It’s again the time of the year that Goshen College offers an online resource to help believers make time and space in their hearts and minds to reflect during the season of Advent.
Beginning Nov. 26, the week before the first Sunday of Advent, and culminating on Christmas Day, Goshen College students, faculty and staff will provide weekday reflections based on the lectionary Scripture passages, available online at www.goshen.edu/devotions, or by subscribing to the daily email. Many writers will reflect on the theme: “The Lord is our righteousness,” taken from Mennonite Church USA and Mennonite Church Canada worship resources.
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2018 Theme: “The Lord is our righteousness”
When we say that “God is our righteousness,” we mean that God is the ultimate example of what good looks and acts like. In the Bible, righteousness is often paired with justice. In the biblical narrative, the people of God experienced times of pain and oppression as well as times of richness and abundance. The message these stories give us reflects the desire of God’s people throughout history to receive God’s righteousness and justice. In the same way, God sent Jesus Christ to the earth to save us and to show us how to make the ways of justice and righteousness reign on earth.
God was the righteousness of the Hebrews of the Old Testament. In the New Testament, the good news of Jesus is a key to our own righteousness. God is still the ultimate example of rightness and good in the world, but now God is revealed to us as a human—as Jesus. Through the life and example of Jesus, God shows us the ways of righteousness and justice in the world, calling us to follow Jesus and his teachings.
The devotion writers will reflect honestly on the Scriptures and offer words of assurances of faith. The spiritual offerings will include poetry, personal stories, reflections and prayers, all intended to more closely examine the call to change and follow Christ.
Since 2001, Goshen College annually celebrates special seasons of the church calendar, particularly Advent and Lent, with online devotions.