Day 8 of our 2018 Advent Contemplations.
Welcome to the Blue Ocean Advent devotional podcast. This is Day eight: Sunday, Dec. 9. I’m Emily, and I’ll be your guide today.
Let’s start with a moment of gratitude. I’ll give you 20 seconds of silence to think about something you’re thankful for, and to thank God for it. Let’s begin now.
[20 seconds of silence]
Now we’ll move on to our petitionary prayer. Today we’ll pray that God’s peace will rest on our loved ones. You can start by praying something like, “May the peace of God rest on _________ [insert names of your loved ones as they come to mind].” Let’s take 30 seconds of silence to pray.
[25 seconds of silence]
Our Scripture reading today comes from Luke 1:26-38. During the second week of Advent we focus on cultivating peace—peace in the midst of doubt … surrendering to a God-Who-Is-Love providing hope in all situations. Let’s listen for this in the gospel.
It begins:
In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”
Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. 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, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”
“How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”
The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called[b] the Son of God. 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. For no word from God will ever fail.”
“I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her.
We’ll close today by meditating on Proverbs 12:20, which says:
“Deceit darkens the hearts of those who plot evil, but advocates of peace have joy.”
Take a few moments now to meditate on what it means to be an advocate of peace.
Our Concluding Prayer:
Creator, almighty and everlasting, you have brought me in safety to this new day: Preserve me with your mighty power, that I may not fall into sin, nor be overcome by adversity; and in all I do direct me to the fulfilling of your purpose; through Jesus my Lord. Amen
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