Luke 1:57-58

Luke 1:57-58 

English Standard Version

  It's a competitive world.  Often, we feel that if someone else is getting ahead, that must mean that we are falling behind.  There is a temptation to resent the success of others.

  But in God's Kingdom, we celebrate with others when we see the success of others.  It's not zero-sum, so we can truly rejoice when we see others doing well.  Here is Elizabeth, reveling in the mercy of God, giving birth to a son after such a long wait, and the community rejoices with her.  Her triumph lifts up those around her, and they gather with her.  

  Who can you celebrate with today?  How can you be part of a community that is lifting one another up?

Luke 1:46–56

Luke 1:46-56 

English Standard Version 

  Mary responds to all of this with a song, and the song is rooted in history.  I love how often Scripture does this -- it's pointing backwards, looking at all the things God has done.  You can tell that Mary knows more than just her story -- she knows God's larger story, and she's rooted in that.  Her chapter is just a small piece of what God is doing, but it fits in with that, and so she's also a part of how God is moving forward. Mary sees her work in the scope of the larger expansion of the Kingdom of God, and she celebrates that.

  This is why we read Scripture.  This is why we anchor ourselves in Scripture -- because it helps us see our story as part of something far larger than ourselves.  It's not just about us.  It's not just a small story, but it's cosmic in scope, and God is calling us deeper into relationship, into true life, and we're joining with Christians in every time and place as we sing God's praise and live into God's story.

Luke 1:43–45

Luke 1:43-45 

English Standard Version 

  Have you ever set out on a journey with enthusiasm in your heart, and then you make it a ways into the trip, and that enthusiasm has waned and you're wondering why you're going at all?  What do you need at that point?  You need someone to remind you of your original decision, of your commitment, of your passion.  

  Elizabeth does this for Mary.  She reminds Mary that Mary has believed that what God has spoken would be fulfilled.  Mary has surely asked herself if she is crazy for believing this, and here is Elizabeth, offering some grounding for Mary.  She is affirming Mary's choices.  She is reminding Mary that she is on the right path.  She is pointing to God.

  We need people like this in our lives, and we need to be people like this -- people who affirm and support, and remind one another that we are called by Christ to love and to serve.

Luke 1:39–42

Luke 1:39-42 

English Standard Version 

  It's hard to do things on your own.  The burdens can push down on you, weighing on the soul.  No matter how energized you may feel at the beginning, if you're rowing on your own, you'll lose steam.  When I go out and run, I inevitably stop after around two miles -- I get tired, and it's easy to stop.  When I'm running with someone, I may go twice as long, because I'm not alone.

  Mary is in the midst of a terribly challenging chapter of her life.  She's unwed, pregnant, and without many resources.  But God hasn't set her up to do this on her own.  She has Elizabeth, and when she arrives, John the Baptist leaps in the womb, and Elizabeth is exclaiming with a loud cry how blessed Mary is.   

  Here, there is encouragement.  There is community.

  Who can you provide that to today?

Luke 1:34–38

Luke 1:34-38 

English Standard Version 

  The angel is giving God amazing good news, and Mary has questions.  She doesn't understand how such things can occur, and while the angel answers the question... there are still questions.  

  We've all been at this phase.  We've understood where the road is supposed to go from where we are, but we have questions.  It doesn't make sense.  There are holes in the plan.  We can't see the entire map.

  Mary is in that spot, and yet she has trust in God.  Despite not understanding so much about how this is all going to work, she trusts the one who has come up with the plan.

  Relying on trust is a hard thing to do.  We learn how to depend on ourselves, how to struggle forward... and we like to see the entire road before we commit.

  But God is calling us into something deeper, something bigger, something that stretches through this reality and into the next.  

  Will you lean into God and trust God in the midst of your uncertainty?