Luke 1:45
We are reading about how Mary proclaims the gospel to Elizabeth by visiting her. Yesterday we looked at the first part of her visit, Mary’s greeting, and tomorrow we look at the second part, Mary’s song. But I want to pause here to reflect on Elizabeth’s blessing Mary for believing ‘that the Lord would fulfil his promises to her!’
I want to consider how we believe that the Lord will fulfil his promises and purposes for us. We can think of this on personal terms, but we can also consider it as members of a church. Have you considered that God loves us as a church, and out of that love has purposes for us? What do you believe those purposes are? Where do our gifts and deep gladness meet the world's deep hunger and need?
I encourage us to recall words of calling that have been spoken over the church. They may have come in snippets from sermons, prayers, conversations, pastoral team and church board vision statements or even somewhere unexpected.
Some of you may remember when a group of young adults from Eurasia visited us last summer on a work and witness trip. One evening, we were praying together, and a young man from Jordan stood and prayed for our church, declaring that it is a ‘lighthouse’ for the community and for Manchester.
Remembering God's promises renews our faith in God's call upon us and God's power to fulfill that call. When moments would become stressful for Mary as she raised Jesus, she needed to remember that life-changing conversation with Gabriel. Perhaps she especially needed to remember it when she stood at a distance, watching Jesus die on the cross, trusting that even this was a fulfillment of God's promise and love.
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