Do You Hear What I Hear?
Good Morning Friends,
Today perhaps more people will be contemplating an awakening force at movie theatres than a common Biblical story line involving today’s scripture. But if you lean into God perhaps your soul will leap in the hope that we all might find relevance in the scripture of the day. Friends, we are in the last week of Advent, and we realize it is a very short time before we celebrate Christmas itself and the birth of Christ the Lord. We contemplate a silent night even as we are invited to come near and listen in on the events that led up to it. Do You Hear What I Hear?
Scripture: “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May it be to me as you have said.” Then the angel left her.
Luke 1:38 (NIV)
In those days Mary set out and went with haste to a Judean town in the hill country, where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child leapt in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and exclaimed with a loud cry, ‘Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And why has this happened to me that the mother of my Lord comes to me? For as soon as I heard the sound of your greeting, the child in my womb leapt for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfilment of what was spoken to her by the Lord.’
Luke 1:39-45 (NRSV)
Blessed . . . are those who hear the word of God and obey it.
Luke 11:28 (NIV)
How are they to believe in [a Savior] of whom they have not heard? And how are they to hear without someone to proclaim him?
Romans 10:14 (NRSV)
Message: Today’s message is about the miracle of love and our response to it. Everyone needs to hear that they are loved. But we only really hear it when our soul glorifies the Lord and that force awakens in us. Mary, Elizabeth and John the Baptist recognized the miracle of this love. They recognized that with God nothing is impossible. In this story we begin to understand the salvation and miracle Mary recognized in Jesus and the salvation and miracle we too must recognize and anticipate. Mary you see was the first person to carry the Gospel. I hope you hear it in today’s scripture. And I hope you also see that we too can share in the experience. The possibilities are endless when we pattern our choices after Mary’s response to her call: ‘Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.’ Perhaps we too can hear that we have been chosen to have a relationship with the Lord…perhaps we too in our own special way are highly favored.
For the God we worship, the God of the Universe nothing is impossible. He rules over everything. He is the Miracle Worker so expect a miracle.
Pray we listen to God’s good news. Pray we have the courage to look and the faith to see. Pray that we acknowledge just how powerful the Lord is…the reality that He is as close as the mention of His name. Pray that we share in the greatest miracle of all. Pray that we do not miss out on what Mary discovered. Pray we see, we hear and we know God’s joyful promises. Pray we see, we hear and we know God’s voice of blessing. Pray that we learn how to communicate. Pray we learn how to listen to God through His Word and through the Holy Spirit. Pray we learn to listen to others reflecting the Christ in them. Pray we hear joy and gladness. Pray we hear the love in Shepherd’s voice.
Blessings,
John Lawson
Daily Devotionals 