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Reflection: We don't know the paths for our lives. What we do see has been corrupted by sin coming into the world, by our sin, and by the sin of those around us. God's truth, love, justice, and mercy still shine through brightly. Only through faith can we allow God to have free reign over our lives. Our faith must be strong enough to trust Him to work for our best interests, especially when He leads us down a counter-intuitive path like Mary's. After all, God was going to provide enough evidence so that Mary could be stoned to death. I don't know if that entered her mind in her decision, but for Mary there was no way she was going to say "no" to God. In
Him, |
Genesis 3:9-15
9 The LORD God then called to the man and asked him, "Where are you?"
10 He answered, "I heard you in the garden; but I was afraid, because I
was naked, so I hid myself."
11 Then he asked, "Who told you that you were naked? You have eaten, then,
from the tree of which I had forbidden you to eat!"
12 The man replied, "The woman whom you put here with me-she gave me fruit
from the tree, so I ate it."
13 The LORD God then asked the woman, "Why did you do such a thing?"
The woman answered, "The serpent tricked me into it, so I ate it."
14 Then the LORD God said to the serpent:
"Because you have done this, you shall be banned
from all the animals
and from all the wild creatures;
On your belly shall you crawl,
and dirt shall you eat
all the days of your life.
15 I will put enmity between you and the woman,
and between your offspring and hers;
He will strike at your head,
while you strike at his heel."
20 The man called his wife Eve, because she became the mother of all the living.
Psalm 98
Ephesians 1:3-6,11-12
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us
in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavens,
4 as he chose us in him, before the foundation of the world, to be holy and
without blemish before him. In love
5 he destined us for adoption to himself through Jesus Christ, in accord with
the favor of his will,
6 for the praise of the glory of his grace that he granted us in the beloved.
11 In him we were also chosen, destined in accord with the purpose of the one
who accomplishes all things according to the intention of his will,
12 so that we might exist for the praise of his glory, we who first hoped in
Christ.
Gospel - Luke 1:26-38
26 In the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee
called Nazareth,
27 to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the house of David, and the
virgin's name was Mary.
28 And coming to her, he said, "Hail, favored one! The Lord is with you."
29 But she was greatly troubled at what was said and pondered what sort of greeting
this might be.
30 Then the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found
favor with God.
31 Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name
him Jesus.
32 He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High, and the Lord God
will give him the throne of David his father,
33 and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there
will be no end."
34 But Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I have no relations
with a man?"
35 And the angel said to her in reply, "The Holy Spirit will come upon
you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore the child
to be born will be called holy, the Son of God.
36 And behold, Elizabeth, your relative, has also conceived a son in her old
age, and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren;
37 for nothing will be impossible for God."
38 Mary said, "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to
me according to your word." Then the angel departed from her.
Revised/reviewed December 9,
2002