Daily Advent Devotional

ADVENT WEEK ONE: HOPE

December 5 F. Douglas Powe Jr., PhD

Luke 1: 26-28

And he came to her and said, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.”

Luke 1:28

Many of you have probably heard or read this text several times. The angel

appears to Mary and greets her as “highly favored.” This is a strange greet-

ing given by the standards of her day since she would not fall into a category

of one typically considered favored. If you keep reading, even Mary wonders

what kind of greeting Gabriel brings.

I think that Gabriel’s choice of words is not an accident. The greeting indi-

cates being highly favored by God is not about status or economic means. It

is a greeting that lets us know God sees everyone. God saw Mary who, by the

world’s standards, did not fit how most would define someone highly favored.

If God sees Mary, then God sees us. Our hopes for the future are not wishful

thinking because God sees us. We must be cautious not to think that because

God sees us, our lives will be only wonderful. Just ask Mary!

The news that Gabriel shares later in the chapter about giving birth to Jesus

probably did not feel like she was highly favored. It likely felt like the very op-

posite, but she realizes she who is the most unexpected of all has a place in

God’s plan for the people.

I believe it is no accident that God chooses Mary. For me, it is indication that

hope is not just for those who have status and means, but for everyone.

Those who are trying to oppress others will often try to takeaway or diminish

hope. This text reminds us that we should remain hopeful because God does

see us. God highly favors those whom the world marginalizes or tries to make

invisible.

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ADVENT WEEK ONE: HOPE

December 4 F. Douglas Powe Jr., PhD

Isaiah 40:9-11

Get you up to a high mountain, O Zion, herald of good news; lift up your

voice with strength, O Jerusalem, herald of good news; lift it up, do not

fear… Isaiah 40:9

I believe it is human nature to want to hear good news. If every day the only

thing we heard was bad news or how awful things are it would grate on us

quickly. We need to hear and experience good news so that we can have

hope for the future.

This text in Isaiah begins with the sharing of good news for Zion and Jerusa-

lem in exile under Babylonian rule. The news is so good that those who bring

it are implored to “shout it” and make sure everyone hears something wonder-

ful is happening and is going to happen.

Here is what I love about this text, it reads, “you who bring good news.” It

does not yet say what the good news is. Twice it emphasizes “you who bring

good news.” This means we are called to participate in creating hope for the

future. We must share the good news that is happening so that others can

hear it and have hope. In fact, we should be shouting the good news to make

sure everyone hears it.

Of course, if we literally shout it, people will ignore us, but the point remains

not to keep the good news quiet. I believe we are often reticent to share good

news because it can feel like bragging. The key is that the good news is not

about us, but about the way God cares for all of us. All of us!

We do indeed need to hear good news. We also need to be the purveyors of

good news. We need to give hope to others that God truly does take care of

us all. This is a message that is not shared enough in our world. This text re-

minds us that we are the ones who are called to share it.

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ADVENT WEEK ONE: HOPE

December 3 F. Douglas Powe Jr., PhD

Luke 21:29-31

Look at the fig tree and all the trees; as soon as they sprout leaves you can

see for yourselves and know that summer is already near. Luke 21:29-30

Most of us have watched some version of a crime or court drama to know

that so much hinges on evidence. What is the evidence you have that my cli-

ent was at the scene of the crime? We are focused on the evidence because

it provides something tangible for us to hang our hats on when we have ques-

tions.

Another way to put it, we believe evidence can give us a degree of certainty

that without it does not exist. In this text, Jesus uses the fig tree as an exam-

ple of something tangible we can hang our hats on as evidence.

The evidence of summer coming is that the fig tree is sprouting leaves. When

the leaves start sprouting it is a sign that summer is around the corner. We

may not say it out loud, but we are often looking for evidence for the things

in which we hope. We want a tangible sign like the sprouting leaves to let us

know that it is around the corner.

Here is the thing, around the corner does not mean immediate. Jesus is

talking about the sprouting fig leaves being evidence for the reign of God be-

ing near. While it is true that the reign of God is present now, it has not been

fully realized. The evidence indicates God’s reign is among us yet it may not

be fully realized for a while.

Evidence is helpful in giving us something tangible to hold on to as we wait.

We should not mistake evidence as a sign of something happening immedi-

ately. We should take it as a sign that even as a fig tree sprouts leaves, it will

take a while for full leafing.

