Advent 12/2/22 Sacred Time

Friday, December 2

Psalm 72:1-8 (NRSV)

Give the gift of wise rule to the king, O God,
    the gift of just rule to the crown prince.
May he judge your people rightly,
    be honorable to your meek and lowly.
Let the mountains give exuberant witness;
    shape the hills with the contours of right living.
Please stand up for the poor,
    help the children of the needy,
    come down hard on the cruel tyrants.
Outlast the sun, outlive the moon—
    age after age after age.
Be rainfall on cut grass,
    earth-refreshing rain showers.
Let righteousness burst into blossom
    and peace abound until the moon fades to nothing.
Rule from sea to sea,
    from the River to the Rim.


Originally, God did not want to give the Israelites a king, but God did. This psalm is a prayer for gifts for that king-- gifts of wisdom and justice, in order to rule rightly. This has not changed-- rulers are still called to rule with justice and for peace.

God has entrusted humans with these things. They are supposed to come naturally, as natural as the sun and moon, as natural as the rain. Yet justice and peace remain a struggle, an unrealized dream for our world.

Advent reminds us that we can never, ever give up on the struggle for justice and peace. They are worth the struggle; they are worth our lives. They are worth the very life of God, who took on flesh and became human in order to show us-- once again-- a way to justice and peace. I am so grateful to our Savior for doing this for us.

This Christmas season, I pray that you will find some new way to experience God's peace and justice in your life. It is likely to come to you in some small way, a way that may go unnoticed. I pray you will keep your eyes open and your ears tuned so that you will see anew the justice and peace that are gifts from God.

-Andrea McDonough