December 22nd
O King of Nations, the ruler they long for, the cornerstone for uniting all people, come and save us all, whom you formed out of clay.
Continue reading “O King of Nations – December 22nd”O King of Nations – December 22nd
O Dayspring – December 21st
December 21st
O Dayspring, splendor of light everlasting, come and enlighten those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death.
Continue reading “O Dayspring – December 21st”O Key of David – December 20th
December 20th
O Key of David and scepter of the house of Israel, you open and no one can close; you close and no one can open; come and rescue the prisoners who are in darkness and the shadow of death.
Continue reading “O Key of David – December 20th”Wingin’ It 82.1: The Life of Luther (Part 4) – University in Erfurt
O Root of Jesse – December 19th
December 19th
O Root of Jesse, standing as an ensign before the peoples, before whom all kings are mute, to whom the nations will do homage, come quickly to deliver us.
Continue reading “O Root of Jesse – December 19th”O Adonai – December 18th
December 18th
O Adonai and ruler of the house of Israel, who appeared to Moses in the burning bush and gave him the law of Sinai, come with an outstretched arm and redeem us.
Continue reading “O Adonai – December 18th”Episode 82: The Importance of Travel
O Wisdom – December 17th
December 17th
O Wisdom, proceeding from the mouth of the Most High, pervading and permeating all creation, mightily order all things; come and teach us the way of prudence.
Continue reading “O Wisdom – December 17th”O Antiphons: An Introduction
The O Antiphons of Advent are antiphonal refrains that make use of seven Old Testament names given to Christ. These antiphons/prayers have been used by the church since the 8th Century. In many larger parishes worship services were (and still are) offered on a daily basis. These O Antiphons were highlighted during the daily evening service of Vespers on the last seven days of Advent (December 17th through December 23rd). The popular Advent hymn “Oh, Come, Oh, Come Emmanuel” is based off of these prayers. We will carry on this tradition here at Let the Bird Fly! with short devotional thoughts leading up to Christmas.
Continue reading “O Antiphons: An Introduction”Now Don’t Lose It
Hebrews 2:1-4
“Now don’t lose it.” Remember Mom speaking those words to you when you were young? It was almost always after she had placed some treasure in your hands. Mom had entrusted you with it. It was her gift to you. And now you had one task: don’t lose it. It probably bothered you that she felt the need to say it, but, then what happened? If you’re like me, more than once you lost it. The Father has placed a treasure in our hands, or, rather, in our ears. He has entrusted to us such a great salvation that it is almost unimaginable that we should allow ourselves to lose it.
God has brought you to the holy ark of the Church, and He says, “Don’t drift away.” Be careful, because if you’ve ever drifted away from something, you know it happens gradually. You are resting on your air mattress out on the lake, soaking in the sun, listening to some music, when, twenty minutes later, you look up, and, oops, you’re in the middle of the lake. Don’t drift away. It starts simply enough. A compromise, a second-guess, an unwillingness to stand up in a little matter, and, before you know it, you’ve not only drifted from the ark, but lost sight of it. And, even then, all may not seem lost. Surely you can paddle back. But it turns out it’s not so easy, and every misstep that led to this quandary receives its just retribution.
Consider again the treasure placed in your care. Consider again the marvelous ark to which you’ve been brought, rescued from the choppy waters and hopelessness of this life. It’s only when you appreciate what you have and where you’ve been brought that you will be determined to hold on and not drift away. God wouldn’t have given you this treasure if He wanted you to lose it. God wouldn’t have brought you to safety if He wanted you to drift into danger. No, God did these things because He loves you. Let that love compel you.
We know ourselves, though, don’t we? We wouldn’t have needed grace if we were great at keeping our words, maintaining our focus, and holding on to what matters most. No, we are easily broken and easily break. We tune out, drift out, fall away. That’s the beauty of the gospel, though. We don’t grow out of our need for it. In fact, we grow into it. We don’t need Jesus less at ninety than at nine. We aren’t less a sinner at forty than we were at twenty-four. The sins change, our bodies change, times change, but our need remains the same. Thankfully, so does Jesus.
God’s gifts of the Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit Himself are yours, and all of them point you to Jesus, grab you by your ears, anchor you. Christmas is drawing near. Our celebration of the Incarnation of our Lord draws nigh. Even so, the distractions grow, the stressors increase. God is speaking, though, amidst all of it. It’s easy for us, prone as we are, to drift, to lose, for our hearing fade.
That being true, nevertheless, and in spite of our weakness, His promises sound forth and as ever ring true. The Jesus who comes is Jesus for you, your Savior. I’ll tell you again, like Mom used to, “Don’t lose it.” But I won’t leave it there, because Jesus doesn’t. Let me tell you as well, “He has no intention of losing you.” You are His One, His treasure.
Wade Johnston
For more content like this, check out the podcast, blog posts, and devotions at www.LetTheBirdFly.com.
For more on Advent, check out our first pass at the season or our second, most recent, pass.
For more writing by Wade, you can find his books here and more blog posts here.