Daily Devotions – December 17, 2021

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Luke 1:39-55
39In those days Mary set out and went with haste to a Judean town in the hill country, 40where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. 41When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit 42and exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. 43And why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me? 44For as soon as I heard the sound of your greeting, the child in my womb leaped for joy. 45And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her by the Lord.”
46And Mary said,
“My soul magnifies the Lord,
47and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
48for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant.
Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed;
49for the Mighty One has done great things for me,
and holy is his name.
50His mercy is for those who fear him
from generation to generation.
51He has shown strength with his arm;
he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts.
52He has brought down the powerful from their thrones,
and lifted up the lowly;
53he has filled the hungry with good things,
and sent the rich away empty.
54He has helped his servant Israel,
in remembrance of his mercy,
55according to the promise he made to our ancestors,
to Abraham and to his descendants forever.”

“And Mary said, ‘My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.'” (Luke
1:46-47)

These are very familiar words—we hear them every Advent. They are filled with rich imagery that
draws on the story of the ways that God had blessed the people through the ages. And yet in this
reading one word has stood out for readers through the centuries—what does Mary mean when she says that her soul “magnifies” the Lord? The word itself means that something is enlarged or amplified.
Perhaps it is something like when we say that our heart “swells” with pride? Mary’s joy in God’s
promises makes her joy grow and swell within her, as she thinks about the coming Savior and her
role in all this.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, swell our hearts so that we may rejoice, like Mary, in the coming of your Son. Amen.

Daily Devotions – December 16, 2021

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Luke 1:39-55
39In those days Mary set out and went with haste to a Judean town in the hill country, 40where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. 41When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit 42and exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. 43And why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me? 44For as soon as I heard the sound of your greeting, the child in my womb leaped for joy. 45And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her by the Lord.”
46And Mary said,
“My soul magnifies the Lord,
47and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
48for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant.
Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed;
49for the Mighty One has done great things for me,
and holy is his name.
50His mercy is for those who fear him
from generation to generation.
51He has shown strength with his arm;
he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts.
52He has brought down the powerful from their thrones,
and lifted up the lowly;
53he has filled the hungry with good things,
and sent the rich away empty.
54He has helped his servant Israel,
in remembrance of his mercy,
55according to the promise he made to our ancestors,
to Abraham and to his descendants forever.”

“Blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfilment of what was spoken to her by the
Lord.” (Luke 1:45)

“I am so blessed!” How many times have we said this? Probably not as many times as we should! Was
Mary blessed? Think about the difficulties of her situation, and decide. Especially since sometimes
it is difficult for us, perhaps even for Mary, to see beyond present events and imagine that there
could be any blessing in them. But God’s blessings transcend our present concerns— these blessings are forever! May we have the  faith that Mary had, to look beyond our current situation to see and trust the goodness and faithfulness of God and God’s promises for us.

Prayer: Dear God, give us such faith as Mary had so that we, too, might see the fulfilment of your Word in our lives and in our world. Amen.

Daily Devotions – December 15, 2021

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Hebrews 10:5-10
5Consequently, when Christ came into the world, he said,
“Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired,
but a body you have prepared for me;
6in burnt offerings and sin offerings
you have taken no pleasure.
7Then I said, ‘See, God, I have come to do your will, O God’
(in the scroll of the book it is written of me).”
8When he said above, “You have neither desired nor taken pleasure in sacrifices and offerings and burnt offerings and sin offerings” (these are offered according to the law), 9then he added, “See, I have come to do your will.” He abolishes the first in order to establish the second. 10And it is by God’s will that we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

The blood of animals was never enough to take away the sins of the world. It was through Jesus’
sacrifice that we are sanctified. It was through his death and resurrection that we find new life.
The enormity of that statement can be lost in this discussion in Hebrews about the provisions of
the old sacrificial system, but the miraculous nature of Jesus’ death for us on the cross remains.
It is Jesus who takes away the sins of the world. It is through Jesus that we are saved.
Jesus is the hope of the world, and we are thankful for this. During these days of Advent, we are
waiting to celebrate once again the birth of our Messiah. May we never forget all that he has done
for us. We no longer must make sacrifices that will never be enough. All is enough for us because Jesus was the ultimate sacrifice.

Prayer: Our most merciful Christ, you are holy and perfect. May you bless us and keep us. Amen.