As a part of our Advent observances at Grace, we are making use of Concordia Publishing’s Behold the Child materials for worship. Our web devotions through Christmas will be guided by Pastor Kevin Golden’s devotional booklet written in support of the Behold the Child theme (you may purchase a downloadable copy of Pr. Golden’s book by following this link).
Prayer Pointers:
To rejoice that God has come down
To have eyes to see God at work in our world
Text: Psalm 122:3-4
Our ascending those steps brings joy only because Christ has already descended.
—Pr. Golden
PSALM 122 IS one of fifteen Psalms included in group called “a song of ascents.” There is speculation as to why these psalms are labeled as such, but the most likely explanation is that pilgrims traveling to Jerusalem for the various festivals that Pr. Golden mentions would sing these psalms as they made their way up to the City of David and the Temple that lay within its walls.
The idea of ascending fits naturally with how we think of our relationship with God. God is up above, we are below; it is our job to ascend, to leave behind the things of earth to be reunited with God.
But the Christian message is different. God has come down! The Incarnation is the sign that God will now make his home among those he loves, that God is not far away, remote, inaccessible, but rather found in human flesh, found in the ordinary things of daily life. Our Lord comes to us, and it is his presence that makes our pilgrimage joy-filled.
May you live in Advent hope ~ Pr. Dave Brooks
----Quoted materials are from Behold the Child Daily Devotions #12-4563
© 2019 Concordia Publishing House. Used with permission under license 20:12-1. www.cph.org