Daily Worship

Courage to say Yes

Norah Summers December 08, 2014 0 0

Luke 1: 26-38

The Birth of Jesus Foretold

26 In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, 27 to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28 The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”

29 Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. 30 But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God.31 You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”

34 “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”

35 The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most Highwill overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called[a] the Son of God. 36 Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. 37 For no word from God will ever fail.”

38 “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her.

One minute I am just there in the house, 
doing my housework,
as you do.
Next minute there is this angel –
angel?
Peace be with you, he says.
The Lord is with you, he says.
He has greatly blessed you, he says.

‘deeply troubled’ 
hardly begins to describe my state of mind.

And that was before he told me about the baby.

Who am I, 
that this should happen to me?
what have I done to deserve this?
this unexpected expectation?
this honour?
this responsibility?
this awesome future?

However ordinary we think we are,
we still find God asking us to do extraordinary things.

Mary,
you are not ordinary.
You are brave and strong.

Acceptance of God’s call is not meek submission,
it is a demanding and scary step into the unknown.

Yet once taken,
it is truly empowering.

God,
give me courage to say my ‘Yes’.

 

By Norah Summers