Dec. 21                            Luke 1:26-38                                 Lisa Thompson

Imagine that an angel appears to you…well, that’s pretty much enough to blow anyone’s mind right there…but there’s even more. The angel tells you that you are “God’s favored one” and tells you that something will happen to dramatically change your life. The event that will happen is a blessing and an honor, but the people around you may not see it that way. You may be criticized, judged, made fun of and put down. When the angel tells Mary, she responds, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord”.  What wonderful faith and trust in God Mary displays. When we hear God’s calling (maybe we don’t actually see an angel, maybe we just have a strong feeling that we’re being called), do we respond with faith like Mary, or do we let our fears get in the way? Do we delay our response by spending too much time thinking and rationalizing about what might happen or what the negative consequences might be for us? Do we think maybe we should wait until the timing is better? If we truly believe that God favors us and is with us always, we can try, like Mary, to be more open, trusting, and faithful in our answer when we are called to be a servant of the Lord.

Prayer
God, please give me the courage of my conviction this day. 

Help me not to waver.

Help me not to procrastinate.

Help me not to rationalize.

Help me not to play games with myself.

Help me to stand strong with Thee.

(by Marian Wright Edelman from Guide My Feet: Prayers and
Meditations For Our Children)

“When god wants an important thing done in this world or a wrong righted, He goes about it in a very singular way. He doesn’t release thunderbolts or stir up earthquakes. God simply has a tiny baby born, perhaps of a very humble home, perhaps of a very humble mother. And God puts the idea or purpose into the mother’s heart. And she puts it in the baby’s mind, and then—God waits. The great events of this world are not battles and elections and earthquakes and thunderbolts. The great events are babies, for each child comes with the message that God is not yet discouraged with humanity, but is still expecting goodwill to become incarnate in each human life.” – Edmond McDonald, Presbyterian Outlook