December 16th, 2018
Devotional
“The Women of Christmas: O Tidings of Comfort and Joy” -
Luke 1: 39-56
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Monday: “Wanting to Wait Togeher” - Luke 1: 39-40
Waiting. A word that may of us don’t want to hear. “You have to wait your turn”. “Not now, you have to wait.” I think we don’t like to hear the word ‘wait’ because somehow we have come to associate it with the word ‘no’. If we can’t get exactly what we want, when we want it, then we think we are being denied something. Yet, Advent is the liturgical season of waiting. We are preparing to wait for the birth of the Christ Child and we remember that we are waiting on the return of Christ the King. We are waiting for God to come to us again, for the full reign of Christ, and to be in holy communion with the Lover of Our Souls.
Perhaps another reason we don’t like the word ‘wait’ is because we think it is passive - a time when we do nothing other than sit down and twiddle our thumbs, as if we are a toddler on time out. But really, Biblical waiting isn’t passive at all - it is anticipatory - as it actively seeks out God’s growth and guidance. Instead it is a time to be attentive to what God is doing in our lives, individually and corporately, in order to grow closer to God.
But most notably, waiting can be painful. Waiting for news from test results. Waiting for the birth of a child. Waiting to hear the court decision. During those periods of waiting it can feel like something is tugging at our hearts, encouraging us to shed our old selves. If anyone knows about inviting people into a painful period of waiting, it was John the Baptist. John told those who would listen to him to use this time of waiting for the One who was to come to repent, to change their thoughts and practices in order to be prepared to live a fuller life. However, this wasn’t something anyone could do by their own efforts - it had to come from seeking God and God meeting them in their deepest need.
Do you find waiting easy or hard? Why?
Prayer: God, we thank you that in periods of difficult waiting that we do not need to go through it alone. We can lean into your presence and you have provided people to wait with us, like Mary and Elizabeth were able to do together. We praise you, O God, for providing what we need the most, even if we cannot put it into words. Amen.
Tuesday: “Filled with the Holy Spirit” -Luke 1: 41-45
In only the perfect way that God can orchestrate, Mary and Elizabeth, cousins years apart in age, became pregnant six months apart. Both women knew the potential shame that could come with their pregnancies - Mary, engaged to Joseph, but pregnant by the Holy Spirit, and Elizabeth, well beyond the age of being able to conceive, but God met them in their need by giving them each other. They intentionally sought each other out in order to be in community together. They were the voice to each other reminding each other, in the midst of their waiting, that they were blessed.
We are told in this morning scripture lesson that Mary went with haste to see her cousin Elizabeth. By now, Elizabeth would have emerged from her time of seclusion and the family probably had started to hear rumblings about what was happening. Elizabeth, the barren one, pregnant. Zechariah, unable to speak a word. Something stirred in Mary’s heart and she knew that Elizabeth was the person she needed to seek out, as if Elizabeth would know something about God ordained pregnancies. When Mary finished her journey and arrived at Zechariah and Elizabeth’s house, upon calling out her greeting, John leapt in Elizabeth’s womb. Not just a kick. But leapt with uncontainable joy. John was so moved, even in the womb, by the presence of Jesus, as if he could not wait to meet him. Could not wait to proclaim that this is the one he would be born to announce the coming of.
What led Elizabeth to make such a bold proclamation about the child in Mary’s womb?
How is the Holy Spirit at work in your life?
Prayer: Lord, in addition to your holy presence and companions along life’s journeys, you also provide us the gift of the Holy Spirit. May the Spirit loosen our tongue when we are to speak and bind it when it is not your word. May the Holy Spirit bless us with wisdom and strength as we draw closer to you. Amen.
Wednesday: “Holy Friendships” - Luke 1: 39-45
Waiting is hard. Facing the unknown, the barren, the rough, the dry, the uninhabitable part of our lives. We all have them. And we have a choice whether to let such times consume us or to allow God to use them to refine us. Like John, we can be refined or resist.
One possible way during seasons of waiting to allow ourselves to be refined can be found in the example of Mary and Elizabeth, to enter into holy friendships. Friendships that encourage us to look towards God and to be patient, even when it is the last thing that we want to do. For God will never call or invite us into a period of waiting without giving us both human support and holy strength, as he gave Elizabeth and Mary.
What is God wanting to do in your heart during this Advent season?
Who is God providing as accompaniment during this journey of holy, precious, waiting?
Prayer: Lord, led us to holy friendships we pray. Let us feel both supported by others and offer that support, all to your honor and glory, we pray. Amen.
Thursday: “Magnifies the Lord” - Luke 1: 46-50
Mary would have grown up with the songs of Hannah and Mariam and other figures from the Hebrew Scriptures being taught to her over and over again. However, she probably never though that she would have her own song to sing some day. A song of praise that she could only bring herself to sing after hearing the prophetic words of her cousin Elizabeth concerning the child that she was carrying.
Mary starts her Magnificant, her song of praise, by first and foremost giving God all the praise - saying that her soul magnifies, lifts up and reflects, the Lord as she rejoins in her Savior. It is only then that she starts to focus in on what God has done for her - shown mercy and provided strength.
What is the song of God that your heart could sing?
Prayer: Lord, we praise you not just for what you have done in our lives, but more importantly for who you are. You are God and we are not. Even when we do not fully understand your ways, you are good and worthy of our praise. Let us sing unto the Lord, this day and always. Amen.
Friday: “He” - Luke 1: 50-56
Mary’s song continues, listing off all of the things that God has done. He has scattered the proud. He has brought down the powerful. He has lifted up the lowly. He has sent the rich away empty while filling the hungry with good things. He has helped his servant.
Mary’s list could go on and on. Ever time I read this beautiful song (or heard its words sung), it leads me to reflect on what I praise God for. Sometimes in the hustle and bustle of our lives, we need to simply stop and pause and sing unto God - telling God that He is good and all that he is done for us. When our hearts focus on God, we start to realize just how blessed we truly are.
Why do you praise God?
Prayer: Lord, let our hearts turn to you anew this Advent season and may they be filled with your praises. And like Mary, can we proclaim your goodness to all we meet. In the name of the Christ we pray. Amen.
Saturday: Preparing for the Word
You are invited to read and pray this week’s text and topic: “With Heart and Soul and Voice” - Luke 1: 57-79 and Matthew 1: 18-25.
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