Advent
December 9, 2016

Scripture Reading: Luke 1:46-55

He has brought down the powerful from their thrones,
   and lifted up the lowly;
he has filled the hungry with good things,
   and sent the rich away empty.
He has helped his servant Israel,
   in remembrance of his mercy,
according to the promise he made to our ancestors,
   to Abraham and to his descendants for ever.’ –Luke 1:52-55

Called Mary’s Song and The Magnificat, it is a young woman’s song of expectation about the child she carries. Mary conceived Jesus during hard times in Galilee. There was a Jewish uprising against Roman in a city near Nazareth and Rome dispatched the malcontents quickly. Rome made every effort to assure all the Jewish people of who ruled them. Mary’s Song defies reality. Mary’s Song expresses her sure and certain faith that God was in control. I doubt that any Roman heard the song or even if they did put too much thought into the power a teenaged girl and the baby in her womb. One should never question the influence of a loving mother or the power of a loving God.

What is our song today? Are we even singing? How do we envision our future? Whose control do we recognize? What is God calling us to do about the hungry and the powerful?

Read all of Mary’s song, prayerfully consider it, and take some time to compose your song about how God is working through you and the causes God calls you to champion.

Prayer: Lord, here I am. How can I serve you today in making a word ruled by love? Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized 
Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council 
of Churches of Christ in the United States of American. Used by permission. All rights 
reserved.