the Fourth Thursday of Advent
Scripture Reading for Today:
Micah 4:6-8
6 On that day, says the Lord, I will gather the lame; I will assemble those who were driven away and those whom I have harmed. 7 I will make the lame into survivors, those driven away into a mighty nation. The Lord will rule over them on Mount Zion from now on and forever. 8 As for you, Tower of Eder, hill of Daughter Zion, as for you it will come, the former dominion will come, the royal power belonging to Daughter Zion.
2 Peter 1:16-21
16 We didn’t repeat crafty myths when we told you about the powerful coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Quite the contrary, we witnessed his majesty with our own eyes. 17 He received honor and glory from God the Father when a voice came to him from the magnificent glory, saying, “This is my dearly loved Son, with whom I am well-pleased.” 18 We ourselves heard this voice from heaven while we were with him on the holy mountain. 19 In addition, we have a most reliable prophetic word, and you would do well to pay attention to it, just as you would to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. 20 Most important, you must know that no prophecy of scripture represents the prophet’s own understanding of things, 21 because no prophecy ever came by human will. Instead, men and women led by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.
Luke 1:46b-55
“With all my heart I glorify the Lord! 47 In the depths of who I am I rejoice in God my savior. 48 He has looked with favor on the low status of his servant. Look! From now on, everyone will consider me highly favored 49 because the mighty one has done great things for me. Holy is his name. 50 He shows mercy to everyone, from one generation to the next, who honors him as God. 51 He has shown strength with his arm. He has scattered those with arrogant thoughts and proud inclinations. 52 He has pulled the powerful down from their thrones and lifted up the lowly. 53 He has filled the hungry with good things and sent the rich away empty-handed. 54 He has come to the aid of his servant Israel, remembering his mercy, 55 just as he promised to our ancestors, to Abraham and to Abraham’s descendants forever.”
CEB
Emmanuel - God with Us
Traci-Lynn Burt is passionate about helping others discover who God has called them to be while pursuing the purposes they were created for. She is blessed to be married to Russ and mother to Nick, Matthew, Leah, and Katie. She is the Director of Leader Health & Development with the Central Canadian District of the C&MA and the founder of Cornerstone Consulting Canada. TL, as most people call her, loves coming alongside individuals and non-profit organizations and empowering them with a deeper sense of their identity in Christ so that they can live out of that identity on mission with the Spirit. She enjoys coaching others to live from their significance in Christ and helps them discover how that looks in their lives. TL desires to partner with the Spirit to equip Yahweh's children to live from a Kingdom perspective, embracing and delighting in the journey together.
As I write this Advent devotional, my heart is heavy. Heavy with the weight and tension of 2021. Heavy with pandemic tensions, the tensions of racial unrest, family tensions, health concerns. This year, my roads have been barricaded, my finances eroded, my relationships damaged, and my children hurt. Just this past week, the tragic death of a friend by suicide has broken my heart. My heart is heavy, my spirit is weak, my body is exhausted, and my eyes are swollen from tears as I collapse into the arms of Jesus.
The gospel lectionary reading for today is a famous section of Scripture - The Magnificat. It is Mary’s song of praise to Yahweh. It is beautiful, even epic, but I wonder: How? How does she respond in the midst of her tension–her disastrous, life-threatening tension–with praise?
When Mary sang that song, she was a young girl, likely between the ages of 12 and 16. She was poor. She was unmarried, utterly dependent on others. She had no power, no voice, no rights. Her pregnancy would have brought shame to her family. It would have ostracized her in the community. She must have feared that if Joseph, her betrothed, didn’t believe her story of an immaculate conception, she would be destitute or even killed.
A song of lament would have been more realistic, more appropriate.
I think my song likely would have been a lament.
But not Mary…
Songs of lament are biblical. God meets us in lament. He joins us there and holds us close. Songs of lament are not caused by lack of faith, but result from a growing, enduring faith that is under pressure. Songs of lament give voice to tension. They release pressure from pent up exhaustion and brokenness. They bring release, bring healing. Many in the Bible, including the Psalmist, share deep-seated laments.
But not Mary…
Young, poor, scared Mary offers a song of praise.
With all my heart I glorify the Lord
I rejoice in God my Saviour.
Again I wonder: How? Could it be that Mary’s hope, her joy, her praise, originated from within her because of who was inside her? The hope of Emmanuel, already inhabiting her virgin womb, was even now transforming the world. Bringing healing and peace. He was a “lamp shining in a dark place until the day dawns and the Morning Star rises in your hearts.” (2 Peter 1:19). The light of the world was already shining in Mary’s womb and the Morning Star had risen in her heart, resulting in praise. Mary could respond with songs of praise because she had the hope of Emmanuel — God with us.
In our tensions, amongst our laments, we, too, have Mary’s hope. We, too, have Emmanuel. Like Mary, we can bring our uncertainty, pain, fear, and tensions to Him, and allow Him to light our darkness. We can bring our laments and allow Him to turn them into praise. We can rest in Him, knowing that the lame will walk, the blind will see, the broken will be restored, and His Kingdom will come.
As we prepare our hearts this Advent and as we look forward to celebrating Christ’s birth, let us rejoice within the tension, sing praise with exhausted voices, and seek the Morning Star in the darkness.
With all our hearts we glorify the Lord
We rejoice [despite the tension] in God our Saviour.
Emmanuel — God with us!
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