A brief prayer is offered that you can add to your daily
prayers this week. The scripture is from our Sunday Service Bulletin for
today. Today is the third of four Advent
sermons where we will explore “Christmas” as an adjective instead of a noun.
Gospel Reading: Luke
1:39-35 (English Standard Version)
39 In those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill
country, to a town in Judah, 40 and she entered the
house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. 41 And
when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. And
Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, 42 and
she exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women,
and blessed is the fruit of your womb! 43 And
why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to
me? 44 For behold, when the sound of your greeting
came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. 45 And blessed
is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to
her from the Lord.”
[Mary's
Song of Praise: The Magnificat]
46 And Mary said,
“My soul magnifies
the Lord,
47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
48 for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant.
For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed;
49 for he who is mighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his name.
50 And his mercy is for those who fear him
from generation to generation.
51 He has shown strength with his arm;
he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts;
52 he has brought down the mighty from their thrones
and exalted those of humble estate;
53 he has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich he has sent away empty.
54 He has helped his servant Israel,
in remembrance of his mercy,
55 as he spoke to our fathers,
to Abraham and to his offspring forever.”
47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
48 for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant.
For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed;
49 for he who is mighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his name.
50 And his mercy is for those who fear him
from generation to generation.
51 He has shown strength with his arm;
he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts;
52 he has brought down the mighty from their thrones
and exalted those of humble estate;
53 he has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich he has sent away empty.
54 He has helped his servant Israel,
in remembrance of his mercy,
55 as he spoke to our fathers,
to Abraham and to his offspring forever.”
56 And Mary remained with her about three months and returned to her
home.
Devotion: Christmas
Carols
The word carol,
comes from an old French word carole
which means a circle dance. Carols were popular outside the church as dance or
festival songs in the 1200’s and 1300’s. In the early church, the priests were
generally the only ones singing carols and the lyrics were in Latin. With the reformation,
comes the chance for congregants to sing together and enhance the worship
service by bringing more emotive participation into the worship experience. I
myself love Christmas Carols, especially the older ones. I have a satellite
radio in our garage and in mid-November a channel for 24/7 Christmas music
launches. For the last several years I have enjoyed the experience of hearing
Christmas music and carols when I visit the garage from before Thanksgiving
thru New Year’s Day. There is a commercial for a firm that sells back to school
supplies that I’ll bet you’ve seen in August, where the music is “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year.”
Even in the midst of our hot summers, when I hear that song it makes me think
of Christmas time. I hope that you enjoy Advent and get to sing or listen to
some Christmas Carols. What a wonderful time of the year!!!
We pray: Lord we
thank you for the birth of our Messiah.
Amen
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