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ADVENT WEEK ONE: HOPE

December 2 F. Douglas Powe Jr., PhD

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. Jeremiah 33:14

We all at one time or another have experienced someone promising us some-

thing and we cling to the hope that one day the promise will be fulfilled. In this

Jeremiah text, it begins with God saying, “the days are coming when I will ful-

fill my promise.”

For those who have been clinging to the hope of the promise being fulfilled

this is a welcome relief. God is going to deliver the people from exile in Baby-

lon, restore the Davidic king, and re-establish Jerusalem.

As you continue reading the text notice the details provided for how the

promise will be fulfilled. God will bring forth a sprout from David’s line that will

be good news to both Israel and Judah.

Sometimes when we are clinging to hope that a promise will be fulfilled, we

need the type of details provided in this text. Simply repeating the promise no

longer bolsters our hope. We need something more concrete to keep us mov-

ing forward so that our hope will come to fruition.

During this time of Advent consider what promises you have been making to

others. If you intend to keep these promises (hopefully you do), then what are

the details you can share so that those seeking fulfillment of the promise do

not lose hope? Keeping promises goes a long way to helping all of us to main-

tain hopeful expectations.

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ADVENT WEEK ONE: HOPE

December 1 F. Douglas Powe Jr., PhD

Isaiah 2:1-5

He shall judge between the nations, and shall arbitrate for many peoples;

they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning-

hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn

war any more. Isaiah 2:4

Can you imagine a world where there are no wars? It does seem unimag-

inable, especially since there is always a conflict happening someplace in the

world.

In this text we read about the hope of one day the very weapons we use to do

harm to one another become instruments of provision for one another. Our

swords will till the ground, and our spears will help us to catch fish.

At first glance this seems unrealistic given what we have experienced

throughout our lives. What catches my attention is in verse three when it talks

about God teaching us God’s ways. This new reality is not something that we

can achieve ourselves but requires learning.

It involves learning, for example, a new way of being with one another that

does not move toward violence. The good news is we already have a model

for what this looks like from Jesus. The truth is it is even challenging for us as

Christians to follow Jesus’ model.

Advent is a time when we should anticipate a new reality. This reality moves

us closer toward God’s intent for instruments of destruction to become instru-

ments of provision. Our hope for this new reality as Christians should move us

to action now. We should model Jesus’ behavior as individuals and communi-

ties of faith. One day we truly will say, “we no longer are training for war.”

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ADVENT WEEK ONE: HOPE

November 30 F. Douglas Powe Jr., PhD

John 18:36-37

Jesus answered, “You say that I am a King. For this I was born and for this I

came into the world to testify to the truth.” John 18:37b

Jesus shares with Pilate that he was “born and came into the world… to testi-

fy to the truth.” As Christians our hope during advent is in anticipating Jesus’

reign that looks nothing like what this world has seen. Jesus’ word choice

about testifying to the truth should give us all pause.

Do we see our own missions like Jesus’ of testifying to the truth? Not the con-

venient answers being promoted by various interests around us, but the truth.

Testifying to the truth seems more challenging today because what I may see

as the obvious truth to someone else is perceived as a political agenda. This

text reminds us that hope is not a made-up belief, but is in fact predicated on

the hard work of testifying to the truth.

This requires consistently seeking the truth even when we may not like what

we learn. It means testifying to the truth which will put us at odds with others

who prefer the truth to stay hidden.

This advent season, as we anticipate the arrival of Jesus, our hope should

be predicated on testifying to the truth as Jesus did when facing Pilate. In a

world where we easily dismiss the truth or want to manipulate the truth, testi-

fying to the truth of our hope in Jesus’ reign being different from anything this

world has ever seen or experienced is a part of our calling as Christians.

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Malisa Pierce, Assistant Vice President of Advancement, at Phillips Theological Seminary welcomes listeners to the 2025 Advent Devotional.

We have hope in the unchanging, sacrificial love of God, love of each other,our congregations, and the love that fosters equality and justice in the world through the birth and life of Jesus. We hope that as you encounter these devotions you are inspired to deepen your faith and renew your hope.

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Preaching and Praise  

Luke 2:8-20

Angels and shepherds occupy center stage on this Christmas day. They provide interpretations of and model responses to Jesus’ birth.

