatant anti-democracy policies and punctuated by the theologically bankrupt system of white christian nationalism. Many thought our nation was rid of such scandalous schemes, yet like a vicious monster in a low-budget horror movie, they keep reemerging and seemingly will not die.
Daily installments of these absurdities are forming a swirling vortex of misery that can seemingly sweep away any hope we have for a more just future.
However, we who are motivated by love to seek justice are not hopeless. We await the coming king, one whose beauty and majesty will cause us to focus not on insolent people, but the promise of an immovable sanctuary city, Jerusalem, not in the heavenly realm but in the world we know.
People will experience him as a place of broad, nurturing waterways where no offending force can prevail. Through him, people will flourish and be saved.
We know this king to be Jesus. Through his love, we are able to withstand the vortex of fear and hate.
The love of Jesus confers onto us the boldness necessary to forge equitable relationships with people in underserved ZIP codes, and the courage required to have hard conversations on ways we can leverage our privilege in the name of justice. Through the love of Jesus, we are given the honor of living as agents of hope.
O, come, O come, Immanuel. Amen
Rev. Dr. Jack Sullivan, Jr.
Adjunct Instructor, The Center for Ministry and Lay Training and
Executive Director, The Ohio Council of Churches
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
2 min