For this final week of Advent Song Reflections we will be using Scripture from a traditional Lessons and Carols service. You can read about the service of Lessons and Carols here.
Words of Reflection
Have you ever seen a word cloud? It’s a graphic representation of a list of words gathered from a source (such as a book or an historical document) that shows which words are most common by making words larger the more often they appear. I recently fed the various Christmas texts from Scripture into a word cloud generator, and here is what it produced:
So the larger the word, the more often it shows up in those texts. Can you tell which word is the most common of all?
The word “will.”
I find that very enlightening, because while it’s a word that can be a noun (such as “God’s will” or “writing a will”), in this context it is most often a verb—it’s a declaration of something that is absolute and definite.
It will happen.
Over half of the occurrences of this word come from our text from today in Luke chapter 1, which details the visit of the angel Gabriel to Mary. In the course of his conversation with her, Gabriel makes a number of declarative statements:
…you will conceive in your womb and bear a son
…you will name him Jesus
…He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High
…the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David
…He will reign over the house of Jacob forever
…of his kingdom there will be no end
…The Holy Spirit will come upon you
…the power of the Most High will overshadow you
…the child to be born will be holy
…he will be called Son of God
“Will” is such a simple word, and yet it is so powerful. It is a word of absolute certainty. God is faithful, and will do as he promises. In a world full of “maybes,” it is comforting to know that the plan of God is steadfast and sure.
There is another word that doesn’t appear explicitly in the texts, so you won’t find it in our word cloud, but it is also both simple and powerful and important to the Christmas story.
The word yes.
As Luke records it, this is not what Mary said exactly. But it is what Mary said. She said it when she uttered this faithful and trusting reply:
“Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.”
In the face of an unbelievable promise and an immeasurable task—raising the very Son of God—Mary says “yes.” Or to put it another way…she ways “I will.” The history of the entire world is altered because of her reply. In response to God’s faithful declarations, Mary makes a faithful pledge—she will live her life according to the promise, no matter how difficult it may be or where the road may lead.
What a picture of faithfulness and submission for us. We will never be asked to do what she did, but we would still do well to model Mary’s “yes,” her “I will.” Mary trusted God, and that trust is one of the most beautiful parts of the Christmas story.
Today’s song is a beautiful rendition of Mary’s response, and although it is on the longer side I believe it to be well worth your time to listen prayerfully and let the beauty of her “yes” penetrate your soul. As Mary replies, “Be Born in Me,” we are invited to allow Christ to be born anew in us.
Reading for Tuesday: Luke 1:26-38 (NRSV)
The angel Gabriel salutes the Blessed Virgin Mary.
In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. And he came to her and said, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.”
But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”
Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” The angel said to her, “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 holy; he will be called Son of God. And now, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month for her who was said to be barren. For nothing will be impossible with God.”
Then Mary said, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.”
Then the angel departed from her.
Song: Be Born in Me (lyrics here)
Questions for Contemplation:
How does the story of Mary’s response model faith and trust for you, not just in her encounter with Gabriel but the whole of her story in Scripture? Spend some time in grateful prayer for Mary’s witness and ask God to help you know that same faith and trust.
What does it mean for you pray, “make my heart your Bethlehem?” Sit with that imagery for a bit and consider how Christ might be born anew in you as you celebrate his birth this year.
Spend some time simply contemplating the word cloud in the devotional above. What words stand out for you? Do you find in any of the words of the Christmas story a particular invitation or opportunity for prayer? Spend time with God offering to him your response.
More Carols
Sometimes in a Lessons and Carols service you will hear more than one carol given in response to a particular reading. During this week, you will find in this section after the devotional some additional carols that connect to the passage we’ve been sitting with for that day.
(The Angel Gabriel lyrics here)
Breath of Heaven (lyrics here)