Day 15: The Story of Mary

In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to the Galilean village of Nazareth to a virgin engaged to be married to a man descended from David. His name was Joseph, and the virgin’s name, Mary. Upon entering, Gabriel greeted her: Good morning! You’re beautiful with God’s beauty, beautiful inside and out! God be with you.

She was thoroughly shaken, wondering what was behind a greeting like that. But the angel assured her, “Mary, you have nothing to fear. God has a surprise for you: You will become pregnant and give birth to a son and call his name Jesus. He will be great, be called ‘Son of the Highest.’ The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David; He will rule Jacob’s house forever—no end, ever, to his kingdom.”

Mary said to the angel, “But how? I’ve never slept with a man.”

The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, the power of the Highest hover over you; therefore, the child you bring to birth will be called Holy, Son of God. And did you know that your cousin Elizabeth conceived a son, old as she is? Everyone called her barren, and here she is six months pregnant! Nothing, you see, is impossible with God.”

And Mary said,“Yes, I see it all now: I’m the Lord’s maid, ready to serve. Let it be with me just as you say.Then the angel left her. Mary didn’t waste a minute. She got up and traveled to a town in Judah in the hill country, straight to Zachariah’s house, and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby in her womb leaped. She was filled with the Holy Spirit, and sang out exuberantly, “You’re so blessed among women, and the babe in your womb, also blessed! And why am I so blessed that the mother of my Lord visits me? The moment the sound of your greeting entered my ears, the babe in my womb skipped like a lamb for sheer joy. Blessed woman, who believed what God said, believed every word would come true!”

Luke 1:26-45 The Message

And they wait. They believed what God said.

So unlikely - two women, one an old barren wife of a priest, the other a young virgin from a blue-collar neighborhood engaged to a carpenter. They knew. They understood. They worshipped. They waited.

What is something unlikely, but totally like God to do, that you need to know, understand, believe and wait for?

Day 15: The Story of Mary

In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to the Galilean village of Nazareth to a virgin engaged to be married to a man descended from David. His name was Joseph, and the virgin’s name, Mary. Upon entering, Gabriel greeted her: Good morning! You’re beautiful with God’s beauty, beautiful inside and out! God be with you.

She was thoroughly shaken, wondering what was behind a greeting like that. But the angel assured her, “Mary, you have nothing to fear. God has a surprise for you: You will become pregnant and give birth to a son and call his name Jesus. He will be great, be called ‘Son of the Highest.’ The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David; He will rule Jacob’s house forever—no end, ever, to his kingdom.”

Mary said to the angel, “But how? I’ve never slept with a man.”

The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, the power of the Highest hover over you; therefore, the child you bring to birth will be called Holy, Son of God. And did you know that your cousin Elizabeth conceived a son, old as she is? Everyone called her barren, and here she is six months pregnant! Nothing, you see, is impossible with God.”

And Mary said,“Yes, I see it all now: I’m the Lord’s maid, ready to serve. Let it be with me just as you say.Then the angel left her. Mary didn’t waste a minute. She got up and traveled to a town in Judah in the hill country, straight to Zachariah’s house, and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby in her womb leaped. She was filled with the Holy Spirit, and sang out exuberantly, “You’re so blessed among women, and the babe in your womb, also blessed! And why am I so blessed that the mother of my Lord visits me? The moment the sound of your greeting entered my ears, the babe in my womb skipped like a lamb for sheer joy. Blessed woman, who believed what God said, believed every word would come true!”

Luke 1:26-45 The Message

And they wait. They believed what God said.

So unlikely - two women, one an old barren wife of a priest, the other a young virgin from a blue-collar neighborhood engaged to a carpenter. They knew. They understood. They worshipped. They waited.

What is something unlikely, but totally like God to do, that you need to know, understand, believe and wait for?

Day 27: Strengthening Our Ability to Give and Receive Love

I wonder, no, that’s not accurate, I am pretty sure I KNOW that our limited social interactions have made this year extremely difficult regardless of our situation. Homebound or essential worker - everyone has something to complain about. As we approach Christmas, I wonder if it might be good to take a few blogs to think about spirituality and its place in our life. Perhaps it could help us find some comfort or guidance during these difficult days.

Although spirituality comes in a variety of forms – all who seek after spiritual truths have one common element to their worship – they long to be connected. This connection, however expressed, includes a connection with God and others. So being quarantined cannot be great for our spirituality, right?

Experts hasten to add that it should also include a good connection with self. Learning to love God, self and others seems like one of those things we must not lose heart and grow weary in the doing. I believe it is important for another reason. People who lose all sense of connection lose all hope. This feeling of “disconnect” may not seem logical to those who love the hopeless one, but this feeling of invisibility seems to be a hallmark for the depressed and suicidal. Clearly, I don’t have the power to restore hope to the hopeless – that is God’s department. But I do believe that each of us bears the “burden” of responsibility to be a spiritual friend. (This is one of those concepts that should thrive within the limits of healthy boundaries – learning how to love God, self and others well.) I confess, this study comes out of a deep, hurting place within me. I am asking questions and seeking answers about how each of us can strengthen our ability to both give and receive love.

Right now, it all seems very hard.

Day 36: God is with You

In Isaiah 6:1, Isaiah says, “In the year of King Uzziah’s death I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with the train of His robe filling the temple.” The train of a robe communicates honor. God’s train filled the temple! Can you imagine that? God is so big, just the hem of his robe fills the temple!

That same mystery is found in Isaiah’s encounter with God. Clearly, it leaves him completely undone. He’s with us when we desire His presence; He’s with us when we’d prefer for Him not to know what we’re up to; He’s with us when we feel that we are completely alone; He’s with us when we’re rejecting His overtures; and He’s with us when we face evil and hardship and suffering and even a new virus that has everyone stumped as to treatment, much less a cure. Holy, sovereign, great, God—is with you.

God has power to help and to overthrow.

2 Chronicles 25:8 NIV

And so, it makes me think that perhaps it is not asking too much to expect us to wait and to prepare for the coming of the Lord. That we dig deep and consider our ways; clean up our side of the street. Reconsider our choices. This is the purpose of Advent and it feels like an act of worship to do these things in light of God’s lovingkindness.