Advent

December 14, 2021

Scripture Reading: Psalm 80:1-7

Restore us, O God;
   let your face shine, that we may be saved.

O Lord God of hosts,
   how long will you be angry with your people’s prayers?
You have fed them with the bread of tears,
   and given them tears to drink in full measure.
You make us the scorn of our neighbors;
   our enemies laugh among themselves.

Restore us, O God of hosts;
   let your face shine, that we may be saved.

I did not live through the depression or World War II, and I was too young to remember much about the Korean War. I do remember sitting under my desk at school as practice in case a nuclear bomb struck us and watching the aftermath of the assassination of President Kennedy. I lived just a few blocks from the predominately black part of town in college. I remember well the sounds of guns, Molotov cocktails, and fire truck sirens all night after Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated. I learned later those participants were shooting in the air and destroying trash cans and other containers in their neighborhood in frustration, anger, fear, and hopelessness. Here we are still. Does it ever end? We are a nation divided. I easily can imagine God being angry that we still do not recognize that love is always better than hate, and the love displaced on greed and power is the same as hate. What are we teaching our children? This cycle must stop with us.

Prayer: Restore us, O God of hosts; let your face shine, that we may be saved. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.