A brief prayer is offered that you can add to your daily prayers this week. The scripture is from our Sunday Service Bulletin for today. Today is the third of four Advent sermons where we will explore “Christmas” as an adjective instead of a noun.
Gospel Reading: Luke 1:39-35 (English Standard Version)
39 In those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, to a town in Judah, 40 and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. 41 And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, 42 and she exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! 43 And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44 For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. 45 And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.”
[Mary's Song of Praise: The Magnificat]
46 And Mary said,
“My soul magnifies the Lord,
47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
48 for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant.
For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed;
49 for he who is mighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his name.
50 And his mercy is for those who fear him
from generation to generation.
51 He has shown strength with his arm;
he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts;
52 he has brought down the mighty from their thrones
and exalted those of humble estate;
53 he has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich he has sent away empty.
54 He has helped his servant Israel,
in remembrance of his mercy,
55 as he spoke to our fathers,
to Abraham and to his offspring forever.”
47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
48 for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant.
For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed;
49 for he who is mighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his name.
50 And his mercy is for those who fear him
from generation to generation.
51 He has shown strength with his arm;
he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts;
52 he has brought down the mighty from their thrones
and exalted those of humble estate;
53 he has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich he has sent away empty.
54 He has helped his servant Israel,
in remembrance of his mercy,
55 as he spoke to our fathers,
to Abraham and to his offspring forever.”
56 And Mary remained with her about three months and returned to her home.
Devotion: Christmas Carols
The word carol, comes from an old French word carolewhich means a circle dance. Carols were popular outside the church as dance or festival songs in the 1200’s and 1300’s. In the early church, the priests were generally the only ones singing carols and the lyrics were in Latin. With the reformation, comes the chance for congregants to sing together and enhance the worship service by bringing more emotive participation into the worship experience. I myself love Christmas Carols, especially the older ones. I have a satellite radio in our garage and in mid-November a channel for 24/7 Christmas music launches. For the last several years I have enjoyed the experience of hearing Christmas music and carols when I visit the garage from before Thanksgiving thru New Year’s Day. There is a commercial for a firm that sells back to school supplies that I’ll bet you’ve seen in August, where the music is “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year.” Even in the midst of our hot summers, when I hear that song it makes me think of Christmas time. I hope that you enjoy Advent and get to sing or listen to some Christmas Carols. What a wonderful time of the year!!!
We pray: Lord we thank you for the birth of our Messiah. Amen