Seeking the Face of the God of Jacob

​​A Reflection on the Gospel for Sunday, December 21st, 2025:
Fourth Sunday of Advent

---

Psalm 24

R.  May the Lord come in; he is king of glory.

The earth is the Lord’s and all that is in it, the world, and those who live in it; for he has founded it on the seas, and established it on the rivers.

R.  May the Lord come in; he is king of glory.

Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord? And who shall stand in his holy place? Someone who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up their soul to what is false. 

R.  May the Lord come in; he is king of glory.

That person will receive blessing from the Lord, and vindication from the God of their salvation. Such is the company of those who seek him, who seek the face of the God of Jacob.

R.  May the Lord come in; he is king of glory.

Pause. Pray. Reflect.

Over Advent, we’ve been using something between an Advent calendar and a Jesse tree that was created by Ann Voskamp. It’s called The Wonder of the Greatest Gift and it has a cute pop-up Christmas tree that you decorate with a new ornament every day and has daily readings to go with it. We got it many years ago and it has been a staple Advent tradition in our house. What I like about it is that it gives us the fun of opening an Advent calendar and the faith teaching that goes with a Jesse tree.

Each day follows the story of salvation, seen through the lens of God’s love for His children. It starts with Adam and Eve and moves through the stories of our mothers and fathers in faith. In many ways, it mirrors the readings and psalms from the Easter Vigil. We are reading the story of salvation, but also embracing our part in that story. 

Today’s Psalm roots us again in that history - that story of salvation. As we read the story of the expectant people who longed for salvation, we can see ourselves in their stories. We can see our struggles and know that our mothers and fathers in faith struggled with similar things.

Because we need God’s promises just as much as Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob did. Like them, we are called to climb mountains, sacrifice, and pray. We are like Abraham, receiving blessings more numerous than the stars of Heaven. We are like Isaac, receiving God’s timely provision. We are like Jacob, wrestling with how to follow my call to see God’s face. We are like Moses, living in a world divorced from and hostile to our spiritual traditions, crying out for salvation for ourselves and others.

As adopted brothers and sisters of Jesus Christ, we are inheritors of the long struggle to keep our eyes on God. As the Psalmist says, “Such is the company of those who seek Him, who seek the face of the God of Jacob.” At our adoption, we join the work of immeasurable generations.

Today as I pray with this Psalm, I am reminded that this story truly does belong to me too. It was gifted to me on the Cross, bought with Christ’s blood. Let me never forget this incredible blessing that I too am invited to seek the face of the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.





Stéphanie Potter