Luke 1:26-38
In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”
Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”
“How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”
The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. For no word from God will ever fail.”
“I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her.
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Is there anything about this season that is still? Stores are busy with shoppers. Business are busy with office parties. Homes are busy with decorating, baking and wrapping. Parents are busy keeping their kids’ sanity in check (or is it their own?). Mail carriers and email accounts are busy with Christmas letters. Sometimes it might seem like the only still moment at this time of the year is when the snow is gently falling down without any wind and you take a moment to marvel at the beauty of it.
Part of the reason you are reading this devotion is because you are looking for stillness in this busy time. Today we seek the same stillness Mary had at the end of her encounter with the angel Gabriel. Stillness of heart that enabled her to say, “I am the Lord’s servant. May your word to me be fulfilled.”
But before that stillness of faith, consider what happened. Gabriel’s greeting made Mary’s heart anything but still! Luke tells us Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. Who could blame her? An angel of the Lord showing up completely unexpected would also trouble us! And then came the announcement that only would have increased her trepidation: “You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of the father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”
And we hear this wonderment and trepidation in her reply: “How will this be since I am a virgin?”
Consider what it was that brought stillness to Mary’s heart filled wonder and trepidation so that she could say, “I am the Lord’s servant. May your word to me be fulfilled.” Friends, it is the very same thing that stills your heart in these busy days, in times of trial and trouble, in times of heartache and distress—the words and promises of God which cannot fail.
The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. For no word from God will ever fail.”
Did you hear it? “No word from God will ever fail.” Friends, if God’s Word and promises could still Mary’s heart, it can and will do the same for us. God’s Word and promises cannot fail us! That is why we can Wait for Jesus in Stillness along with Mary. Just think of what those nine months must have been like!!! Any pregnancy brings its times of restlessness, especially the first! But Mary could wait in stillness for Jesus to come because she had God’s Word that will never fail.
Friends, don’t let the busyness of this season rob you of what Christ has prepared for you in his Word. The Son of the Most High has come and his kingdom will never end! You are a part of that kingdom by God’s grace through faith in him who is the very Word of God, Jesus our Savior! This same Jesus of whom the angels sang at his birth, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests” (Luke 2:14), is the same Jesus who proclaimed “Peace be with you!” to his disciples when all his work to bring you peace was done (John 20:19). You too can wait in stillness to celebrate Jesus’ first coming as you also wait in stillness for him to come again on the Last Day.
The first hymn from our midweek Advent service last week speaks to this truth: For you, O Lord, my soul in stillness waits; truly my hope is in you. O Spring of Joy, rain down upon our spirits. Our thirsty hearts are yearning for your Word. Come make us whole, be comfort to our heart. O Root of Life, implant your seed within us, and in your advent draw us all to you, our hope reborn in dying and in rising. For you, O Lord, my soul in stillness waits; truly my hope is in you (CW 325 My Soul in Stillness Waits, refrain, st. 2-3 & refrain).
God bless you these days of Advent as you Wait for Jesus in Stillness.
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Devotion by Pastor Ben Enstad
Copyright (c) 2022, St. Paul Lutheran Church, Green Bay, WI 54301
Bible text, NIV (c) Biblia, 2011