Daily Devotion – November 25, 2021
This devotion may be found in the Luther Advent Devotional here.
“Filled with Hope and Gratitudeâ€
Filled with hope and gratitude and filled with very God,
I sing with soul and spirit exultation,
for God has smiled upon the humble
servant who will give
her own sweet milk to Christ, the world’s salvation.
God’s eternal mercy, meant for all of humankind,
is given as deliv’rance from oppression.
The powerful and haughty find that
they are now cast down,
the lowly raised beyond this world’s derision.
Hungry people eat good things and find an honored place;
the rich are sent away though they are hungry.
The promise to our forebears
God renews for us today:
the world is filled with God’s abundant mercy.
Filled with hope and gratitude and filled with very God,
I sing with soul and spirit exultation,
for God has smiled upon the humble
servant who will give
her own sweet milk to Christ, the world’s salvation.
We begin our Advent prayers with a song this year. This hymn imagines the hope and exultation that the newly pregnant Mary feels as she embraces Elizabeth, who is in her later years and yet mid-pregnancy. Written for Holden Village and published in the new “All Creation Sings†hymnal, this hymn takes the words of the canticle of Mary (often called the “magnificatâ€) and adds to them the vision of Mary as the birthing mother who nurses the Christ at her breast. Mary’s song is an assertion of God’s favor for the lowly, for all who are oppressed and in need of just relationship. Combined with the image of a nursing mother, this hymn offers us a powerful glimpse into God’s divine action.
Every year at this time we are invited to embrace God’s action in the birth of a child, in the intimacy, messiness, and vulnerability of birth. Let us lean into the joy and wonder of that action and remember that God has promised to be with us in a covenant that is eternal. Even though we are living through a time of deep uncertainty, with perils all around us and unknown paths in front of us, we can trust in God.
Mothering God, you draw us to your breast in hope and joy. Help us to breathe in your peace deeply and to breathe out hope and love and justice. Remind us that you are always with us and that your promises endure forever. Amen.
