Advent Devotional | 4th Sunday in Advent | Year C | December 20th, 2015

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Luke 1:39-45

 In those days Mary set out and went with haste to a Judean town in the hill country, where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child leapt in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and exclaimed with a loud cry, ‘Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me? For as soon as I heard the sound of your greeting, the child in my womb leapt for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfilment of what was spoken to her by the Lord.’
 And Mary said,
‘My soul magnifies the Lord, 
   and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour, 
for he has looked with favour on the lowliness of his servant.
   Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed; 
for the Mighty One has done great things for me,
   and holy is his name. 
His mercy is for those who fear him
   from generation to generation. 
He has shown strength with his arm;
   he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts. 
He has brought down the powerful from their thrones,
   and lifted up the lowly; 
he has filled the hungry with good things,
   and sent the rich away empty. 
He has helped his servant Israel,
   in remembrance of his mercy, 
according to the promise he made to our ancestors,
   to Abraham and to his descendants for ever.’

John the Baptist took a leap of faith inside of his mother's womb.  Faith is recognizing God's presence and that's surely what John the Baptist did inside his mother's womb when the pregnant Mary entered the room!

Leaps of faith bring about the unknown.  For some, leaps of faith can be exciting and refreshing. For others, leaps of faith can be scary and difficult.  Most of the times, at least in my experience, leaps of faith are a crazy mixture of both.  When I took the leap of faith to move to Shelter Island from Atlanta, I had no idea what would be on the other side.  The past year and a half of my life has contained within it some of my greatest joys and my deepest sorrows.  I have truly been transformed by this leap of faith and, by God’s grace alone, I have shared that transformation with others.

What leap of faith are you being called to do?  And before any of us try to talk ourselves out of it, today’s passage reminds us that leaps of faith can be done from the oldest of women to the youngest of boys.  None of us is incapable of taking leaps of faith.  

What will be on the other side?

What transformation will visit you?

What fulfillment will leap within you and how will you share it with others?

The presence of God is something that must be shared.  Look at John the Baptist, he literally couldn’t even wait to be born to point to Christ!  How will you point to Christ and the peace he brings?  How will your leap cause others to see a sliver of hope in a world so desperate to be redeemed?

This world needs fulfillment.  It needs to be filled fully with hope, peace, joy, and love.  And you and I have two options.  We can either wait passively for it or we can actively pursue it.  The first option is called apathy and it leads nowhere.  The second option is called a leap of faith and it leads to the fulfillment of justice and righteousness in a world that cries out for it!  

So, friends, the end of Advent is upon us.  The time for waiting is coming to a close.  A leap of faith is knocking at our door.  Let us answer the call and greet her with open arms.

Let us leap together, dancing within the womb where God is still forming us as disciples.

Together, you and I will usher in the peace-filled kingdom of the newborn King, Jesus Christ.

Merry Christmas, folks.  And happy leaping!

Prayer of the Day:
God of the Nearing Advent,
what a wait it's been!  Only a few more days and you will erupt into the world
with grace, love, and glad tidings.
Help me to remember that the wait is not over
but that the Advent of your salvation is near!
Like John the Baptist, my I leap with joy at your presence
and share that joy with all I meet this day.  Amen.

 

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Stephen Fearing

Stephen was born in 1988 in Cookeville, TN, where his parents met whilst attending Tennessee Tech. Shortly after, they moved to Dalton, Georgia where they put down roots and joined First Presbyterian Church, the faith family that taught Stephen that he was first and foremost a beloved child of God. It was this community that taught Stephen that it was OK to have questions and doubts and that nothing he could do could every possibly separate him from the love of God. In 1995, his sister, Sarah Kate, joined the family and Stephen began his journey as a life-long musician. Since then, he has found a love of music and has found this gift particularly fitting for his call to ministry. Among the instruments that he enjoys are piano, trumpet, guitar, and handbells. Stephen has always had a love of singing and congregation song. An avid member of the marching band, Stephen was the drum major of his high school's marching band. In 2006, Stephen began his tenure at Presbyterian College in Clinton, SC where he majored in Religion and minored in History. While attending PC, Stephen continued to explore his love of music by participating in the Wind Ensemble, Jazz Band, Jazz Combo, Jazz Trio, as well as playing in the PC Handbell ensemble and playing mandolin and banjo PC's very own bluegrass/rock group, Hosegrass, of which Stephen was a founding member (Hosegrass even released their own CD!). In 2010, Stephen moved from Clinton to Atlanta to attend Columbia Theological Seminary to pursue God's call on his life to be a pastor in the PC(USA). During this time, Stephen worked at Trinity Presbyterian Church, Silver Creek Presbyterian Church, Central Presbyterian Church, and Westminster Presbyterian Church. For three years, Stephen served as the Choir Director of Columbia Theological Seminary's choir and also served as the Interim Music Director at Westminster Presbyterian Church. In 2014, Stephen graduated from Columbia with a Masters of Divinity and a Masters of Arts in Practical Theology with an emphasis in liturgy, music, and worship. In July of 2014, Stephen was installed an ordained as Teaching Elder at Shelter Island Presbyterian Church in Shelter Island, NY. Later that year, Stephen married the love of his life, Tricia, and they share their home on Shelter Island with their Golden Doodle, Elsie, and their calico cat, Audrey. In addition to his work with the people who are Shelter Island Presbyterian Church, Stephen currently serves as a commission from Long Island Presbytery to the Synod of the Northeast and, beginning in January of 2016, will moderate the Synod's missions team.