Advent Devotional December 12, 2025

Scripture

Matthew 23:27–39

27 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which on the outside look beautiful but inside are full of the bones of the dead and of all kinds of uncleanness. 28 So you also on the outside look righteous to others, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.

29 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and decorate the graves of the righteous, 30 and you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our ancestors, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ 31 Thus you testify against yourselves that you are descendants of those who murdered the prophets. 32 Fill up, then, the measure of your ancestors. 33 You snakes, you brood of vipers! How can you escape the judgment of hell? 34 For this reason I send you prophets, sages, and scribes, some of whom you will kill and crucify, and some you will flog in your synagogues and pursue from town to town, 35 so that upon you may come all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Barachiah, whom you murdered between the sanctuary and the altar. 36 Truly I tell you, all this will come upon this generation.

37 “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing! 38 See, your house is left to you, desolate. 39 For I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, ‘Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.’ ”

Devotion

The Rev. Dr. Patrick Marshall '24

We don’t expect to encounter language of woe and judgment in this season of hope, peace, joy, and love, but Jesus meets us here with a call to honest self-examination and repentance. Jesus’ harsh words in these verses are directed not toward “unbelieving sinners” but to the religious leaders, the scribes and Pharisees, those who were thought of by others (and themselves) as righteous and faithful. And by extension, Jesus’ words here are directed toward us.

It’s easy to read this text and think, “Yes, they are hypocrites.” It is much harder to ask, “How am I a whitewashed tomb? Where is the disconnect between my actions and beliefs?” It’s easy to say, “If I had lived in the days of my ancestors—say, during the Holocaust or Civil Rights Movement—I would have spoken up and done the right thing.” It’s much harder to say, “What am I doing now?” We must do the hard work of examining our own hypocrisy and sin so that we can take steps to change it.

Advent is a season in which we wait for the coming of Christ—not just the way Christ came 2,000 years ago, but also the way that Christ will come again. Waiting does not just mean sitting around, doing nothing. We are called to active waiting. We are called to prepare this world and our lives for the coming of the Lord. We do that, in part, through self-examination, repentance, and working for justice. By doing this, we are creating space in this world and in our own lives for Christ to be born.

Prayer

Lord, as we wait for Your coming, help us not to wait passively. May we, with hopeful anticipation, do the hard work of honest self-examination and repentance, so that the faith we bear witness to in the world might match the faith that lives inside of us. Use this season to transform us in Christ. Amen.

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