Advent Devotion: December 9, 2024
The (Real) Place of Power
by Jackson Ringley
Scripture – Luke 1:30-33 (NRSVue) The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”
Reflection
Everybody wants a savior. That is, people tend to want someone or something to free them from all their problems. Oftentimes, the search for a savior is misplaced. We are willing to look anywhere but the manger for the one who will save the day.
It makes sense to search for something that will save us from the woes of this world. It’s not an easy world to live in, and longing for things to be different is a very human thing to do. The problem is not that we seek to be saved from a world in pain, it’s that we think we find salvation in places other than Jesus. We choose leaders who run on false promises of freedom, instead building a world around ‘us versus them’ convictions. We choose exploitative practices of labor because they’re cheaper, more productive, and provide for our ‘on-demand’ society. We turn away from God in pursuit of quick-fixes that make us feel momentarily better. We think all these things might save us from the pain of the world, but none of them can. And none of them do. They represent a misplaced sense of where salvific power lies.
When the Angel Gabriel appears before Mary, he tells her she will soon bear a child who will rule the world. Though the royalty language feels very distant for many of us readers today, it indicates that Jesus is the true source of power, not any of the other rulers in the world. The power to save is left only to Christ. There is no other person, place, or practice that can do this work. No superhero, no ruler, no product. No one but Jesus – the King born in a manger. This King, who subverts everything we think we know about power, is the true source of our salvation. He shows us where the real power to save lies.
The (Real) Place of Power
by Jackson Ringley
Scripture – Luke 1:30-33 (NRSVue) The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”
Reflection
Everybody wants a savior. That is, people tend to want someone or something to free them from all their problems. Oftentimes, the search for a savior is misplaced. We are willing to look anywhere but the manger for the one who will save the day.
It makes sense to search for something that will save us from the woes of this world. It’s not an easy world to live in, and longing for things to be different is a very human thing to do. The problem is not that we seek to be saved from a world in pain, it’s that we think we find salvation in places other than Jesus. We choose leaders who run on false promises of freedom, instead building a world around ‘us versus them’ convictions. We choose exploitative practices of labor because they’re cheaper, more productive, and provide for our ‘on-demand’ society. We turn away from God in pursuit of quick-fixes that make us feel momentarily better. We think all these things might save us from the pain of the world, but none of them can. And none of them do. They represent a misplaced sense of where salvific power lies.
When the Angel Gabriel appears before Mary, he tells her she will soon bear a child who will rule the world. Though the royalty language feels very distant for many of us readers today, it indicates that Jesus is the true source of power, not any of the other rulers in the world. The power to save is left only to Christ. There is no other person, place, or practice that can do this work. No superhero, no ruler, no product. No one but Jesus – the King born in a manger. This King, who subverts everything we think we know about power, is the true source of our salvation. He shows us where the real power to save lies.
