Sunday, December 1 

Welcome to the Haymarket Church Advent Devotional. 

Throughout the season of Advent (from now through Christmas Eve), we will be sharing a brief devotion every day.  These will include Scripture readings, reflection questions, songs to help you experience God’s presence, and more.  The goal of these brief entries is to help all of us find time to slow down and pay attention to God’s presence during a season that is often very busy. 

(You may notice that this year’s Haymarket Church Advent devotional is different from previous years.  For the last several years, the entries have been written by the people of Haymarket Church. We are taking a break from that pattern this year – but, we plan to return to that way of doing things next year.  For 2024, we are trying something a little different.) 

Today, we begin by reflecting on Jeremiah 33:14-16 – a passage of Scripture that we are reading in worship today at Haymarket Church. 

Jeremiah 33:14-16: The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will fulfill the promise I made to the house of Israel and the house of Judah. In those days and at that time I will cause a righteous Branch to spring up for David, and he shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. In those days Judah will be saved, and Jerusalem will live in safety. And this is the name by which it will be called: “The Lord is our righteousness.” 

This passage is traditionally read at the beginning of the season of Advent because it tells us that the time is “surely coming” for God to fulfill God’s promise.  In particular, the prophet tells us that God is planning to fulfill God’s promise to raise up a descendent of David who will save us and bring justice for all of God’s people. 

This is a word that is offered to people who feel like things have fallen apart, who worry that God has forgotten God’s promises, who are feeling hopeless and overwhelmed.  To people who are unsure of the future and concerned about whether or not God is still at work. 

It is a word that we believe was fulfilled in Jesus Christ.  Jesus is the fulfillment of God’s promise to be with us; to make all things new; to bring justice, transformation, and new life. 

We read these words anew at the start of Advent for two reasons.  First, it’s a reminder of what we will celebrate at Christmas – that Jesus is God with us, that in Jesus Christ God has fulfilled God’s promises and stepped into this world to make all things new. 

And, second, it’s a reminder that the feelings we often have – feelings of longing, a sense that the world is not as it should be, a desire for God to fix all that seems so wrong in the world and in our lives – these feelings are not unique to us, nor are they new.  God’s people have long been aware of the gap between how things are and how they should be. 

Advent is an opportunity to speak the truth about the brokenness and pain that fills our world.  It is an opportunity to name often falls short of what we expect and hope for it to be.  And it is also an opportunity to name that all of that is not the end of our story.  Because Advent leads to Christmas – which means that God keeps God’s promises, God answers our longing, God steps into the world to set things right. 

God is faithful.  God keeps God’s promises.  In the end, all shall be put right. That’s the story we tell this time of year. And it’s Good News.