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Advent devotions 2008

DEC. 30 - LIKE A GARDEN IN WINTER
By Jody Saylor, associate professor of biology

SCRIPTURE: Jeremiah 31:7-14 (NRSV)
Scroll down for complete Scripture.

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DEVOTIONAL:
I love spending time in my garden in the spring and summer -- watching the plants grow, waiting for the harvest, enjoying the bird and insect visitors. The garden is vibrant with color and life. But now at the end of December, it's empty except for a few dead, brittle plants.

How often does life leave us feeling like a garden in winter? We often associate mourning with the death of a loved one, but we also grieve for the small losses of everyday life. Divorce, losing a job, letting go of a dream, physical disability, watching a child grow and leave home, broken relationships with family and friends, infertility, every change and transition.

Jeremiah reminds us that God is with us still and offers hope. “With weeping they shall come, and with consolations I will lead them back…their life shall become like a watered garden. Then shall the young women rejoice in the dance, and the young men and the old shall be merry. I will turn their mourning into joy, I will comfort them, and give them gladness for sorrow.” God promises to be with us in our sorrow and lead us to joy.

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PRAYER:
Our shepherd God, our God of mourning and joy, in this season leading to Epiphany we wait for the light of the world to be made known. Help us wait in hope, trusting in your presence with us. Amen.

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SCRIPTURE: Jeremiah 31:7-14 (NRSV)
For thus says the Lord:
Sing aloud with gladness for Jacob, and raise shouts for the chief of the nations;
proclaim, give praise, and say, 'Save, O Lord, your people, the remnant of Israel.'
See, I am going to bring them from the land of the north, and gather them from the
farthest parts of the earth,
among them the blind and the lame, those with child and those in labour, together; a great
company, they shall return here.
With weeping they shall come, and with consolations I will lead them back,
I will let them walk by brooks of water, in a straight path in which they shall not stumble;
for I have become a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my firstborn.

Hear the word of the Lord, O nations, and declare it in the coastlands far away;
say, 'He who scattered Israel will gather him, and will keep him as a shepherd a flock.'
For the Lord has ransomed Jacob, and has redeemed him from hands too strong for him.
They shall come and sing aloud on the height of Zion, and they shall be radiant over the
goodness of the Lord,
over the grain, the wine, and the oil, and over the young of the flock and the herd;
their life shall become like a watered garden, and they shall never languish again.
Then shall the young women rejoice in the dance, and the young men and the old shall be merry.
I will turn their mourning into joy, I will comfort them, and give them gladness for sorrow.
I will give the priests their fill of fatness, and my people shall be satisfied with my bounty,
says the Lord.


Posted at 10:55 #