Advent Devotion, December 21, 2014
Focus:  Shepherds
Reading:  Luke 2: 15-20
Written by:  Nikki Witt

Mary captures my attention every time I read these verses. Everyone who had heard what the shepherds repeated about Jesus (He’s the Savior, Messiah, the Lord) was amazed. But not Mary. I picture Mary smiling to herself as she looks down at the baby in her arms, the baby blinking cautiously up at her through the light from an oil lamp nearby. Perhaps she’s looking at her baby, and she’s thinking that in this tiny person time and space have folded in on themselves, collapsing into a still point that fills her with a blindingly bright love unlike anything she’s ever known. Maybe she’s contemplating the future of a boy who will grow up to be a Messiah, struggling to shake off the long, cold fingers of worry that clutch at her shoulders when she imagines all the danger, false friends, and pain that lie ahead of him. Or maybe she’s simply wondering how in the world she’s going to take care of this tiny, helpless person. Messiah or not, a baby is a baby, and babies require a lot of work.

Whatever Mary was thinking, it’s ultimately her secret, and I like it that way. Before Mary became the Mother of God, Saint Mary, the Blessed Virgin, she was a mother. I don’t think this is insignificant, and I’m thankful that she’s a part of our beautiful Christmas story.

God, thank you for mothers everywhere- their patience, their willingness to sacrifice, their intelligence, their bravery, and most importantly their inexhaustible wellspring of love. Amen.  

FAMILY MOMENT:

Shepherds – The Shepherds were the most unlikely of people to be the first recipients of the world’s biggest and greatest news story. They were not popular, did not smell good, and lived in the fields with the sheep! Yet they are the group of people to whom God entrusts the big task of telling the world about Christ’s birth. How would you tell someone that Jesus is born? How would you share this news story? Make a newspaper/magazine/poster/video/etc. telling others that Jesus is born!