Multimedia Advent Devotional – Week 3-3, Tuesday
2025:
Week 3, Tuesday:
- Scripture: Matthew 21:28-46 (Beth Parker)
- Reflection (Karen Sculley)
- Prayer (Karis Sculley)
- Artwork: “Parable of the Two Sons” (Andrei Mironov)
- Music: “Kingdom of God” (Jon Guerra) – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LGUWXUCg28w
Reflection on Matthew 21:28-46 – “‘What do you think? A man had two sons; he went to the first and said, “Son, go and work in the vineyard today.” He answered, “I will not”; but later he changed his mind and went. The father went to the second and said the same; and he answered, “I go, sir”; but he did not go. Which of the two did the will of his father?’ They said, ‘The first.’ Jesus said to them, ‘Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are going into the kingdom of God ahead of you. For John came to you in the way of righteousness and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes believed him; and even after you saw it, you did not change your minds and believe him. Listen to another parable. There was a landowner who planted a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug a wine press in it, and built a watchtower. Then he leased it to tenants and went to another country. When the harvest time had come, he sent his slaves to the tenants to collect his produce. But the tenants seized his slaves and beat one, killed another, and stoned another. Again he sent other slaves, more than the first; and they treated them in the same way. Finally he sent his son to them, saying, “They will respect my son.” But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, “This is the heir; come, let us kill him and get his inheritance.” So they seized him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him. Now when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?’ They said to him, ‘He will put those wretches to a miserable death, and lease the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the produce at the harvest time.’ Jesus said to them, ‘Have you never read in the scriptures: “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; this was the Lord’s doing, and it is amazing in our eyes”? Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people that produces the fruits of the kingdom. The one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; and it will crush anyone on whom it falls.’ When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they realized that he was speaking about them. They wanted to arrest him, but they feared the crowds, because they regarded him as a prophet.”
Have you ever had an experience like that of the chief priests and the Pharisees that day? As Jesus told some stories, they suddenly realized he was talking about them. And that made them really angry. They wanted to arrest him, and, not long after that, they even conspired to kill him. Although they may not have realized it, they had been convicted by the Holy Spirit. John 16:7-8 assures us that when the paraklétos comes – the Advocate, Intercessor, Helper, Comforter, Counselor, One called near to give help – “he will prove the world wrong about sin [missing the mark] and righteousness [God’s approval] and judgment [God’s judgment, always integrated with mercy].” When we are convicted by the Holy Spirit, it is like being jolted awake with an awareness that: we have missed the mark; or, we have tried to trust in our own works instead of in Christ’s perfect faithfulness which alone makes us acceptable to God; or, we have failed to advocate for justice integrated with mercy.
I’m reminded of another story Jesus told, that of two people who went up to the temple to pray. One of them, a Pharisee, exalted himself and justified himself by his good works. The other, a tax collector, humbled himself and called on God to be merciful to him, a sinner. Although he may not have realized it, he, too, had been convicted by the Holy Spirit.
Whenever we hear and receive Jesus’ words, we, too, will be convicted by the Holy Spirit. How will we respond? Will the fruit of our lives taste like the world, reflecting a heart filled with self-exaltation, self-justification, and violence? Or will the fruit of our lives taste like God, reflecting a heart filled with humility, justice, and mercy?
I am so thankful for Jesus’ assurance in today’s passage that the kingdom of God is given to those who produce the fruits of the kingdom. To produce the fruits of the kingdom is to live our lives not for self-exaltation, self-justification, or violence, but for God. May we cultivate hearts of humility, justice, and mercy, so that all that we are and all that we say and all that we do will bring honor and glory to God.
