LK 1:39-47
I don’t know about you but as someone who has heard today’s
reading many times, it is easy for me to just read through and miss all the
miracles that occurred. Mary, a virgin,
conceived through the Holy Spirit our Emmanuel, the One whom God would send to
save us. And Elizabeth, Mary’s relative,
well along in years and barren we are told, now also, is pregnant with John who
would later baptize Jesus. There is so
much going on in today’s reading. This
is a story that God was already writing when he was laying the foundations of
the earth. This is a story of one “whose
coming forth is from old, from ancient days” (Micah 5:2). And yet, in my familiarity with the story, or
maybe the busyness of the season, or the distractions that pull me away from
really taking this story in new again, too many times I am apathetic instead of
joyous.
It reminds me of another Christmas story my mom likes to tell. It was the late 1970s and my brother and I
had only had one gift on our Christmas list – the Atari 2600. This was going to bring the video arcade into
our house and we couldn’t wait! On
Christmas Day our console arrived and we immediately put Space Invaders in and
battled all day long. In fact, we were
so excited we didn’t even want to stop for the huge Christmas dinner my mom had
worked tirelessly to prepare. After
slamming dinner in less than 10 minutes we were back at the television playing
our Atari. Of course, my mom’s version
of this story isn’t a very happy one but for my brother and me, this was one of
the happiest Christmases ever!
Wouldn’t it be great if we could experience this same joy each
year at the miracle birth of God’s Son?
And in that joy we could affirm like Mary:
"My soul proclaims the greatness of the
Lord; my spirit rejoices in God my savior."
I pray that each of us finds that moment of empathy with Mary this
Advent season, where our spirit can truly rejoice in our Savior who has come.
Eric Anderson is the Director of Campus Recreation and Wellness.
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