December 19, 2020 - Advent Devotion
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Awake! Awake, and greet the new morn,
For angels herald its dawning.
Sing out your joy, for soon he is born,
Behold! The child of our longing.
Come as a baby weak and poor,
To bring all hearts together,
He opens wide the heav'nly door,
And lives now inside us forever.
“There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him.”
"How did you sleep last night?" "With my eyes closed." My grandfather used to echo this old phrase, this used-way-too-often old phrase, whenever I would ask on mornings when I was too tired to remember what I already knew, what his answer would be. It is tough to sleep with your eyes open. It is just as tough to see clearly with your eyes closed.
As the Third Week of Advent comes to a close, we are invited to have our eyes opened like the shepherds that o, holy night. As we awake, awake and greet each new morn, our eyes will be opened and we will witness first hand every sign of God's grace in ways we never dreamed!
One of the ways God awakens us when we grow tired, too tired to remember and to trust and to believe what we already know, is through the witness and faithfulness of others. "John was a man sent from God. He came as a witness to testify to the light."
My grandfather made known and gave witness of his faith, that myself and others might believe through him. This week is a good time to thank God for those God has sent to you, to keep you awake when you are tired, to testify to you when you are not sure, to give witness to what you already know: He "lives now inside us forever," thanks to every sign of God's grace!
Let us pray: Awaken me today I pray, Jesus. I can get so tired. I can close my eyes to all that you are doing, to the ways you break into my life, to the signs of your grace. Send me your witnesses. Reveal to me and make known to me once again in these coming days before Christmas what I already know. Keep my eyes open and send me to testify and to make known to all that I have witnessed in the grace of your Light, Jesus Christ. In Jesus' name I am awakened and I pray. Amen.