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WE PRAY

Gracious God, hear our prayers, we ask, and by your loving presence bring light to the darkness within our hearts, through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

WE READ

Psalm 61 begins as many of the other psalms we’ve read this Advent do, with a cry for help. The psalmist, who is likely King David, knows his “heart is weak” and so needs the help of God if he ’s going to live faithfully in a dangerous and sinful world. The psalmist longs for stability and hope. The world Luke describes echoes the psalmist’s cry for help and stability. For both, there ’s a quiet confidence that God has not and will not abandon them, even if they have “weak hearts” or disbelieve the news brought by an angel. While righteous, both men are flawed individuals who are prone to mistakes. Like David and Zechariah, we, too, approach Christmas longing for hope and healing while carrying our own imperfections. We are righteous yet flawed individuals calling out to God for salvation. The good news is, we need not be perfect in every way to be used by God for God ’s work in the world. Zephaniah invites us to celebrate God ’s commitment to a deeply flawed people. Verse 17 proclaims that God is in our midst, coming to bring victory over sin and death. God ’s presence will “create calm with his love.” As you read today ’s passages, allow God ’s steadfast love and faithfulness to create calm with his love in your life. Then, go out into the world as an agent of love, creating Christ-like calm in the places you find yourself.

Psalm 61

1 God, listen to my cry;
pay attention to my prayer!
2 When my heart is weak,
I cry out to you
from the very ends of the earth.
Lead me to the rock
that is higher than I am
3 because you have been my refuge,
a tower of strength
in the face of the enemy.
4 Please let me live in your tent forever!
Please let me take refuge
in the shelter of your wings!
5 Because you, God,
have heard my promises;
you’ve given me the same possession
as those who honor your name.
6 Add days to the king’s life!
Let his years extend
for many generations!
7 Let him be enthroned forever before God!
Make it so love and faithfulness
watch over him!
8 Then I will sing praises
to your name forever,
and I will do what I promised
every single day.

Zephaniah 3:14–20

14 Rejoice, Daughter Zion! Shout, Israel!
Rejoice and exult with all your heart,
Daughter Jerusalem.
15 The Lord has removed your judgment;
he has turned away your enemy.
The Lord, the king of Israel,
is in your midst;
you will no longer fear evil.
16 On that day, it will be said to Jerusalem:
Don’t fear, Zion.
Don’t let your hands fall.
17 The Lord your God is in your midst—
a warrior bringing victory.
He will create calm with his love;
he will rejoice over you with singing.
18 I will remove from you those worried
about the appointed feasts.
They have been a burden for her, a reproach.
19 Watch what I am about to do
to all your oppressors at that time.
I will deliver the lame;
I will gather the outcast.
I will change their shame into praise
and fame throughout the earth.
20 At that time, I will bring all of you back,
at the time when I gather you.
I will give you fame and praise
among all the neighboring peoples
when I restore your possessions and
you can see them—says the Lord.

Titus 1:1–16

From Paul, a slave of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ. I ’m sent to bring about the faith of God’s chosen people and a knowledge of the truth that agrees with godliness. 2 Their faith and this knowledge are based on the hope of eternal life that God, who doesn’t lie, promised before time began. 3 God revealed his message at the appropriate time through preaching, and I was trusted with preaching this message by the command of God our savior.
4 To Titus, my true child in a common faith.
Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our savior.
5 The reason I left you behind in Crete was to organize whatever needs to be done and to appoint elders in each city, as I told you. 6 Elders should be without fault. They should be faithful to their spouse, and have faithful children who can’t be accused of self-indulgence or rebelliousness. 7 This is because supervisors should be without fault as God’s managers: they shouldn’t be stubborn, irritable, addicted to alcohol, a bully, or greedy. 8 Instead, they should show hospitality, love what is good, and be reasonable, ethical, godly, and self-controlled. 9 They must pay attention to the reliable message as it has been taught to them so that they can encourage people with healthy instruction and refute those who speak against it.
10 In fact, there are many who are rebellious people, loudmouths, and deceivers, especially some of those who are Jewish believers. 11 They must be silenced because they upset entire households. They teach what they shouldn’t to make money dishonestly. 12 Someone who is one of their own prophets said, “People from Crete are always liars, wild animals, and lazy gluttons.” 13 This statement is true. Because of this, correct them firmly, so that they can be healthy in their faith. 14 They shouldn’t pay attention to Jewish myths and commands from people who reject the truth. 15 Everything is clean to those who are clean, but nothing is clean to those who are corrupt and without faith. Instead, their mind and conscience are corrupted. 16 They claim to know God, but they deny God by the things that they do. They are detestable, disobedient, and disqualified to do anything good.

