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Advent Around the World
We invite you to worship with us each Wednesday, beginning November 30 at 11:00 a.m. (CST) Read More
Carol Cavin-Dillon | Read Psalm 32:1-11
Humanity knows how to play hide-and-seek with God. It all starts with Adam and Eve. As soon as they bite into the forbidden fruit, they hide from God. They hear God’s voice calling them in the garden, but they stay hidden in shame and fear. And we have been hiding ever since.
The whole story of the scriptures can be described as a game of hide-and-seek. We hide and God seeks. We break from God and go our own way: the Tower of Babel, the golden calf, the adultery of David, and the desertion of the disciples. But God never stops seeking us and trying to bring us out of hiding.
The psalmist confesses that he has been avoiding God. We don’t know the nature of his sin, only that he feels he has broken his relationship with God. In shame and fear, he has kept silent. In time, however, he comes out of hiding, and instead of judgment and shame, he finds forgiveness and love. He declares in joy that God is now his hiding place!
Throughout the scriptures many people come out of hiding to respond to God. When God calls, they say, “Here I am.” Moses, Samuel, Isaiah, Mary—all of these step forward and allow God to see them and to use them.
Like the psalmist, we have many ways of hiding our true selves. We hide from God, we hide from others, and we even hide from ourselves. But the time comes when we can say, “Here I am.” When we come out of hiding to acknowledge our sin and accept our identity, God receives us with love and acceptance. We find our true home in God.
O God, help me to come out of hiding and step into the light of your love. Here I am, Lord. You are my true hiding place. Amen.
Lent is a time for focusing on our need for God and for remembering God’s abundant resources for filling that need. When the Israelites finally pass into Canaan, they observe the Passover as a reminder of God’s deliverance of them from Egypt. The psalmist, traditionally David, rejoices in the fact that God does not count his sins against him. Paul declares that through Christ, God has made everything new. God no longer holds our sins against us, and we in turn appeal to others to accept this free gift. Jesus eats with sinners and tells the story of the prodigal son to demonstrate that no matter how far we stray, God will always welcome us home with open arms. God never stops pursuing us, even if we feel unloved or unworthy.
Read Joshua 5:9-12. What stories do you tell about your faith? What do these stories help you remember?
Read Psalm 32. When have you hidden from God? When has God been your hiding place?
Read 2 Corinthians 5:16-21. We are ambassadors for Christ. How does your life display for others that life in Christ eliminates worldly identity labels?
Read Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32. Do you identify with the prodigal son, the elder son, or the father in the parable? Are you ready to rejoin God’s household on God’s terms? Are you ready to welcome everyone home?
Respond by posting a prayer.
This season, Whitney R. Simpson has given us the gift we must open: a clear, accessible invitation to connect with the divine spark that is within us. This is the best present: being present for Jesus’ birth, God made human.”
Learn more about our newest Advent resource, Fully Human, Fully Divine here.
