Fourth Sunday Of Advent– Christmas Eve Morning

    In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin's name was Mary. And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name 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 father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”
    And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?”
    And the angel answered 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 called holy—the Son of God. And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. For nothing will be impossible with God.” And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.
   
(Luke 1:26-38 ESV)

Interpretation
Imagine the difficulty of this young couple. Having traveled over a great distance they find themselves out on the street. Exhausted, discouraged, nerves on edge and hope running thin – were they wondering if God was going to pull them through this? But God does, doesn’t he, and probably in a way they never expected – perhaps God will do this for you this Christmas – pull you through that hard time in a way you never expected.

(Pray)

Prayer
Lord God, you know it is hard for us to imagine Mary and Joseph as discouraged parents, but you know discouragement follows us all. We ask, that this Christmas, you give us a full blessing of the hope that Jesus Christ promised us - Amen