Advent Devotional Resource - San Francisco Theological Seminary

John 3:16-21Sunday, December 20“Yes, God so loved the world as to give the Only Begotten One, that whoever believes may not die,but have eternal life. God sent the Only Begotten into the world not to condemn the world, but thatthrough the Only Begotten the world might be saved. Whoever believes in the Only Begotten avoidsjudgment, but whoever doesn’t believe is judged already for not believing in the name of the OnlyBegotten of God. On these grounds is sentence pronounced: that though the light came into theworld, people showed they preferred the darkness to the light because their deeds were evil. Indeed,people who do wrong hate the light and avoid it, for fear their actions will be exposed; but peoplewho live by the truth come out into the light, so that it may be plainly seen that what they do is donein God.” (The Inclusive Bible). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .This passage reminds us that the Season of Advent—along with all of its other rich meanings—is atime of penitence. We prepare for Christ’s coming by stepping out from the shadows of our personaland communal sin and stepping into the light of God’s saving, healing love. This is, after all, why thelight that is Christ is given to the world: not to condemn, but to save/heal (the Greek swzw holdsboth meanings) the world.The theologian Tertullian draws upon natural phenomena as metaphors for the movement of HolyTrinity—root, shoot, fruit; spring, river, lake; etc. My favorite is his use of the sun and its light todescribe the way of God’s love. The first person of the Trinity is like the sun, making life possible;Christ is the sunbeam, bringing the sun’s rays to earth; and the Spirit is the warmth where the sun’slight arrives and has its effect. The sun, the sun’s light, and the sun’s warmth are indivisibly one—andits intentions are for life and love to flourish.As challenging and painful as it may be for me to step out of the shadows of my own personal darkness—orfor us as a community—there is also the gospel promise of healing and warmth that awaitsus within the light of Christ. He comes not to shame or damn us, but to bring us back to life andback to the way of love—to a place where all may flourish. “What wondrous love is this, O my soul!”Rev. Dr. Samuel Hamilton-PooreSFTS Director of the Program in Christian SpiritualityAssistant Professor of Christian Spirituality