We Wait

08Dec
Then Mary said, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.” Then the angel departed from her. 
-Luke 1:38


When I think about Advent, I think about waiting, listening, and trying to make room for God in the middle of ordinary life. Mary is the person who shows us what that looks like. She isn’t famous, powerful, or especially important by the world’s standards. She’s simply a young woman living her everyday life—and that’s exactly where God steps in.


What I love is that Mary doesn’t pretend to have it all figured out. She asks questions. She wonders how any of this could possibly work. Her “yes” isn’t some perfect, polished answer—it’s a real human yes, a mixture of faith and uncertainty. And still, God chooses that kind of yes to begin the story of salvation.


Through Mary, we see that God doesn’t force anything. God invites. God waits for a response. And salvation history turns on a moment of trust from someone the world barely noticed.


Advent reminds us that God still works that way: quietly, patiently, through small openings in our own lives. Mary shows us that making room for God doesn’t require certainty. It just requires willingness. And sometimes that’s all God needs to bring something new into the world.


As we wait for Christ’s coming.


Musical Reflection: Ye Watchers and Ye Holy Ones - Trinity College Choir - Cambridge


“My soul magnifies the Lord,

and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,

for he has looked with favor on the lowly state of his servant.

  Surely from now on all generations will call me blessed,

for the Mighty One has done great things for me,

  and holy is his name;

indeed, his mercy is for those who fear him

  from generation to generation.

He has shown strength with his arm;

  he has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.

He has brought down the powerful from their thrones

  and lifted up the lowly;

he has filled the hungry with good things

  and sent the rich away empty.

He has come to the aid of his child Israel,

  in remembrance of his mercy,

according to the promise he made to our ancestors,

  to Abraham and to his descendants forever.” Amen.

PatienceAdvent

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