ADVENT WEEK FOUR: LOVE

December 25 Rev. Allie Utley, PhD

Pondering

Luke 2:(1-7), 8-20

So they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph and the child lying in

the manger. Luke 2:16

Can you imagine giving birth in an outdoor stall? And then, as you begin to re-

cover, a group of shepherds show up and tell you that an angel told them that

your baby is the Son of God and Messiah?

You aren’t surprised by the announcement. The angel has come to you as

well. But every time someone says it out loud—you are the mother of the Holy

One—it feels shocking and overwhelming.

Can you imagine mothering this child? An all-powerful, all-knowing deity, now

fully dependent on you for shelter, nourishment, care?

This is the mystery of Advent: God comes as a vulnerable baby. The Son of

God is also the son of Mary. Then and now, God entrusts the work of love to

human hands. God needs us—our arms to cradle, our voices to sing, our lives

to bring grace and mercy to a weary world.

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ADVENT WEEK FOUR: LOVE

December 24 Rev. Allie Utley, PhD

You Are Family

Titus 3:4-7

This Spirit he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so

that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs according to

the hope of eternal life. Titus 3:6-7

We are a people born of water and the Spirit. In our baptism we are claimed

by God and grafted into a family of faith. One of my favorite songs for worship

is Mark Miller’s “Child of God.”

In the last verse, he writes, “No matter what the world says… you are a child,

you are a child of God… There is nothing and no one that can separate you

from the truth that you’re someone—you are family; you are meant to be a

child of God.”

Baptism is historically associated with the seasons of Lent/Easter/Pentecost

rather than Advent/Christmas/Epiphany. But I love that the daily lectionary

includes this passage about being heirs of God, being part of the family of

God, because in Advent, we do think a lot about genealogies and generations.

I think the inclusion of this passage invites us to think about the communities

that hold us—our chosen families.

How might we draw closer to one another in this season of waiting? What

relationships need tending, mending, or nurturing? How does belonging to

God’s family help us prepare to receive Christ’s love? And how might this fam-

ily work toward the fulfillment of God’s kin-dom of love and justice?

In this season and the next, may your belonging be deep, your connections

tender, and your waiting full of love.

That’s a Christmas celebration comprising proclamation of God’s jus-

tice-working actions and a celebration of what God is doing.

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ADVENT WEEK FOUR: LOVE

December 23 Rev. Allie Utley, PhD

Who am I?

2 Samuel 7:18, 23-29

Then King David went in and sat before the Lord and said, “Who am I, O

Lord God, and what is my house, that you have brought me thus far?”

2 Samuel 7:18

This chapter of 2 Samuel opens with King David pondering how to best play

host to God: “Here I am, living in a house of cedar, while the ark of God re-

mains in a tent.” David plans to build a house for the Lord. If you know your

Bible well, you will not be surprised that God isn’t interested in a permanent

dwelling place.

God declares to David, You will not build me a house; I will build you one. God

promises to establish David’s family line, to make his name great, and to plant

his people in a home of their own.

David’s response is a performance of humanity: “Who am I, O Lord God, that

you have brought me this far?” He might have been wondering: Who am I to

be held by your promises? Who am I to bear a legacy of faith? Who am I to be

given a place in your unfolding story?

As we approach Christmas, many of us are thinking about homes and houses

too. Where will we gather? For whom will we make space? What traditions will

we tend? Making plans for Christmas brings up questions of place and identi-

ty.

I recently spoke with a group of young adults trying to navigate the pressure

of holiday expectations: how to honor family traditions while creating their

own rhythms, how to choose where to dwell and whom to prioritize.

Perhaps David’s story invites us to hold our own questions about home lightly.

God reminds David—and us—that the truest “house” is the one God is build-

ing: a household of promise, presence, and peace that transcends cedar walls

and travel plans.

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