by Elizabeth Haarberg

Advent is Here

You can listen to today’s devotion by clicking this Soundcloud link

In celebrating the first day of Advent I thought it would be interesting to hear Jesus’ first recorded words on Earth as a man. Check out these verses from the Gospels:

“Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Matthew 3:15

Jesus is responding to John about His baptism. What I love about this verse is that Jesus doesn’t say ‘me’ in the singular to fulfill all righteousness; he says ‘us.’ He hints that the fulfillment of what he came for will take more than just Him to complete. He knows this is a group effort, that He is inviting us on His mission.

“The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.” Mark 1:15

Some time later after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee and said these words. He was announcing who He was and why He was here and what He had come to complete. Namely, bringing the Kingdom of God to Earth.

“It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone.’” Luke 4:4

This verse is Jesus’ rebuttal to the devil, and the first words we hear from Jesus in the book of Luke. Jesus is the bread of life, and He is very aware that food is good, but He is also giving His own life so that the world can eat from the bread of His body, which is even better.

Yet Jesus didn’t speak His own thoughts. He only spoke, acted, moved, and did what God the Father did.

“So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise.” John 5:19

As we move deeper into Advent, I encourage us to imitate Jesus’ life on Earth. If we are to become more like Him we can study and read, but we also need to apply the words of Jesus to our own situation. Reach over and offer the bread of life to someone who is hurting, speak life to a neighbor, bring Peace into a chaotic situation.

We can all bring a piece of Jesus into the environment we’ve been blessed to be a part of. Our lives and how we treat others is the gospel in the flesh. As Francis of Assisi says, “Preach the Gospel at all times. When necessary, use words.”

Copyright Holy Cross Lutheran, Colorado Springs