Joy: Laying the Foundation

PASSAGE FOR THE DAY:

In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, 27 to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28 The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”

29 Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. 30 But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. 31 You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”

34 “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”

35 The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. 36 Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. 37 For no word from God will ever fail.”

38 “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her.

39 At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea, 40 where she entered Zechariah’s home and greeted Elizabeth. 41 When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. 42 In a loud voice she exclaimed: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! 43 But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44 As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. 45 Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!” (Luke 1:26-45, NIV)

REFLECTIONS:

Advent is a season of hope, remembering the longing of God’s people for the Messiah and rekindling our own desire for Christ’s return. It is a time of reflection and preparation, both of which require us to enter into the season, forsaking the usual hustle and bustle.

The last two weeks have invited our reflection, considering the question: “What do I long for now?” Our weak desires have been exposed by the powerful images and stories of God’s mighty deeds throughout history. We have been confronted with our day-to-day cravings, which often have little to do with the redemptive work of Christ or his coming reign of love and justice. Our only recourse in these times of searching for hope has been to plead the cry of Advent: “Come, Lord Jesus, come.” Come and revive our spirit, lift our eyes to the God of hope and to Christ, our hope of glory.

As we move toward the last week of Advent we begin shifting our focus from reflection to preparation, from longing to anticipation. The clouds are breaking, morning is coming. The Kingdom of Heaven has begun its invasion of earth. Christmas Day is to the Christian what D-Day was to the beleaguered French. In the first week of the invasion they celebrated with great joy as they saw the Allies march through their destroyed towns. Amidst their broken lives, they had great joy because of the hope brought by the invasion.

We are entering into the long-awaited joy of annunciation: “The angel said to Mary, ‘The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.’”

The stories of Jesus’ birth are filled with hints of what his life will mean for us. Faith and generosity overcome impossibility. Poverty and persecution reveal glory. Joy emerges from hope.

The seemingly impossible is already unfolding even before the birth of Je­sus: his birth foretold by the prophets and the angel Gabriel, his conception in the virgin Mary, John the Baptist leaping in his mother’s womb. These were the signs of what Gabriel said to Mary: “For no word from God will ever fail.” Or, as another translation puts it: “Nothing will be impossible with God.”

This promise to Mary brings us great joy. When we think about our hope in meaningless things, the lack of peace in our lives and how we fail to love God and our neighbor, we can be discouraged to not trust in God’s promise to make us like Jesus. But—this is so important for us to “get”—the impossible is made possible through Christ. Conforming sinners like us into the holiness of Jesus truly requires a miraculous work. But God has promised to complete that which he has started. So we, like Mary, say, “I am the Lord’s servant. May your word to me be fulfilled.”

PRAYER:

Our Father, continue revealing yourself to the world, making your name known and glorified. May the Kingdom of Christ, which you inaugurated in a stable, expand throughout the nations and in our lives. Move in our relationships, jobs and families in any way which you see fit and will bring the greatest glory to you. May our world worship and delight in you as those in the heavens.