Devotion: Working Together

“…being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they (Wise Men) departed to their own country by another way. (Matt. 2:12)

The word “conspiracy” always conjures negative images for me, even though the simple meaning of “conspire” is roughly equivalent to “collaborate.” I think this is because I watched the television coverage of the Watergate investigation non-stop during the summer of 1973. Nearly every day brought new details of how the Nixon Administration sought to cover up its involvement in the break-in of Democratic National Committee headquarters in the Watergate office complex.

So when I first heard the term “Advent Conspiracy” some years ago, I assumed it was an effort to diminish the celebration of Advent. I quickly learned that, instead, it’s an effort to encourage families and other groups to work together to celebrate the season of Advent in meaningful ways: Worship Fully, Spend Less, Give More, Love All.

In Matthew’s telling of the Christmas Story, the Wise Men conspire with God to keep baby Jesus safe. They knew King Herod was evil and rather than wanting to worship the newborn king, Herod would want him dead. They would have feared disobeying Herod’s directive to tell him where they found Jesus, and they would have asked for God’s guidance. So when they were told in a dream from God to go home by a different route, they did.

That’s the thing about conspiring for good: we can bring God into it. We can ask for His advice, present different options, ask if the time is right. God responds as we listen to him – often through the thoughts and words of those we are conspiring with.

This Advent season at Sheridan, we have conspired to support our mission work locally and globally. As the New Year begins, let’s keep conspiring. Let’s work with our family, our friends, our Grace Group, our fellow Sojourners, the mission or ministry we give our time to. Let’s ask God to conspire with us to bring about the good He wants for our world.

Gracious God, help us to conspire with you. Amen.

This devotion is written by Cheryl Stubbendieck.

If you would like to serve as a member of the Sheridan Lutheran Writing Team and help to write devotions based on the text for the weekend, contact Patty Forsberg.

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