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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