3rd Sunday of Advent
R. Cry out with joy and gladness: for among you is the great and Holy One of Israel.
Written by Ashley Dean Coppola
The greatest disasters are unexpected, likewise, God’s redemptive glory and our greatest joys are also unexpected. For every earthly action, there is an opposite and equal reaction. With God, his actions are freely given, without concern for reaction or equality. His response surpasses our expectations beyond our wildest imaginations. It is a response to our need, which is love. For we were made to hunger for him and we were starving before we knew him. And when we allow ourselves to see him, to receive his love, it stirs in us the desire to praise, to cry out in joy and gladness.
As much as Israel hoped for a savior, the coming of God himself was unexpected. He shattered the world’s expectations, breaking through the barrier of heaven and earth with silence and humility. The God of the universe humbled himself first by coming to us as a man. Then he humbled himself further by coming to us as bread. He was first seen in a manger, a trough for animals to eat out of. And we now receive him as bread in the trough of our hands in the gift of the Eucharist.
Where in your life are you looking for God? Where might he have already shown up, just in an unexpected way?
Ashley Dean Coppola is a worship leader based in Atlanta, GA. You can find out more about her and her music on her website, follow her on Instagram, and check out her latest single on Spotify!
Pray with this week’s psalm.