Scripture Scribbles: December 24, 2023

the Gospel

Luke 1:26-38

The angel Gabriel was sent from God

to a town of Galilee called Nazareth,

to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph,

of the house of David,

and the virgin's name was Mary.

And coming to her, he said,

"Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you."

But she was greatly troubled at what was said

and pondered what sort of greeting this might be.

Then the angel said to her,

"Do not be afraid, Mary,

for you have found favor with God.

"Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son,

and you shall name him Jesus.

He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High,

and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father,

and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever,

and of his kingdom there will be no end."

But Mary said to the angel,

"How can this be,

since I have no relations with a man?"

And the angel said to her in reply,

"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 called holy, the Son of God.

And behold, Elizabeth, your relative,

has also conceived a son in her old age,

and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren;

for nothing will be impossible for God."

Mary said, "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord.

May it be done to me according to your word."

Then the angel departed from her.

the devotion

I was feeling agitated. Nothing was going the way I hoped or planned. My to-do list was miles long with work items, errands, holiday festivities, cleaning and packing to prepare for our family to travel to England for Christmas to be with my husband’s family. This year we also decided to rent out our home while we are away so we had an extra layer of to-dos for preparing our home for guests in our absence. I was starting to think I couldn’t get it all done.

Behind a day’s worth of errands on my to-do list was “Go to confession.” Getting there and back would take an entire morning and I didn’t feel like I had that time to spare. But God was pressing through the agitation in my heart asking me to come, to trust him with “giving up” this time. So I did.

It was one of the most beautiful confessions of my life and Jesus poured love and peace and healing and hope into my heart.

As I emerged from the chapel that day, I could hear God’s voice more clearly. And I told him how anxious I was about getting everything done, how I felt I hadn’t used my time well up to this point and how I didn’t want to fight with my husband and how I wanted to be peaceful in this time, despite it all. His response surprised me. In my heart so clearly, I heard him say “Lucia, it is not too late. I can do this. But you don’t believe I can. Will you let me show you that I can? Through my power, this can be a peaceful, holy time. But you have to let me do it all.”

I realized how right he was. I seriously doubted that there was any hope of getting everything done without a huge fight with my husband and lots of anxiety and agitation. So I responded, “You are right. I just assume it’s going to be awful and there is no way around it. But I don’t want it to be that way. Jesus, I trust you. Take care of everything.” Peace flooded my heart. And excitement to see what he would do.

Over the next few days as our departure approached, when anxiety over getting everything done would creep in, I would call out to Jesus and say again, “Jesus, I trust you. Take care of it like you said you would.” That happened a lot - probably every hour or two!

But friends, he did. When I gave him my little yes in the chaos, he worked in my life. Everything somehow got done. People helped at just the right moment in just the right way. Things just flowed. Down to the last moments before leaving for the airport, little (and big) pieces were falling into place. With each little miracle my heart filled with more and more awe and gratitude for the reality of Jesus’ power and attention to the details of my life and my heart. This was a taste of true surrender, of living by grace in constant prayer. 

Mary was asked to trust in God’s power, too. She gave herself so completely to God’s goodness and power that Jesus was conceived in her womb.

God saves the world through our yesses. Most completely and beautifully through Mary’s, but also now through us.

This is the last Sunday of Advent, but it is not too late to let him work miracles in you and around you. Join me in receiving his fresh and constant mercy and in offering myself anew to his goodness.

Mary said, "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord.

May it be done to me according to your word."

Today’s devotion is written by Lucia Parker