December 21st Advent Devotional

December 21

Luke 1:26-38

Then Mary said, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.” Then the angel departed from her.

-Luke 1:38

“Mary, Did You Know?” is a lovely song we hear at the Christmas season. We hear in the refrain, “Mary, did you know of the miraculous things Jesus would do on earth,” concluding with, “did you know…the sleeping Child you’re holding is the Great I Am!" It causes us to reflect on Mary, the young Jewish girl who had a remarkable encounter with God’s angel Gabriel.

In his appearance to Mary, Gabriel was gentle and reassuring, telling her she was highly favored, and the Lord was with her. He told her not to be afraid. He then announced that she would be with child and would give birth to a son, and she was to name the child Jesus. Jesus would be great and would be called the Son of the Most High.

She answers, “How can this be? I am a virgin.” Gabriel answers that the Holy Spirit would come upon her and the power of the Most High would overshadow her so that the holy one to be born would be called the Son of God. Mary responds, “I am the Lord’s servant, may it be to me as you have said.” Then the angel left her.

Mary, in her steadfast faith, accepted the Lord’s plan. Though she knew there would be challenges, she willingly submitted her life to enable the Son of God to break through the clouds of heaven and come down to dwell among us. Mary did not realize at that point all that her baby boy would do for mankind, but she willingly became God’s servant.

May we learn from Mary’s example of being a humble, willing servant of God and respond to God’s call, “May it be to me as you have said.”

Suzie Peak

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Children & Family Practice

Week 4

Preparing for the Christ Child

We are almost to Christmas and the time of welcoming the Christ Child into the world. Just a little more waiting, a little more preparing. The symbol of a star reminds us that this is a time of year to go looking for Jesus. The wisemen followed a star to find Jesus. It took a lot of time, work, and travel for them to do so. The same is true for us, though in a different way.

To remind you of the waiting and wondering in search of Jesus, take some time this week to make a star (or maybe one for each family member). Use any material you want: cardboard, paper, cookie dough, clay… and decorate it as simply or elaborately as you want. When you are done, hang the star(s) on the tree, the fridge, or somewhere you will see them easily. Let them remind you of the journey to the manger.