Advent Daybook 12: Woe to you!
Pray: Heavenly Father, make me more like Jesus as I sit in your loving presence today. Please guide my thoughts and impressions by your Holy Spirit. Amen.
Look: Activists hold photos of migrant children who have died trying to cross the U.S.-Mexico border, as they demonstrate standing on the Paso Del Norte Port of Entry bridge, on June 27, 2019. Mario Tama / Getty - source
Listen*: Poor Little Jesus, Odetta - Spotify | YouTube
Read**: Psalm 37; Amos 9:1-10; Revelation 2:8-17; Matthew 23:13-26
Excerpts:
"Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act. He will bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your justice as the noonday.
Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way, over the man who carries out evil devices!
Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath! Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil. For the evildoers shall be cut off, but those who wait for the Lord shall inherit the land.
In just a little while, the wicked will be no more; though you look carefully at his place, he will not be there. But the meek shall inherit the land and delight themselves in abundant peace.
The wicked plots against the righteous and gnashes his teeth at him, but the Lord laughs at the wicked, for he sees that his day is coming.
The wicked draw the sword and bend their bows to bring down the poor and needy, to slay those whose way is upright; their sword shall enter their own heart, and their bows shall be broken.
Better is the little that the righteous has than the abundance of many wicked. For the arms of the wicked shall be broken, but the Lord upholds the righteous.
The Lord knows the days of the blameless, and their heritage will remain forever; they are not put to shame in evil times; in the days of famine they have abundance.
But the wicked will perish; the enemies of the Lord are like the glory of the pastures; they vanish—like smoke they vanish away.
The wicked borrows but does not pay back, but the righteous is generous and gives; for those blessed by the Lord shall inherit the land, but those cursed by him shall be cut off."
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“For behold, I will command, and shake the house of Israel among all the nations as one shakes with a sieve, but no pebble shall fall to the earth. All the sinners of my people shall die by the sword, who say, ‘Disaster shall not overtake or meet us.’"
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"Therefore repent. If not, I will come to you soon and war against them with the sword of my mouth. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, with a new name written on the stone that no one knows except the one who receives it.’"
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" 'But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut the kingdom of heaven in people's faces. For you neither enter yourselves nor allow those who would enter to go in.
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'Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others. You blind guides, straining out a gnat and swallowing a camel!
Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and the plate, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. You blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and the plate, that the outside also may be clean.' "
- Psalm 37:5-22 * Amos 9:9-10 * Revelation 2:16-17 * Matthew 23:13-14, 25-26
Pray: The Lord's Prayer
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy Name. Thy Kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom and the power, and the glory, forever and ever. Amen.
Do: Spend money to give the opportunity for the most marginalized refugees on the US-Mexico border.
Excerpts:
"The Lord also thundered in the heavens, and the Most High uttered his voice, hailstones and coals of fire. And he sent out his arrows and scattered them; he flashed forth lightnings and routed them. Then the channels of the sea were seen, and the foundations of the world were laid bare at your rebuke, O Lord, at the blast of the breath of your nostrils.
He sent from on high, he took me; he drew me out of many waters. He rescued me from my strong enemy and from those who hated me, for they were too mighty for me. They confronted me in the day of my calamity, but the Lord was my support. He brought me out into a broad place; he rescued me, because he delighted in me.
The Lord dealt with me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands he rewarded me."
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(Note: I really recommend reading this entire passage for full impact.)
" 'I overthrew some of you, as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, and you were as a brand plucked out of the burning; yet you did not return to me,' declares the Lord.
Therefore thus I will do to you, O Israel; because I will do this to you, prepare to meet your God, O Israel!
For behold, he who forms the mountains and creates the wind, and declares to man what is his thought, who makes the morning darkness, and treads on the heights of the earth— the Lord, the God of hosts, is his name!'"
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"Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn! But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells."
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"Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures:
'The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone;
this was the Lord's doing,
and it is marvelous in our eyes’?
Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people producing its fruits. And the one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; and when it falls on anyone, it will crush him.”
When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they perceived that he was speaking about them. And although they were seeking to arrest him, they feared the crowds, because they held him to be a prophet."
- Psalm 18:13-20 * Amos 4:11-13 * 2 Peter 3:11-13 * Matthew 21:42-26 (ESV)
Pray: The Lord's Prayer
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy Name. Thy Kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom and the power, and the glory, forever and ever. Amen.
Do: Give a simple gift to someone today. Give thanks for friends, neighbors, church family, and co-workers.
"They’re fleeing unimaginable violence.
Refugee asylum seekers hoped to find safety in the US. But now they’re forced to wait in Mexico. Outside their shelters is the same violence they tried to escape—assault, kidnapping, murder.
They can’t go forward. They can’t go back. They can’t even leave their shelters to find work. So we are bringing opportunity to them.
This #GivingTuesday, help launch a mobile tech bus to create jobs for refugees right where they are. They’ll gain vital tech skills and a chance to work.
They’ll also get virtual legal advice, and their children will have a safe place to play and learn while they work.
No one should have to risk their life to provide for their family. With your help, our refugee friends can start building their future now."
Click here for more information and to give today.
You might also enjoy: Our favorite Advent & Christmas books (for all ages)
For an introduction read this post: Advent Daybook Explained. You can see previous Advent daybook 2018 posts here.
* Listen to my entire playlist on Spotify: Advent 2019. Add it to your account by clicking ‘Follow.’
** Sunday Scripture readings are taken from the Revised Common Lectionary (Year A). Daily Scripture readings are taken from the Book of Common Prayer (Year 2).