Wednesday, August 29, 2018

Luke 1:34-37

Mary said to the angel, ‘How can this be, since I am a virgin?’ The angel said to her, ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God. And now, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month for her who was said to be barren. For nothing will be impossible with God.’ 

Who knows?

A touching and much-loved Advent song asks a poignant question, “Mary did you know?”

Did you know your child is the gift of God’s loving presence? Did you know he would bless, heal and set souls free? Did you know he would experience the heights of joy and the bitterness of hatred? Did you know you would watch him die, executed in excruciating pain?

No, how could she? None of us know where following Jesus will take us.

Jesus calls us to be with him, to share his life and love and to reveal his kingdom in acts of compassion, liberation and justice in the common places of our lives. But we do not know exactly what will come.

We do not know who we will meet or what surprises, pleasant or not, are just around the corner. We do not know whether we will serve him in a life filled with health and vitality or amid the struggle and disease. We do not know if our families and friends will accept our commitment to Jesus and his mission or whether they will think us strange ... or worse.

But we do know this: Jesus invites to stay near him, in prayer and meditation, worship and fellowship that we may know him. He longs for intimate companionship with us that he may generously share all that is him.

Amid all we do not know, we know this. And that’s enough.

Pr. David L. Miller