2024:
Week 3, Tuesday:
• Scripture: Psalm 72:1-4ab, 7-8, 17 (Karen Sculley)
• Reflection (Judi Campbell)
• Prayer (Paul Sculley)
• Artwork: “Nativity” (James B. Janknegt)
• Music: “Psalm 72 (Long Live the King)” (Center for Worship Leadership) – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0pgwTL45a5k
2023:
Week 3, Tuesday:
- Scripture – Luke 1:5-25 (Beth Parker)
- Reflection (Tamera Neal)
- Prayer (Judi Campbell)
- Artwork: “Nativity” (Brian Yale)
- Music: “Be Not Afraid” (John Michael Talbot) – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2oSiX1WKg4w
2022:
Week 3, Tuesday:
- Scripture: Ezekiel 47:1-12 (Paul Sculley)
- Reflection (Karen Sculley)
- Prayer (John Trotter)
- Artwork: “Annunciation” (Pennsylvania, USA)
- Music: “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen” (Libera) – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQw83_zpbJg
Reflection on Ezekiel 47:1-12 (NRSVCE) – “Then he brought me back to the entrance of the temple; there, water was flowing from below the threshold of the temple toward the east (for the temple faced east); and the water was flowing down from below the south end of the threshold of the temple, south of the altar. Then he brought me out by way of the north gate, and led me around on the outside to the outer gate that faces toward the east; and the water was coming out on the south side. Going on eastward with a cord in his hand, the man measured one thousand cubits, and then led me through the water; and it was ankle-deep. Again he measured one thousand, and led me through the water; and it was knee-deep. Again he measured one thousand, and led me through the water; and it was up to the waist. Again he measured one thousand, and it was a river that I could not cross, for the water had risen; it was deep enough to swim in, a river that could not be crossed. He said to me, ‘Mortal, have you seen this?’ Then he led me back along the bank of the river. As I came back, I saw on the bank of the river a great many trees on the one side and on the other. He said to me, ‘This water flows toward the eastern region and goes down into the Arabah; and when it enters the sea, the sea of stagnant waters, the water will become fresh. Wherever the river goes, every living creature that swarms will live, and there will be very many fish, once these waters reach there. It will become fresh; and everything will live where the river goes. People will stand fishing beside the sea from En-gedi to En-eglaim; it will be a place for the spreading of nets; its fish will be of a great many kinds, like the fish of the Great Sea. But its swamps and marshes will not become fresh; they are to be left for salt. On the banks, on both sides of the river, there will grow all kinds of trees for food. Their leaves will not wither nor their fruit fail, but they will bear fresh fruit every month, because the water for them flows from the sanctuary. Their fruit will be for food, and their leaves for healing.’”
This prophetic passage paints a magnificent vision of what it will be like when Messiah comes. The river of life flows from God to all of creation, bringing life and salvation and healing and wholeness and joy.
When our son Michael was born, 7 weeks premature, he was diagnosed with moderate hearing loss. Further tests followed, and when he was 8 months old, we experienced a significant miracle when God intervened and healed him through the powerful prayers and faith of those in my women’s Bible study. The day after the Lord healed him, Michael was scheduled for a sedated hearing test. As I pulled down the covers the night before, I heard the Lord’s audible voice say, “Cascade.” The next morning, as Michael & I made our way to the hospital, the first thing I heard when I clicked on the radio was a traffic incident on Cascade Drive. When we pulled into a parking space, a huge truck pulled up beside us emblazoned with “Cascade Paper.” The audiologist’s manila folder was imprinted with “Cascade.” At the end of Michael’s two hour sedated hearing test, the audiologist pronounced “everything’s normal!” I praised God, called Paul on the phone, then hastened home to look up “Cascade” in the dictionary. I knew it was some kind of waterfall. But as I scanned the page, the Lord highlighted one particular definition and whispered to me, “My grace is rushing forth in abundance!” And fifteen months later, our beautiful Cascade Grace was born, a miracle in every way. God’s grace is rushing forth in abundance! Messiah has come! The Kingdom of God has arrived, but there’s more to come! Everywhere that God’s river flows, there is abundance and life, freshness and fertility. We welcome your river, oh God! May we follow you, Jesus, proclaiming and demonstrating the Kingdom of God, loving people with your radical love, by the power of the Holy Spirit and for the greater glory of God!
Each short Multimedia Advent Devotional is an invitation to set aside time each day during a typically busy season preparing for Christmas to rejoice in the coming of our Savior, Christ Jesus, and to respond to God’s invitation to us to join with Him in what He’s doing today.
Advent is a season of the liturgical year observed in most Christian denominations as a time of expectant waiting and preparation for both the celebration of the Nativity of Christ at Christmas and the return of Christ at the Second Coming. Advent is the beginning of the liturgical year in Western Christianity and is part of the wider Christmas and holiday season. Advent is a period in which we are invited to set aside time each day during a typically busy season preparing for Christmas to rejoice in the coming of our Savior, Christ Jesus, and to respond to God’s invitation to us to join with Him in what He’s doing today.
This collaboration is brought to you by Liberty Vineyard Church
