Monday Devotional: December 16, 2024

Bible Reading: Luke 1:46-55 (NRSVUE)

⁴⁶ And Mary said, “My soul magnifies the Lord, ⁴⁷ and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, ⁴⁸ for he has looked with favor on the lowly state of his servant. Surely from now on all generations will call me blessed, ⁴⁹ for the Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name; ⁵⁰ indeed, his mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation. ⁵¹ He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. ⁵² He has brought down the powerful from their thrones and lifted up the lowly; ⁵³ he has filled the hungry with good things and sent the rich away empty. ⁵⁴ He has come to the aid of his child Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, ⁵⁵ according to the promise he made to our ancestors, to Abraham and to his descendants forever.”

Praise. Mary’s song of praise reflects the words of Hannah spoken after the birth of Samuel. (See 1 Samuel 2:1-10). Hannah had longed for a child and prayed earnestly that she might conceive, so earnestly that Eli the priest at Shiloh thought she might be drunk and scolded her! Nevertheless, her prayer was answered, and she was no longer harassed by her rival Peninah. She and Elkanah her husband celebrated Samuel’s birth. Mary’s story is different; her child is unexpected but her joy overflows into poetic form beginning, like Hannah, with blessing God whom she also names as Savior. Mary acknowledges her lowly origin, a simple peasant girl from the backwaters of Nazareth, and feels honored to bear the one named Jesus who will be called Son of the Most High and who will restore the Davidic reign in Israel.

Mary’s song, the Magnificat, announces a reversal of fortune that Mary foresees as God’s merciful action in the nation. Throughout the Hebrew Scriptures God refers to caring for the poor and disenfranchised, God’s anawin, and often the prophets raised their voices to condemn the inequities of society. Now Mary announces that the powerful will be unseated, the poor lifted up, and the hungry filled because God has helped God’s people Israel.

Our role comes in holding hope before others and discerning God’s call to bring about the kind of God intends. We may feel little, insignificant, and limited, but Mary’s song can become the message we also try to embody. Mary said yes to God’s word through Gabriel, not knowing where willingness might lead her. The Christ born in Mary lives in us today and become visible through our words and actions as we challenge oppressive powers and welcome the poor.

Prayer

Most Holy God, give us voices to praise you, trust in your promised realm of peace, and the courage to bring it about. Amen.

By Elizabeth Canham, The Upper Room Disciplines 2015, page 364.

Advent Bible Study

“On the Way to Bethlehem”
By Rob Fuquay

Session 4: Bethlehem: A Place of Humility
Bible Readings: Luke 2:8-20

Session Goals

1. Reflect on how knowledge about and firsthand visits to our “ancestral homes” may have shaped our sense of identity.
2. Put God’s promise through Micah to Bethlehem in historical context, to better understand what it meant for Micah’s original audience and what it means for Christians today.
3. Identify with the Bethlehem shepherds as those who both receive and give blessings.

ZOOM Session

Monday, December 16, 2024, 6:00 pm to 7:00 pm
For Zoom Link, send email to [email protected]

IN-PERSON Session

Wednesday, December 18, 2024, 1:00 pm to 2:00 pm
Conference Room, McGee Building