After a long and difficult journey, Mary was finally face-to-face with the one person in the world she could count on to believe her;—her cousin Elizabeth. And then she found out that the Holy Spirit had brought the news ahead of her;—all the explaining was already done. What could Mary do but sing for joy?
There are times when God blesses us in a way that makes our hearts overflow. Like Mary, we want to sing. Some of us do sing, whether we have a voice for it or not. Others of us find different ways to express our love and happiness;—through prayer, through action, through talking to fellow Christians who will understand exactly how wonderful God has been to us.
It is good for us to remember these times of joy. Darkness will come again soon enough. As Mary sang, she still remembered that God would use her Child to scatter the proud and bring down the mighty. Did she fully realize that Jesus would do this through His own death on a cross? Maybe not. Or maybe yes, if she understood the Old Testament prophecies;—in which case she might have also understood about the resurrection.
But when those dark days came, Mary would still have this to look back on;—the day when she first had the chance to share her good news in all its fullness with someone else caught up in the same blessing. We have that too;—our Baptism, confirmation, times at Communion, special times with fellow Christians. Thank God for those times.
THE PRAYER: Lord, when I am troubled, comfort me with the reminder of Your blessings and strengthen me to hope in You for the future. Amen.
Reflection Questions:
* Name one of the happiest days of your life.
* What made it so wonderful?
* When you are troubled, what blessings from God do you look back upon?
Advent Devotions were written by Dr. Kari Vo.