UNEXPECTED

Daily Scripture Readings

Monday          Luke 1:5-10

Tuesday          Luke 1:11-17

Wednesday   Luke 1:18-25

Thursday       John 1:43-51

Friday            Luke 1:39-45

Saturday Luke 2:8-18

Opening Prayer

Gracious God, as we begin the season of Advent, open our hearts to the unexpected places where you will be revealed.   In the name of Jesus, AMEN.

Reading:

The story of Mary is a stunning one.  A young woman of no reputation or status is visited by an angel and informed that she will become pregnant, by the Holy Spirit, with the Son of God.  She will carry in her body the Savior of the world, the King all of Israel has been waiting for.  Just as amazing to me, though, is the proof Gabriel offers that such a thing is possible.  Mary’s old and barren cousin Elizabeth is six months pregnant!

Elizabeth, unlike Mary, is a woman of standing and reputation.  She is the wife of a temple priest and a daughter of Aaron, meaning her lineage, like her husband’s, could be traced back to him.  Despite that, she did not and could not have children, which would have been a source of great shame for a wife in those days.  But after many years, God, in Elizabeth’s words, “looked with favor upon” her and “took away [her] disgrace among men.” (Luke 1: 25)

If Mary had any concerns about the scandal or costs of being pregnant and unwed, she could look to her cousin—humiliated for much of her married life, but never left or forsaken.

Mary holds out courage.  Elizabeth offers hope.  One helps me face the mystery of a life with Christ.  The other reminds me that because of Christ, my circumstances don’t have the last word; that even in the darkest places, I am seen and not forgotten in God’s story.  Both women inspire me to greater faith.