Luke 1:1–25

Many people have already applied themselves to the task of compiling an account of the events that have been fulfilled among us. 2 They used what the original eyewitnesses and servants of the word handed down to us. 3 Now, after having investigated everything carefully from the beginning, I have also decided to write a carefully ordered account for you, most honorable Theophilus. 4 I want you to have confidence in the soundness of the instruction you have received.
5 During the rule of King Herod of Judea there was a priest named Zechariah who belonged to the priestly division of Abijah. His wife Elizabeth was a descendant of Aaron. 6 They were both righteous before God, blameless in their observance of all the Lord’s commandments and regulations. 7 They had no children because Elizabeth was unable to become pregnant and they both were very old. 8 One day Zechariah was serving as a priest before God because his priestly division was on duty. 9 Following the customs of priestly service, he was chosen by lottery to go into the Lord ’s sanctuary and burn incense. 10 All the people who gathered to worship were praying outside during this hour of incense offering. 11 An angel from the Lord appeared to him, standing to the right of the altar of incense. 12 When Zechariah saw the angel, he was startled and overcome with fear.
13 The angel said, “Don’t be afraid, Zechariah. Your prayers have been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will give birth to your son and you must name him John. 14 He will be a joy and delight to you, and many people will rejoice at his birth, 15 for he will be great in the Lord’s eyes. He must not drink wine and liquor. He will be filled with the Holy Spirit even before his birth. 16 He will bring many Israelites back to the Lord their God. 17 He will go forth before the Lord, equipped with the spirit and power of Elijah. He will turn the hearts of fathers back to their children, and he will turn the disobedient to righteous patterns of thinking. He will make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”
18 Zechariah said to the angel, “How can I be sure of this? My wife and I are very old.”
19 The angel replied, “I am Gabriel. I stand in God ’s presence. I was sent to speak to you and to bring this good news to you. 20 Know this: What I have spoken will come true at the proper time. But because you didn’t believe, you will remain silent, unable to speak until the day when these things happen.”
21 Meanwhile, the people were waiting for Zechariah, and they wondered why he was in the sanctuary for such a long time. 22 When he came out, he was unable to speak to them. They realized he had seen a vision in the temple, for he gestured to them and couldn’t speak. 23 When he completed the days of his priestly service, he returned home. 24 Afterward, his wife Elizabeth became pregnant. She kept to herself for five months, saying, 25 “This is the Lord ’s doing. He has shown his favor to me by removing my disgrace among other people.”

We Think

  • What stands out to you from today’s reading?
  • Are you confused or stumped by what you’ve read?
  • Is there anything you encountered that makes you think, “I don’t know about that…”?
  • What resonated with you as particularly meaningful?
  • What might it look like for God's love to "create calm" in your current situation?
  • Why do you think God continues to use flawed people as part of his redemptive mission?

We Feel

  • In general, what emotions seem to be dominant at this moment?
  • How have those emotions affected the relationships you have with those around you?
  • What are you doing, or have you done, to submit those emotions to the Lordship of Jesus Christ?
  • Where have you seen God at work this week?
  • Where in your life are you longing for God to bring peace or restoration?
  • How does it feel to know that God delights in you, even when you feel weak or unworthy?

We Believe

You do not have to be perfect, or even near perfect, to have a place in God ’s Kingdom. What ’s more, you do not have to be perfect to have a place of leadership among God ’s people! Throughout the story of God ’s love told in Scripture, God uses imperfect and flawed people to join God ’s mission of calm-creating love. Of course, we must not use our flawed nature as an excuse to do what we want. We can’t wantonly sin and believe all will be well. But we can rest in God ’s grace, confessing and repenting when we have strayed. Confessing and repenting causes a humble faith to grow in us, slowly rooting out the doubt or selfishness that keeps us from truly being the people of God.

We Practice

Choose one of the following practices to do today:

Silent Presence Practice

Spend ten minutes in silent prayer, focusing only on your breath and the phrase: “God is in our midst.” Let each breath be a reminder that you are not alone, even in weakness

Encourage the Outcast

Reach out with a kind word or gesture to someone who might feel unseen or forgotten—perhaps a neighbor, coworker, or even a stranger. Let your presence be a calm and quiet assurance that they matter.

Prayer

Oh God, thank you for remaining faithful to us as flawed and imperfect people. Help us create calm with your love today.