12-16-23

ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
December 16, 2023
Once again, Advent is moving way too quickly, though I will admit to having some very special moments these last three weeks. The study that I completed on Thursday, based on the book An Unlikely Advent, was a good read for me, providing some really helpful reflections on the stories associated with this season. It got me out of some of my interpretative ruts around some very well-known passages. And I really came to appreciate the word “unlikely” that the author, Rachel Billups, used in such a insightful way. This is how I concluded the study:

The title of the book implies we meet “unlikely” voices, characters, and messengers in God’s story of redemption and healing. As followers of Jesus, shouldn’t we be able to drop the word “unlikely,” as it sort of appears as if the unlikely are the likely in God’s story? It would ONLY be unlikely if God used the likely.

So next time you are thinking to yourself, “I am the least likely person that God would call upon in this moment,” think again. Unlikely and least likely are the words people use right before God says, “Perfect! That’s exactly who I was looking for.”

Too often, O God of the unlikely, I convince myself that you would never call upon me for your good work in this world. Yet it doesn’t take too long in the scriptures before I realize that the more I discount the possibility, the more likely I will make it to the top of your list. And if, by chance, I am the next one you plan to invite into this work, please give me a little extra encouragement. I’ll need it! Amen.