Monday Devotional Meditation
Taken from The Journey by Adam Hamilton, which is our 2019 Advent Book Study.
For nine or ten days Mary had carried in her heart the most astounding secret: She was pregnant, and the child was to be the long-awaited Messiah, Israel’s deliverer. Yet she had been afraid to share the news, for if the wrong person heard, Herod could have had her killed; or, if her loved ones didn’t believe her, the religious leaders might have condemned her and had her put to death. Perhaps she herself was afraid to trust that it was true.
But when Elizabeth prophesied over Mary and announced that she was blessed, Mary finally was able to trust that God really was at work. She believed that, despite the inherent danger in carrying the Messiah; despite the reality that her hopes and dreams had been turned upside down; and despite the fact that she didn’t fully understand, God would work through her and her child. In her acceptance of this amazing truth, Mary finally shouted out her song of joy. Can you hear the tone of her song in its opening words? “My soul magnifies the Lord! My spirit rejoices in God my Savior!”
Joy, unlike happiness, can come to us independent of our circumstances. It comes not from changing our circumstances but from viewing them through the eyes of faith. The apostles, after being beaten by the Council, rejoiced because they were counted worthy to suffer for the name of Jesus. Paul penned his well-known “epistle of joy”—the letter to the Philippians—even as he sat in a Roman prison awaiting news as to whether he would be executed for his faith. In the letter he wrote, “Rejoice in the Lord always!” Paul wrote to the Christians at Thessalonica, who themselves had been persecuted for their faith, “Rejoice always,” and then told them how this was possible when he continued, “Pray without ceasing” and “give thanks in all circumstances.”
Last year I was in Malawi, Africa, visiting rural villages to explore partnerships with local congregations to build wells, schools, and churches. In one of the villages, the people, who earn about fifty-five cents per person per day, took us to the stream of green, brackish water that they used for drinking, cooking, and cleaning. They asked us to consider helping them build a well so their children might not get sick from the water anymore.
After we had toured their village, they invited us to their church. We stepped inside the mud-brick building. It was just a large room with open holes where windows might go, and daylight shining through gaps in the thatched roof. And then they began to worship. They sang songs of joy because they trusted God, and they believed that God had brought us to Malawi to help them have safe drinking water (something we ourselves believed). Would that Christians in the United States sang with such exuberance and joy!
Mary, despite dangers, fears, risks, and upended dreams, “magnified the Lord and rejoiced in God.” She did this with the help of Elizabeth and with her own willingness to trust that God was working in and through her to accomplish Divine purposes.
Joy is a choice we make when we look at our present circumstances through the eyes of faith, trusting that God is at work and will never leave us nor abandon us. And it is often found with the help of another person who can reassure us that God is with us.
Tuesday Questions for Reflection
Adapted from The Journey by Adam Hamilton
1. How would you define "joy?"
2. How is joy different from happiness?
3. Can you remember and experience when you experienced joy at the same time you felt unhappy? Have you ever felt happy but not joyful? What do these experiences teach you about happiness and joy?
4. Think about Mary's statement, "My soul magnifies the Lord." What does it mean? How do we magnify the Lord?
Wednesday Prayer
Adapted from the UMC Social Creed and Sunday's Advent Candle Liturgy
Strong Mother, Everlasting Father, Gracious Parent,
We pause. We breathe. We reflect.
We thank you for this season where we anticipate the Unexpected Messiah.
We remind ourselves that while we continue to grow and
age, you will always be for us our eternal and loving Parent.
We hear the prophet who speaks to us saying:
God embraces all the many hues of humanity,
delights in diversity and difference,
and stands in the strength of solidarity
that transforms strangers into friends.
And so shall we.
God laughs as kittens and puppies play with uncoordinated abandon,
finds glee in the children who come full of energy,
overflows with joy when observing the cooperation of creation.
And so shall we.
This week, may we find joy in simply standing, sitting, and being
in your presence and participating in the gift of life.
May your joy now fill our souls, once again.
Sung: O come thou Dayspring come and cheer,
Our spirits by thine advent here,
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night,
And death’s deep shadows put to flight.
Rejoice! Rejoice!
Emmanuel shall come to you, O Israel.
Thursday Questions for Reflection
This week's questions are focused on the Magnificat, a modern interpretation has been included for you below. You may also choose to watch Pastor Lauren's sermon from Sunday (which will be uploaded on Tuesday), which discusses more on this topic.
A modern interpretation of Mary's Magnificat
(Luke 1:47-55) from enfleshed:
My soul is alive with thoughts of God.
What a wonder, Their liberating works.
Though the world has been harsh to me,
God has shown me kindness,
seen my worth,
and called me to courage.
Surely, those who come after me will call me blessed.
Even when my heart weighs heavy with grief,
still, so does hope abide with me.
Holy is the One who makes it so.
From generation to generation,
Love’s Mercy is freely handed out;
None are beyond the borders of
God’s transforming compassion.
The power of God is revealed
among those who labor for justice.
They humble the arrogant.
They turn unjust thrones into dust.
Their Wisdom is revealed in
the lives and truths of those on the margins.
God is a feast for the hungry.
God is the great re-distributor of wealth and resources.
God is the ceasing of excessive and destructive production
that all the earth might rest.
Through exiles and enslavement,
famines and wars,
hurricanes and gun violence,
God is a companion in loss,
a deliverer from evil,
a lover whose touch restores.
This is the promise They made
to my ancestors, to me,
to all the creatures and creations,
now and yet coming,
and in this promise,
I find my strength.
Come, Great Healer,
and be with us.
Mary prepared room for Christ in her very womb. In what ways are preparing room for Christ in our hearts? In our lives? In our finances? In our families? In our community?
As children of Christ who get to continue his legacy of love, how are we telling of the glory of our Everlasting Father? The one who loves us like a parent with accountability, grace, and love; who throws a party at our return to community; who celebrates us even when we make mistakes? How are we reflecting on the stories of our lives and seeing how Christ is present in our midst?
How are we shouting a new story? A story that disrupts the frantic consumerism and worry, characteristic of a typical American lifestyle, to one of thoughtfulness, love, and compassion?
In what ways are we living so that heaven and nature can sing in harmony? How are we being good stewards of the land, sea, and air? How are we creating an earth more like heaven where everyone has enough, wars cease, and all creation can live in harmony?
Friday Prayer
Adapted from Walter Brueggemann
In the midst of a tired and fearful world,
we have heard your everlasting promise to be faithful
to us in times of need, worry, and distress.
We call upon you to bring us a fresh vision for the future.
We ask you to help us to see our part in restoring
our world to be more like that of your dreams...
where all find their place in your story of hope
and are filled with good things.
Be with us as we long for your presence and help us
to be ready for your coming. Amen.