Monday Devotional: December 12, 2022

A highway will be there. It will be called The Holy Way. The unclean won’t travel on it, but it will be for those walking on that way. Even fools won’t get lost on it; no lion will be there, and no predator will go up on it. None of these will be there; only the redeemed will walk on it. The Lord’s ransomed ones will return and enter Zion with singing, with everlasting joy upon their heads. Happiness and joy will overwhelm them; grief and groaning will flee away. (Isaiah 35:8-10 CEB)

Spoiler alert is a term used to describe when crucial elements of a movie, show, or book are about to be revealed. I am not sure of the “statute of limitation” for when a spoiler alert should be given, but I am fairly confident that if you have not watched the movie The Sixth Sense (debuted in 1999), you do not need to be guarded against the plot twist. Still… spoiler alert…

I remember watching the M. Night Shyamalan thriller and being completely gobsmacked when I learned that Bruce Willis’s character had been dead the whole time. When I watched the movie a second time, having this vital piece of information, I watched the entire film differently. This time, the movie felt boring, almost unenjoyable. Once you know the ending, you can no longer miss that information in the movie. When I was talking later in life about this movie, a friend mentioned that she disliked the movie because she sensed (pun intended) that crucial piece of information from the beginning. She had not understood the attention the movie got because to her everyone knew the twist. She did not think the movie had a twist at all!

When I read this passage from Isaiah, I cannot help but chuckle a bit when reading, “Even fools won’t get lost in it.” No one can miss this! Not even the most foolish will miss what is laid out in front of them! How often for us in this season of Advent do we think about what we know because we have walked, read, and even lived it before? We are great at recalling the story of Christ’s birth. It can be easy to miss the power of it because it feels so familiar.

This Advent, let’s think forward to what is stretched out in front of us, so clear and poignant, experiencing God in this season like we are watching a riveting movie, waiting for the plot twist.

Prayer

Surprising God, write Your story in our hearts again. Grant us fresh eyes and open hearts so that we are shocked at the plot-twist of Jesus, born not a mighty ruler but instead an infant. Amen.

By Anna Guillozet, Advent: A Calendar of Devotions 2022, pages 26-27.

Join us for Our Advent Bible Study

“Prepare the Way of the Lord” by Adam Hamilton, senior pastor of The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection in Leawood, Kansas.

Session 3: John’s Ministry and Preaching

In-Person Session:
Wednesday, December 14, 2022
1:00 pm to 2:00 pm
Fellowship Hall.

Zoom Session:
Monday, December 12, 2022
6:00 pm to 7:00 pm

Session Goals:

1. Reflect on the significance of the Jordan River wilderness as the setting for John the Baptist’s ministry, as well as his connection to Israel’s past.
2. Explore possible connections between John and the Essenes, and how these may help us better understand John’s ministry.
3. Examine John’s preaching of repentance, including its practical implications for Christians today.
4. Experience an opportunity to practice confession and to renew baptism.