I have committed to publishing devotional material for each of my classes at Wayland this winter term. This is the second Advent devotional to celebrate the Christmas season.

Advent Week Two:

Luke 1:57-66 (New International Version)
The Birth of John the Baptist
57When it was time for Elizabeth to have her baby, she gave birth to a son. 58Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown her great mercy, and they shared her joy.
59On the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they were going to name him after his father Zechariah, 60but his mother spoke up and said, "No! He is to be called John."
61They said to her, "There is no one among your relatives who has that name."
62Then they made signs to his father, to find out what he would like to name the child. 63He asked for a writing tablet, and to everyone's astonishment he wrote, "His name is John." 64Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue was loosed, and he began to speak, praising God. 65The neighbors were all filled with awe, and throughout the hill country of Judea people were talking about all these things. 66Everyone who heard this wondered about it, asking, "What then is this child going to be?" For the Lord's hand was with him.


The second Sunday of Advent focuses our attention on hope. The birth of their son brought hope to Zechariah and Elizabeth. Their son John was the herald of a greater hope that was to come when Messiah would make things on earth look like they do in heaven. We remember that Jesus’ first coming into this world signaled the in-breaking of God’s kingdom here among us. Because he came into our world we can have hope in the here and now that God’s kingdom can be enacted in our lives and the lives of others.

We look forward in hope because of Jesus’ first coming. During the advent season we remember the hope that was born into this world because God came to live with us and show us how to live. May we hold on to the hope that was born in us when we trusted Christ and carry it into this season and the rest of our lives.