An Advent Growing in God and Christ
Read: Psalm 146:5-10 and Matthew 11:2-11 Common English Bible (CEB)
During Advent we celebrate the coming birth of Christ while others are thinking of his second coming. This isn’t much different than the Hebrews of the Old Testament. They had been waiting for one that would be their king. “The Messiah will help usher in the redemption of the Jewish people . . . [will be a] judge and descendant of King David . . . great warrior . . . skilled judge . . . [and] academic head.”
Contemporary Jewish views stress the messianic era of peace and minimized or altogether rejected the belief in a literal, personal Messiah. It emphasized human responsibility and effort to repair the world, heal society, and usher in a utopian era of civilization: “There is no messiah, just a messianic age . . . Reform Judaism rejected the traditional Jewish hope for an heir of King David to arise.”1
In our Christian life we look at Christ as one that came to heal: the world, the sick, the lost, those that do not see, work for justice, to help the immigrant and the widow. This is not much different than the contemporary Jewish view.
Christ is not with us now so we are to carry on what he began. John Wesley says that God has bestowed on us grace that is threefold, one of which is Sanctifying Grace. This Sanctifying Grace is the one that occurs as we mature after our Salvation. This grace is the one in which we begin to grow throughout our life to be more like Christ. We are to: grow into our knowledge of God, through study, how we respond to human needs and justice, and how we strengthen the love of our neighbor. Our thoughts and actions and how we respond to them become more a tuned with God’s. This whole process is continuous and made perfect in our love of God and love of each other.
So, this Advent make a commitment to study God more, look to how you could improve human need and justice and love your neighbor. How your daily thoughts and actions can become more like God’s.
Have a very Blessed and Grace filled Advent.
Peace of God be with you,
Fred Herr
1 J Spitzer, “Who Is the Messiah?” My Jewish Learning, 2017,
During Advent we celebrate the coming birth of Christ while others are thinking of his second coming. This isn’t much different than the Hebrews of the Old Testament. They had been waiting for one that would be their king. “The Messiah will help usher in the redemption of the Jewish people . . . [will be a] judge and descendant of King David . . . great warrior . . . skilled judge . . . [and] academic head.”
Contemporary Jewish views stress the messianic era of peace and minimized or altogether rejected the belief in a literal, personal Messiah. It emphasized human responsibility and effort to repair the world, heal society, and usher in a utopian era of civilization: “There is no messiah, just a messianic age . . . Reform Judaism rejected the traditional Jewish hope for an heir of King David to arise.”1
In our Christian life we look at Christ as one that came to heal: the world, the sick, the lost, those that do not see, work for justice, to help the immigrant and the widow. This is not much different than the contemporary Jewish view.
Christ is not with us now so we are to carry on what he began. John Wesley says that God has bestowed on us grace that is threefold, one of which is Sanctifying Grace. This Sanctifying Grace is the one that occurs as we mature after our Salvation. This grace is the one in which we begin to grow throughout our life to be more like Christ. We are to: grow into our knowledge of God, through study, how we respond to human needs and justice, and how we strengthen the love of our neighbor. Our thoughts and actions and how we respond to them become more a tuned with God’s. This whole process is continuous and made perfect in our love of God and love of each other.
So, this Advent make a commitment to study God more, look to how you could improve human need and justice and love your neighbor. How your daily thoughts and actions can become more like God’s.
Have a very Blessed and Grace filled Advent.
Peace of God be with you,
Fred Herr
1 J Spitzer, “Who Is the Messiah?” My Jewish Learning, 2017,
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