The stage is not the emperor’s palace nor the Jerusalem temple. It is a “nothing-place,” fields “in the region” of Bethlehem (2:8). Shepherds were of low social status. They had no social prestige or power. They were suspected of being dishonest in letting flocks graze in fields belonging to other people.

An angel preaches the first Christmas sermon that announces good news of a savior born in David’s city, Christ/Messiah the Lord (2:9-11). The language of “good news” and “savior” was used for emperors and their actions. But in the midst of the empire, in David’s city, another “savior” is born. Jesus is “anointed” to carry on David’s agenda to transform the unjust status quo.

A host of angels praises God, and announces divine favor and peace (2:14). The Roman empire declared it brought peace through conquest. Angels pronounce a different peace comprising just societal structures and access to resources.

The shepherds respond by becoming godly disciples. They discern a word from God (2:15). They go to Bethlehem. Like missionaries, they bear witness to what the angels have told them (2:17-18). They praise God and celebrate the word about Jesus (2:20).

That’s a Christmas celebration comprising proclamation of God’s justice-working actions and a celebration of what God is doing.

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Giving Birth in a World Out of Joint 

Luke 2:1-8

We often celebrate Jesus’ birth in very individualistic and spiritual terms. Jesus has come to forgive my sins or be my friend or help me when things get tough. 

Interestingly, these are not the emphases of these verses. Here the focus is on visions of a different world.

Jesus’ birth occurs in the context of an imperially exploitative act (2:1-3). Emperor Augustus orders a worldwide census. This counting of residents asserts power and political control to secure a world that benefits only elites at the expense of the rest. Emperors counted people in order to tax them. That was a means of transferring wealth and resources to elite control.

The reference to the census encapsulates the unjust Roman imperial world into which Jesus is born. Joseph and Mary are subjected to and cooperate with the Emperor Augustus’ decree.

While the census asserts the emperor’s control over people’s lives, something subversive happens in the midst. The divine purposes send Joseph and Mary to Bethlehem, David’s city (2:4-6). Recall the angel’s words of 1:32-33 that Jesus will inherit David’s forever reign in the midst of Rome’s rule. According to Psalm 72, that reign is about justice for all, especially for the poor and needy. It resists oppressors, protects against those who use violence, and ensures peace and food security for all (Psalm 72).

That’s the gift of Christmas. It offers a vision of a different world, a transformed world of just living for all. The vision also functions as a summons to work for such a world.

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Mary: From Puzzlement to Praise 

Luke 1:39-56

What is God doing in the world, if anything? Has God given up on us? Does our human sinfulness thwart God’s power and purposes (Rom 3:1-3)? Being committed to the ways of Jesus can be perplexing. Mary is perplexed, yet reassured, by the angel to embrace the divine purposes. She identifies herself as God’s “slave” and aligns with God’s word (1:38).

The scene with Elizabeth also foregrounds the divine word (1:39-45). The angel’s declarations have come into being. Elizabeth is pregnant just as Gabriel had declared to Zechariah (1:8-25). Mary is also pregnant, though Luke’s narrative does not elaborate how this has happened (1:42).  

Elizabeth adds her witness to Mary as mother and faithful believer in “what was spoken to her by the Lord” (1:42, 45). God’s word is presented as efficacious, powerful, and trustworthy. 

These events show God at work in the world, actively accomplishing the divine purposes. Luke’s Gospel begins by addressing Theophilus. The opening prologue assures him that the Gospel account provides security or certainty that God is faithfully carrying out God’s purposes in the midst of the destructive power structures of the Roman empire.  

Mary responds with praise (1:46-56). The hymn stops the story’s forward movement to reflect on what has happened. Verses 47-50 celebrate God’s favor or mercy to Mary, even though the divine word has landed her in a difficult societal location. 

Verses 51-55 broaden the focus to God’s actions among people. God is constructed as delivering the powerless from the exploitative powerful, and providing for the hungry and needy.

These actions express God’s faithfulness to the word spoken to Abraham to “bless all the nations of the earth” (1:55; Gen 12:3).If we are to “keep Christmas with you all through the year” as a song puts it, we are to live out this commitment to good life for all. We do so—according to these opening chapters of Luke’s Gospel—with the assurance that God is working for these ends and that we are to live as partners with God in this task.

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