Devotional Messages

DEVOTIONAL MESSAGE
To prepare us for Christmas in July, enjoy this message from Advent 2021.

Isaiah 9:6 – For a child has been born for us, a son given to us; authority shall rest upon his shoulders; and he is named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. (NRSV)

There are many names and titles for Jesus throughout scripture, but this list Christians have claimed for him from the Hebrew scriptures might be some of the most beloved, no doubt in part because of their musical setting in Handel’s Messiah.  Have you ever meditated on these names?  The season of Advent is a time for reflection and contemplation.  Christmas is almost here, but these titles for the Messiah speak to me of our Advent candle themes.

To call Jesus “Everlasting Father” is remind ourselves that our future and our fate are in God’s hands, thus we have Hope.  Nothing is forever except the God we know in Christ Jesus.  Even our current trials will one day be but a memory.  And God’s eternal mercy will have carried us through it all.

The title “Prince of Peace” reminds us that Christ’s kingdom is not like any earthly nation we know about.  The ways of Jesus are the ways of peace, the ways of sacrifice rather than violence, the ways of turning the other cheek and walking the second mile.  To claim that such a realm has a “prince” completely up-ends our understanding of what “royalty” means.  This is not a prince we fear or pay tribute to under pain of punishment, but one that we worship because the compassion he offers is irresistible.

We don’t always think of Joy and wisdom as connected, but the name “Wonderful Counselor” gives me the sense they might be.  Can you imagine a friend whose advice is so life-changing, so healing and perfect that you are filled with jubilation when it’s given to you?  That’s who Jesus can be, if we’re willing to listen for his wonderful counsel.

And finally, to call Jesus “Mighty God” is to understand that true power can only come from Love.  God’s love has the power to create the world; it has the power to raise the dead to new life.  Surely it can transform us too!

So let us welcome this Messiah, this child given to us, this Savior who is God-made-flesh, and trust in the Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love that Jesus is bringing into the world!