Image from reflectionary.org
Listen to the podcast here: https://bit.ly/3E7rtaT
1 In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar—when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea and Traconitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene— 2 during the high-priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness. 3 He went into all the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 4 As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet: “A voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him. 5 Every valley shall be filled in, every mountain and hill made low. The crooked roads shall become straight, the rough ways smooth. 6 And all people will see God’s salvation.’ ” (Luke 3:1-6 NIV)
A very blessed and joyous first Monday of Advent to you and yours dear Friend, is my prayer for you. The time of Advent is the time we prepare spiritrually for the coming of the Lord. We take that to mean, the celebration of His birth as well as His second return. May this devotional play an important part in that preparation for us all. We had a wonderful Thanksgiving as I pray you all did as well. I just learned that Mr. Perry Heath is recovering from a medical issue and needs our prayers for his complete recovery. Perry is a member of FUMC-San Marcos, and he is our CPA. And also, this morning at 2:14 a.m., The Rev. Francisco Gaytan passed away in Edinburg, Texas. Please keep Elisa, Cindy, Sylvia, Frankie, and Carmen and their respective families in your prayers. The family has asked for me to officiate, which I am honored to do, if invited by their pastor. Please pray for Nellie and me as well.
It was ten months ago that while watching videos here at home with Nellie and Carli, Carli showed us a different type of video. We tend to like YouTube videos on Disney, and this one was Disney-related. It showed an itinerary for somone from Seguin going to Disney World. I thought "How nice for that person whomever it could be!" And Carli kept saying things like, "Look closer," and I could, but it never clicked. She said "You all are going to Disney World during Thanksgiving!" My first reaction was disbelief. "Nuh huh," I said, and then I could see our names on the airplane flight, and the park admissions, and she said, "We're also staying at the Contemporary Resort." No way! She was doing this because almost fifty years ago, my Mom and Dad took our family to Disney World in June, 1972, the very first summer it was opened. And this being the year that Disney World is celebrating their 50th Anniversary, it was fitting for us to be there during a week that Carli had off from work and we could join her during that week. It was a dream come true. I fell in love with the Disney World experience that first summer and having already been a fan of Walt Disney and his movies and television show, it went hand in hand, and then to be a part of the first summer crowds to come to the Magic Kingdom, well, it was beyond description. So, I set my phone's Countdown feature for the day when we would depart Seguin for Orlando; ten months. It seemed like it could have been the 32nd of February, a day that never comes around. And almost weekly I would go to that app and hear the Disney music assigned to it and see the number of months, days, and hours before the trip. As the day approached, I suggested we leave earlier than the Sunday before Thanksgiving so that we could explore some of the attractions in the Orlando area before our commitment to the Disney bubble. By that I mean, one usually flies in and is met at the airport by Disney's Magical Express, on which our luggage is loaded and taken to the resort hotel. Now, thanks to technology, and the pandemic, going to the front desk to check in is no longer necessary. Once we check in by phone or watch, we are assigned a room number and the Magic Bands we received in the mail a few weeks before our departure, we use them to hold to the door and the room opens. The wristband also can be set up to charge items on it, like meals and souvenirs. And still, it seemed like the day would never arrive.
Advent is a time of preparation and waiting. In today's passage, we read God's hand was all over the details and the preparations about who would do what, and when. God was preparing for the world's greatest event, the birth of God's only Son, for saving the world from sin and death; well, that was a big event and careful preparation and events would have to happen. The task of one who could go before the Lord's arrival, would require a special person who would be faithful and strong to prepare the way of the Lord. After all, this would be the fulfillment of prophecy of many years. And as other gospels tell the story, God's angel appeared to John, son of Zechariah, who was told what his son would do and even what he was to name that son. The son was John the Baptist, a name given to him because he offered baptism for the forgiveness of sins to all who would receive it. And off into the wilderness he went with this message, "Repent, for the kingdom of Heaven is at hand." his passage shares the fuller message of the prophetic message preached by prophets, "A voice of one calling in the wilderness, 'Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for Him. Every valley shall be filled in, every mountain and hill made low. The crooked roads shall become straight, the rough ways smooth. And all people will see God's salvation." All that John did was to fulfill prophecy and to indeed make ready the way of the Lord. It was not an easy task, and like most biblical characters, he lost his life for his faithfulness to God. And all for the salvation of all people. Advent is a time to remember that God's love is so great, He wants all people to come to a saving knowledge of that love, and by surrendering to Him, can enter into a trusting relationship with God; that is salvation. We know that God has, through His Son, Jesus, paid for our sins, through Jesus' death, and as a result, we enjoy fullness of life now, and later, eternal life.
Carli's preparations included, keeping a secret for ten months from us. She excitedly invited all of our daughters, if they could, to make plans to join us in Orlando. They were not to tell us and she coordianted a way to surprise us once we were at the park. We arrived on Friday, we rented a car, and stayed at a hotel off-property, and we enjoyed Orlando. Our shift in plans helped our avoiding to see one of our girls' airport arrival at the same time as us. Sunday night, our first night in the park, we were sitting by a stand where we could buy Dole pineapple ice cream. I got a text with a photo of our son-in-law Eric, and our oldest granddaughter, Sarita. The photo was dark and looked very much like where we were sitting! And while I'm trying to make heads or tails of the photo, someone comes and sits very close to me. This startled me and I stare at her, and realize it's our daughter, Sarai! And I hug her and realize that Nellie is hugging our granddaughter and soon Eric is hugging me. What an unexpected surprise! We went to bed that night very happy and blessed. The next morning Nellie and I said that the trip would be more special if the other daughters and sons-in-law and grandchildren would have made it, espcially our little one, Eli. So, a bit later, we're in a shop inside of The Magic Kingdom and as we're looking around, we hear a familiar voice say, "Grandma, do you mind looking after Eli for a second?" It was Liam's voice and not only was he there, but he's pushing the stroller with Eli inside! Momma, Caitlin and Daddy, Jesse were also there. Another blessing! We lamented not seeing our firstborn and her family, but learned they were in Orlando, but at Universal Studios. The pandemic had made it necessary for them to cancel a trip, which they made up on this trip. Later, Nellie's knee problem allowed us to take our daughter Nellie's offer to use their van if we needed, They drove over to the urgent care and drove us to get the Rx and dropped us off at our hotel. We got to spend precious memories with Eliana and Adabelle. Our grandson, Caleb, had fallen asleep and stayed in their room; but great blessings were ours, thanks to the proper coordiation and planning done by our daughter Carli. The most awesome part was their keeping the entire trip a secret from us.
Advent is not about keeping secrets, it's for shouting from the housetops that Jesus Christ was born to save us from ourselves and our sinful ways. And the better news is that Jesus will come again!
PRAYER: Heavenly Father, for the things You do and provide, we are amazed and thankful. For the way of salvation we are also indebted. May we truly seek to be right in You and with You; and may we share that joy with others. We pray again for those who need Your healing touch, and may Your will be done; in Christ Jesus we pray, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! Seek ways to share the joy of salvation with someone today.
Receive my blessings of joy and peace,
Pastor Eradio Valverde, Jr.
