Mary

[Read Luke 1:46-55]

And his mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation.

Mary’s story is quite amazing. She was nobody special. Yet, this young girl was chosen by God to bear the Savior of the world. Her pregnancy must have caused quite a stir in her family – enough for her to leave town and go see Aunt Elizabeth in the hill country. When Elizabeth, herself pregnant with John the Baptist, saw Mary, the babe in her womb leapt for joy. And Mary responded in song. The song she sang is so in keeping with her character – praising God for recognizing and having favor on someone like her of humble means. What an amazing insight into the God of all creation. That the all-powerful, all-knowing, ever-present God sees those whom the rest of the world looks past.

When Jesus came to us that first Christmas morning, he signaled to a world of the unknown and forgotten, the broken and abused, the hungry and hurting, that the God of all creation sees you. God, in Jesus, was taking notice of those the world looks past to tell us that no matter what the world thinks of us – God thinks the world of us. And like Mary whom God noticed then, God notices you now.

In Jesus, the babe of Bethlehem, God came to tell you that no matter where you’ve come from, no matter who you are, he sees you, he loves you, he’s come to save you. So let’s sing with Mary and rejoice in the God who sees and saves.

Pastor Sue Gunderson
Immanuel Lutheran – Baileys Harbor



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Noah

Image
[Read Genesis 6:8, 22; 1 Peter 3:20; Hebrews 11:7 ] By faith Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear constructed an ark for the saving of his household. Here on the island, we know the importance of finding safe passage through the waters. And we’re pretty blessed to have the ferry providing year-round service across the “Door.” It truly is our lifeline. If you’ve been on one, you know their boats are unique. They’re not cruise ships or fishing boats. Each is specifically designed to safely take vehicles, humans, and cargo to and from the mainland. For Advent this year, as we look forward to Jesus’ Second Coming, we’re remembering Jesus’ ancestors. It turns out that one of his distant relatives also ran a ferry boat. His name was Noah and God told him to build a boat, or Ark. Its purpose? To carry people and animals to safety from a catastrophic flood (see Genesis 6:9-8:22). This must have seemed pretty random for Noah. Yet, with no evidence
Read more

Josiah

Image
[Read 2 Chronicles 35:1-3 ]  Now serve the Lord your God and his people Israel. It was a scene that could have happened in Imperial Rome, a king assassinated by close advisors, his young son thrust onto the throne. Such was the story of Josiah, son of Amon, King of Judah, the last remaining lands of the once great Davidic Kingdom. The nation was a mess. Solomon's Temple was in a state of disrepair, and the people were divided, worshipping false gods. The king started small, directing that Temple funds be used to repair the building. It was in that process that a long-lost scroll of the Law was “discovered.” Today, scholars believe that scroll was Deuteronomy, and while this seems a minor incident in the scope of the Hebrew story, it set off a national and theological reform with consequences to this day, responsible for historical books that tell us the story of that people, influencing the Prophet Jeremiah. Josiah consulted the great proph
Read more

Methuselah

Image
[Read Genesis 5:27 ] Thus all the days of Methuselah were 969 years, and he died. Often people lament that life is too short. Even when blessed with a relatively long life, people feel it isn’t enough time. In Genesis we read of Methuselah. He bore a son at the age of 187 years, and he lived another 782 years; this is a total of 969 years. He died in the year of the flood. As noted in Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary, even the “longest liver must die at last.” Methuselah’s life might remind us that such a passing has long been considered a relief from struggle. Methuselah’s grandson is named Noah to signify rest, and his father complained of the “calamitous state of human life… Our whole life is spent in labor, and our time is filled up with continual toil.” How true this is! We sometimes forget that no matter how good life is, it seems that it always includes struggles. They may be because of loved ones, or addictions, or poor choices, or politics of the day, but often it seems life
Read more