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Advent devotions 2008

JAN. 2 - THE PROMISE OF GREATER REWARDS
By Richard R. Aguirre, director of public relations

SCRIPTURE: John 1:10-18 (NRSV)
Scroll down for complete Scripture.

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DEVOTIONAL:
It's finally 2009, and people are hopeful -- filled with energy and a renewed sense of purpose. Days are getting longer and brighter, most people are (still) keeping their New Year's resolutions and many of us are savoring wonderful memories of holiday celebrations with family and friends, scrumptious food and spiritual nourishment.

It's also a time of great fear because of the recession. We all know people in crisis because of the economic meltdown. Once-great corporations and financial institutions have crumbled, people have lost jobs and non-profit groups that alleviate suffering are struggling. We’re unable to comprehend, much less stop, all that is happening. Mostly we mourn the loss of our financial well-being.

Amid such fear and loss, we can take comfort in the Gospel of John -- truly "good news" -- and its clear and unambiguous call for us to believe in Jesus' existence and divinity. Scholars tell us that the Gospel of John was written for a wide audience and it surely has a powerful message: "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life" (John 3:16).

The prologue contained in Chapter 1 is filled with rich symbolism, but it's also startling in its clarity. It simply tells the story of Jesus and describes his nature and mission. Despite our lost financial security, today's scripture is a precious gift that provides grace, hope and the promise of greater rewards to all who believe.

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SCRIPTURE: John 1:10-18 (NRSV)
He was in the world, and the world came into being through him; yet the world did not know him. He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him. But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God. And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth.

John testified to him and cried out, "This was he of whom I said, 'He who comes after me ranks ahead of me because he was before me." From his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. The law indeed was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God. It is God the only Son, who is close to the Father's heart, who has made him known.

Posted at 13:31 #