"...will be thrown down." (Free Version)
Twenty-fifth Sunday After Pentecost- 1 Samuel 1:4-20; Hebrews 10:11-14, 19-25; Mark 13:1-8
Announcing our new Advent pastor’s book and new Advent devotional at the bottom of the email!
This week’s Lectionary texts can be found here.
If you are looking for more in-depth research, subscribe to our “Deep Dive” here.
Many of the longings that we experience in life are God-given. On Sunday, you will stand in front of people with a variety of different longings. Some long for companionship or friendship; some want to get married one day; some to have kids; some to buy a house; some to achieve certain heights in their career. Some of our dreams are more abstract: like security, identity, affirmation by our peers. All of these are good and often very appropriate.
And yet, in Christ, our dreams are relativized. We are called to place our longings in the story of the God who is always faithful to us, to express our dreams to him and to see our lives through the lens of the kingdom of God.
These aches, these signposts point us to our need for God. The problem is that we struggle to trust him with our longings because he might do things differently than we want him to.
Specifically, God’s work often plays out more silently than we want it to. In our 1 Samuel reading (1 Samuel 1:4-20), The priest Eli is caught off guard because Hannah prays, moving her lips with no noise coming out of her mouth. God’s work is not always obvious. It is often silent, in such a way that it is baffling.
Like Hannah, we are called to worship, to own our story and express our desires fully to God, trusting that no matter what happens, our dreams are better in his hands (the one who gave us those dreams) than in ours. God hears us and always desires what is true and good and beautiful to shine in our lives.
Our Hebrews passage (Hebrews 10:11-14, 19-25) calls us to remember that Christ’s work has already been accomplished. He is seated at the right hand of the Father. Because of what he’s done, he is forming in us a true heart, a great assurance that we can be with God, a cleansed conscience, and a new, baptismal identity. We are part of a family, called to spur each other on, to encourage one another towards love and good deeds. Because, if everything has really changed, that means that our lives change too.
The gospel (Mark 13:1-8) reminds us that, if Jesus is really God’s final word, the ultimate place where heaven and earth meet, every other longing is either a signpost or a parody, incomplete on its own. Money is fine, but it can never satisfy. Fame is fine, but it will always leave us wanting more. A good career, a nice family, physical health are all WONDERFUL, but they aren’t the final answer. If we seek fulfillment in these areas of life without Jesus, the goodness of these things quickly warp. When these things become our final aim, we lose the plot and we forget who made us and why.
The good news is that Christ calls us into a better story, a life of wholeness, healing, and forgiveness. Everything else will fade away, but this is just the beginning of something altogether new.
*Our Deep Dive this week features a more in-depth look at the ache of infertility and why fertility was so defining for ancient peoples. We quote Michelle Obama on her infertility journey and look briefly at where Hannah’s prayer fits in the Five Stages of Grief. We look at Jewish mourning practices and infertility in the Bible. We feature the work of Ben Myers, as well as quotes from Origen and St. John Chrysostom. We have several illustrations from everyday life. You can sign up for this in-depth look at the passages here.
Advent is approaching! We are excited to announce our new Advent content for 2021.
We will be releasing a 50+ page preacher’s guide including notes for every Sunday of Advent + Christmas Eve laid out in a nice digital booklet.
We will also be releasing an Advent devotional which will include daily reflections on the lectionary texts. It will be readable, helpful to anyone, and easy to engage digitally (or printed).
Both the preacher’s guide AND the devotional are INCLUDED with the “Deep Dive” subscription; and the devotional is included with any paid subscription so now is a good time to sign up.
Both will also be available separately. The preacher’s guide is $99 and the devotional will be be a name-your-price with a minimum of $20. Want to pre-order? Find me (Preston) on Venmo, and mark in the description if you want the devotional, the preachers guide, or both. The preacher’s guide will be emailed on or near November 22nd. The devotional will follow soon after.