Every Good Gift: A 28-Day Advent DevotionalSample

In a world filled with suffering, injustice and poverty, what does good news of great joy have to do with anything? Could a baby born over 2,000 years ago, the Prince of Peace, King of kings, Word made flesh, really have anything relevant to say in our too often violent, grief-stricken, anxious world?

The second week of Advent invites us to reflect on peace. As we continue our journey through the book of James and recognizing the good all around us, we want to zoom in on the good news of the Christmas story: Jesus is Saviour, Lord, Prince of Peace… God with us. 

It’s good news that can cultivate a radical kind of peace in a world that so desperately needs it. God with us in all the mess of our broken world that is marred by sin, with a message that flips so many of our worldly expectations:

“Listen, my dear brothers and sisters: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him?”

Is this not the heart of the gospel? The first shall be last. Sinners shall receive grace by faith. Those who are poor are chosen to inherit the promised kingdom.

It’s a message of peace to all who are afflicted in this world. Not a passive peace, but a tenacious one that confronts oppression, fights injustice and combats poverty in order to truly be good news to the poor.

Hanna is a single mother in Ethiopia who, at seven months pregnant, was unemployed and unable to provide food for her family. 

“I lost all hope,” she says, reflecting on that time. “A couple of times, I left the boys and stayed on the streets because I didn’t want to see them cry for food.”

Hanna was desperate. Until she stepped through the doors of Compassion’s local church partner in her neighbourhood. “The people were compassionate. They treated me with dignity and respect. I felt heard and understood. I felt hopeful for the first time in months,” Hanna says.

The local church brought good news to life for Hanna, supporting her through Compassion’s Survival program for pregnant moms living in poverty. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit and life became even more precarious for families in poverty, the church was there to navigate uncertain times with Hanna.

In the midst of depression and desperation, Hanna encountered that tenacious kind of peace through the care of a local church that chose to share tangible good news with the poor. They were there to fight for Hanna and with Hanna, providing life-saving support to her and her children.

The good news message of Jesus does indeed have so much relevance in our world today—when we, the Church, choose to show up in our communities and the world in tangible ways with that upside-down, radical message of tenacious peace. God is with us. 

Prayer:

God, I thank You for the good news of Your peaceful presence with us, right now, in our world that is far too often violent, unjust, anxiety-inducing and filled with suffering. Help us to not sit idly with a passive peace, but empower us with Your Spirit to actively share Your good news message with others in real and tangible ways. Help us remember the radical, upside-down nature of Your good news: “those who are poor in the eyes of the world [will] inherit the kingdom.” In Jesus’ name, Amen.