advent
-
When I was a young girl, I remember my Dad telling me that his favorite Christmas song was “The Little Drummer Boy.” I have been thinking about that song for the past few days: what it teaches regarding what we give to God. The song is endearing; a young boy going to see baby Jesus
-
“Now at this time Mary arose and went in a hurry to the hill country, to a city of Judah, and entered the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth” (Luke 1:39-40 NRSV). As we reflect this Advent season, we need to ask ourselves if we are living our faith with a sense of urgency. Immediately
-
It’s Christmas season, a time of year when we focus on joy, yet how do we overcome those days and weeks when joy seems so distant? Yesterday was one of those days for me, well, in all honesty, this entire week has been filled with days like this. I’ve been under a tremendous
-
“And lo, the star, which they had seen in the east, went on before them, until it came and stood over where the Child was. And when they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy” (Matthew 2:9a-10 NASB). I always loved going to Santa’s Workshop when I was in elementary school.
-
“And she gave birth to her first-born son; and she wrapped Him in cloths, and laid Him in a manger” (Luke 2:7a NASB). God the Son comes to earth as a newborn baby. This baby Jesus was not self-sufficient in any way and he completely depended upon others to care for him, nourish him,
-
“And she gave birth to her firstborn son; and she wrapped Him in cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn” (Luke 2:7). A prevalent image of the birth of Jesus is him lying in a manger because there was no room for him
-
“Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!” (Luke 1:42 NRSV) I find it amazing that Elizabeth was able to see that Mary had been blessed. Now, scripture tells us that before she spoke, she was filled with the Holy Spirit, but one has to be open to Spirit.
-
“Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you” (Luke 1:28 NRSV). The angel Gabriel appears to Mary with a greeting and refers to her as a favored one, a blessed person. We are not told of anything in Mary’s past that would signify such a greeting, so we must ascertain that this ‘favored’ bestowal from
-
In Luke’s Gospel, we have the account of the angel Gabriel appearing to Mary to inform her that she has found favor in God’s sight. In Mary’s conversation with Gabriel we are informed that God has chosen her to give birth to God’s own Son, who will be named Jesus. This conversation ends with Mary’s
Michelle Mosier 