A Reflection for the Second Day of Advent – Year A
Tuesday, December 2, 2025
Psalm 124 | Genesis 9:1–17 | Hebrews 11:32–40
We are in the season of sacred waiting. Advent asks us to slow down, to watch, to prepare room. And in this waiting, the Scripture readings press a word upon us that deserves our attention: care.
In Genesis 9, after the waters of the flood have receded and Noah steps onto dry ground, God speaks a new word. God gives Noah and his descendants a commission, a ministry. It is the ministry of stewardship and care over every living creature, every creeping thing, every growing thing that inhabits the earth.
This is what it means to bear God’s image: to nurture and protect, to tend and heal. To give care for the earth. To give care for one another. The two are inseparable.
How do we give such care? Through faith. But the writer of Hebrews reminds us that faith is not an automatic key that unlocks whatever we desire. Faith lights the way. Faith inspires perseverance. The heroes of Hebrews 11 conquered kingdoms and shut the mouths of lions, yes. But many also suffered, wandered, waited. And here is the remarkable thing: all these, though they were commended for their faith, did not receive what was promised (Hebrews 11:39).
They kept holding on to God. They knew they were seeking another homeland. Faith kept them faithful even when the promise seemed distant.
The Psalmist sings: Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth (Psalm 124:8). When the raging waters threatened, when the torrent rose, the faithful were preserved because the Lord was on their side. God is zealous for those who bear God’s image.
And this is where the readings press against us. We are called to be distinguishable as God’s people. The way we treat one another, the way we care for one another, becomes the hallmark, the signal to God: these are my people. We bear the family resemblance. We look like the One who made us.
Advent is a season of preparation. We are preparing room for Christ to come. But we are also being prepared, shaped, formed into people whose lives reflect the God we worship. As we move through this season, carry this word with us: care. Let it shape how we speak, how we think, how we move through the world. Let it mark us as those whose help is in the name of the Lord.