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SATURDAY, DECEMBER 20, 2014

Psalm 55; Isaiah 10: 20-27; Luke 3: 1-9

“Evening and morning and at noon I utter my complaint
and moan, and he will hear my voice.”
Nothing quite captures the magic of the Christmas season like a psalm about betrayal, anger, and revenge. Today’s psalm surely doesn’t pull any punches; it’s an honest, heartfelt lament to God.
Sometimes the Christmas season doesn’t feel so warm and cheery. Sometimes we’re mad. Sometimes we’ve been wronged. Maybe we’ve been let down, disappointed, hurt. Perhaps there is someone whom we have not forgiven.
Advent is a season of preparation. We prepare our hearts and lives to receive Jesus in the manger. Doing the work of forgiveness can clear out some of the old anger and bitterness and make room for joy and contentment. Forgiveness, of course, doesn’t come easily. It takes a great deal of hard soul-work. It usually doesn’t happen overnight. But the first step is giving voice to our woundedness. Before we can move forward towards forgiveness, we must own our story.
Like the psalmist, speak your anger and sadness to God. God can handle it. When we turn towards God in prayer—even if that prayer is one of lament and anger—we begin to open our hearts to God’s transformative grace. In this Advent season, let the light of Christ shine into the darkest places in your heart.
God, help us to own our woundedness,
so that we may begin to heal. As you have
forgiven us, help us to forgive others. Amen.

 
Alex Easley
Master of Divinity, Class of 2015
Seminary of the Southwest
Diocese of Texas

 
 

 

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Alex Easley is a senior M.Div student from the Diocese of Texas.

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