The Rev. Alan Olson ’14, Pastor, First United Presbyterian Church, Houston, Pa.
Scripture
Luke 1:39-45 (46-55)
39 In those days Mary set out and went with haste to a Judean town in the hill country, 40 where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. 41 When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the child leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit 42 and exclaimed with a loud cry, "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. 43 And why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me? 44 For as soon as I heard the sound of your greeting, the child in my womb leaped for joy. 45 And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her by the Lord."
Devotional
Advent is a time of watching and waiting. It is about patience and it is about the hope for something new. It is winter. The crops have all been harvested and there is no work to be done, all we can do is wait for a new season.
In this passage, we meet Mary and Elizabeth. Both are pregnant; both are filled with joy. Their pregnancies are visible signs of hope—everyone knows that something new is coming, but nobody knows exactly what that something will be. Mary and Elizabeth don’t know what God is up to. Mary doesn’t know that she is carrying the Word of God in her womb. She knows that God has been faithful and will continue to be faithful.
And God will continue to be faithful to us! No, church doesn’t look like it used to look. There are fewer people in the pews. There aren’t as many young people. But God is faithful and God isn’t done with us. In this season of waiting, be patient and look for what God is doing in your church and in your life. Like Mary, we don’t know what’s coming next. Let us approach the new season with hope and joy!
Prayer
Eternal God, we know that you have always been faithful to us. We know that you will always be faithful to us. Your love is from everlasting to everlasting. You are the alpha and the omega. Help us to remember your faithfulness during this time of waiting. Help us to live into the hope and the joy of Mary and Elizabeth. Thanks be to God. Amen!