Opening Prayer
Gracious God, I put myself before you in this moment with waiting heart, expectant desire. Open my eyes that I may see your promise fulfilled; open my ears that I may hear your word whispered to my deepest being.
Amen.
Passage
Luke 1:46-55
And Mary said: “My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed, for the Mighty One has done great things for me—holy is his name. His mercy extends to those who fear him, from generation to generation. He has performed mighty deeds with his arm; he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts. He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble. He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty. He has helped his servant Israel, remembering to be merciful to Abraham and his descendants forever, just as he promised our ancestors.”
Reflection - Melanie Hammer
In Mary's hymn, Luke makes us aware that she is very familiar with God and his work of redeeming the whole world to Himself. She is part of His bigger story. The news that she will be a mother to the Son of God prompts her song, but not to simply celebrate her miraculous fortune. She immediately understands this baby, this Son, this person, will embody God's redemption and be a radical departure from the culture of power and oppression that dominates her world. She was certain, because of what she already had experienced with God. She was uncertain because she didn't know how it would happen.
Still, she rejoiced.
"In the uncertainty and suspense of not knowing, we learn to keep our eyes wide open, scanning the horizon of our experience of God's leading."
-Mimi Dixon
Name three ways you have experienced God's work of redemption in your world. Rejoice with God over this and today, keep your eyes wide open for how He is still working.
Closing Prayer
My Lord, may all that I have seen of you and all that I have heard from your word now enflesh itself in me. Send me from this place as the incarnate promise of life to all whose life I will touch this day.
Amen.