The babies are coming
Gabriel said to Mary, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the Highest will hover over you. Therefore, the child you bring to birth will be called Holy, Son of God. And did you know that your cousin Elizabeth conceived a son, old as she is? Everyone called her barren, and here she is six months pregnant! Nothing, you see, is impossible with God.”
And Mary said, “Yes, I see it all now:
   I’m the Lord’s maid, ready to serve. Let it be with me just as you say.” Then the angel left her.
– From Luke 1 (The Message)
Mary’s encounter with the Holy Spirit, from which she came away pregnant, is unquestionably unique, but it is also representative of the way we are all filled with the Spirit.
All God asks is that I say something like, “Yes, I see it all now. I am the Lord’s. I am ready to serve. Let it be with me just as you say.” And then the angel can leave, and I can be on my way.
Perhaps to Mary, as the angel leaves her alone, God seems far away on his mountaintop. She knows Joseph will be very confused (read Angry). Her mom and dad will have trouble believing her story. I think that right now, Mary may feel very much alone. But Gabriel surprises her with something.
Just outside Jerusalem, only a good long walk away from Nazareth, her relative Elizabeth is carrying her own child! When Gabriel tells young Mary this, he soothes her and smooths her path. He makes it clear that she is NOT alone. And what’s more, Elizabeth will not be skeptical, disbelieving, angry or confused.
Elizabeth will welcome her with open arms! Her womb will be extended, and the hug may be a bit restrained, but their unspoken kinship will strengthen them both. They have both experienced a Visitation. Their babies are communicating from within their wombs. We’ll hear more about that tomorrow.
Late tomorrow evening, by the way, the winter solstice will arrive. Tomorrow and Sunday bring us the shortest days and longest, darkest nights of the year. Hope does not seem to spring eternal when I’m alone, walking in the dark which seems to never end, and unsure about even my very next steps.
In times like that, as my friend John said a few days ago, “I tend to answer my own prayers.” Yes. My patience is fragile, and my willingness to just let go and let God lead is weak.
If God has my back, has Mary’s back, has Elizabeth’s back, well … that may be, but it’s difficult for any of us to spin around to see.
Can I just have faith, Lord? Just speak up, like Mary, and say, “I’m your servant, Lord. Let it be unto me as you say.”
https://www.davesandel.net/category/advent-and-christmas-devotions-2019/
http://www.christiancounselingservice.com/archive.php?year=2019
