Good Morning Friends,
Perhaps if you lean into God today, on this Winter Solstice, your being will find hope in more than just a return of more sunlit hours in the day. The hope is that we all might find relevance in the scripture behind the celebration of the season of Advent too. Friends, we are in the last week of Advent so do not miss out on the experience of joy. It is a very short time before Christmas day and the chosen day we remember the birth of Christ the Lord and the incarnation of God. But honestly, we have already begun the celebration and singing. And as we contemplate a silent night with our lights held high and are invited to come near and listen in on the events that led up to it, let’s get our priorities straight about what this is all about. So, Do You Hear What I Hear? Do You See What I See? Do You Love What I Love And Share It?
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)
Sing aloud, O daughter Zion; shout, O Israel! Rejoice and exult with all your heart, O daughter Jerusalem! The Lord has taken away the judgments against you, he has turned away your enemies. The king of Israel, the Lord, is in your midst; you shall fear disaster no more. On that day it shall be said to Jerusalem: Do not fear, O Zion; do not let your hands grow weak. The Lord, your God, is in your midst, a warrior who gives victory; he will rejoice over you with gladness, he will renew you in his love; he will exult over you with loud singing as on a day of festival. I will remove disaster from you, so that you will not bear reproach for it
Zephaniah 3:14-18a (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)
Be hospitable to one another without complaining.
1 Peter 4:9 (NRSV)
Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honor. Do not lag in zeal, be ardent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints; extend hospitality to strangers. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly; do not claim to be wiser than you are.
Romans 12:9-16 (NRSV)
Message: God loved us enough to send Jesus Christ into the world to let us know what Joy is. Although it took centuries for it to happen, God waited until the time was right, and God took on flesh to intersect the life of a poor young girl by the name of Mary. An angel had come to Mary to let her know that she had been chosen to give birth to a child who would become the savior of the world. The child would be the Son of God who would take away the sins of the world. This was the child of promise. This was the child of pain. This would be the child of joy. In today’s passage from Luke, Mary goes to visit her cousin Elizabeth. She is tired, confused, and worn out. Nobody believed that she was pregnant by the Holy Spirit. Her marriage to her fiancé Joseph now has a dark cloud over it. Her relationship with her family is rocky. Interestingly, Elizabeth has had a miracle of her own, in that she is an elderly woman who has gotten pregnant for the first time in her life. In this passage, Mary has made the journey to visit her cousin Elizabeth, who is also expecting a very special baby, who will be born and become John the Baptist. When Mary arrives at her cousin’s house and speaks to Elizabeth, the baby, John the Baptist in Elizabeth’s womb leaps for joy. The chances are high that Jesus was not born on Christmas Day. The Roman pagans used to have a big celebration on December 25th to celebrate the return of the days becoming longer after the start of winter. They worshipped the Sun and now the Sun was gaining the upper hand over the darkness. It was a time of joy. However, on this very date, more than 2000 years ago, it is likely that Mary was pregnant and maybe even visiting her cousin Elizabeth. And this time sets the stage for the incarnation of God into human history. Zechariah extended Jewish hospitality hosting Mary for three months perhaps not even realizing that what was essentially the Arc of the Covenant was in his home in the reality of Mary with child.
And So, we are to marvel at the miracle of love at Christmas that came down from heaven to guide us and save us. Today’s message is about the miracle of love and our response to it. Everyone needs to hear that they are loved, and people need to see it too. But we only really hear it when our soul glorifies the Lord, and that force is born in us in a way that brings peace. Mary, Elizabeth, and John the Baptist recognized the miracle of this love. They recognized that with God nothing is impossible. In the Christmas story we begin to understand the salvation and miracle Mary recognized in Jesus and the salvation and miracle the Wise men believed in manifested in the gifts they bring. We too must recognize and anticipate the power of the Holy Spirit at work birthing the Good News in us. Mary was the first person to carry the Gospel. I hope you hear this message in today’s scripture and that speaks to you of the power of Christ. 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.
Friends, 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 usher Jesus into our homes this season. Pray we have the courage to look and the faith to see and the ears to hear God in our lives. 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…love. 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 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 that the fruit of Mary’s womb prompts us to show hospitality to others. Pray we let the Holy Spirit produce fruit in us so that we too might know the joy of God. Pray our lives and homes produce the fruit of the Spirit in love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Pray we realize that this fruit is the fruit of Christ’s own character within us. Pray we realize that Jesus wants to become a guest in our homes and heart to transform us.
Blessings,
John Lawson
Daily Devotionals 