Advent Devotion - Day 16

DECEMBER 16 – Luke 1: 26-33

By: Nikki Witt
The wind should hold its breath and the sea should still its waves
The mountains should bow down and all the creatures should tremble
As the sky tears open and, with a dazzling white light,
With trumpets blaring and choirs of angels singing,
With all the glory and power and splendor of the one true King,
He emerges. Beautiful, majestic, triumphant, perfect.
This is how it should be done when Almighty God, Creator of heaven and earth,
The Alpha and the Omega makes his grand earthly entrance
And yet
The Son of the Most High comes oh so very slowly,
Amid much straining and sweating, push by push, He emerges, finally!
Gasping for breath, face swollen, eyes screwed shut
His head ringed not with a crown of gold or even laurel
But with the same smudged violet bruises I bore upon my arrival
No, this is not the way the messiah should enter the world
But this is the way that our mysterious God chose
Who (hallelujah! hallelujah!) rarely behaves as we think God should

Prayer
God, thank you for not living up to my expectations. Thank you for taking my expectations and turning
them inside out, standing them on their head, obliterating them. As we meditate on Christ’s arrival, please help
us to better see the beautiful vision you have for us and for all of your creation. Amen.

Family Moment
Have you ever heard something you couldn’t believe? Imagine how Mary must have felt when the
angel told her “Your child will be the Light of God”. With your family, come up with ideas of miracles that
would be hard to believe. Know that God can make the impossible possible, the unbelievable believable.