Next Steps - Nov 30

We are currently celebrating the season of Advent. It is a season of waiting and spiritual preparation for the coming celebration of the birth of Jesus. Although the Christmas story is one we hear every year, it is a story that must never lose meaning or significance. Each Sunday this Advent season, we are using the Advent Wreath and an Eastern Nativity Icon to tell the Nativity Story. There are 5 candles in the Advent Wreath; one candle will be lit each Sunday leading up to Christmas. Each candle will allow us to enter the Nativity Story from a different person’s perspective and experience. The final Candle, representing Jesus, will be lit on Christmas Eve.

We have created a guide that tracks directly with Sunday morning’s devotions for you to use or adapt. Pick up a copy of the devotional on Sunday. I also will send out the week's devotional as the week's Next Step. This devotion is designed for you to set up your nativity, but leave all the people out of the scene. Each week as you discuss a different person’s story and experience, add them to the scene. Try to put yourself into the story, to really engage with what they might have been feeling, thinking and experiencing. Take time to share insights on the devotional question and then spend a moment in prayer, silence or reflection. If you choose, you could also light an Advent Candle each week instead of doing the Nativity Set or in addition to it.

Week 1 – Mary. Cold, Exhausted and Reflecting

We find Mary right at the center of the Christmas story, which is why she’s at the center of this picture. Mary is lying down on the ground, with Jesus in His makeshift cot by her side. She pulls her cloak around her for warmth, maybe trying to get some sleep after the exhaustion of a long journey and hours of labor. Perhaps she’s reflecting on the events which led up to this night.

From Luke 1:

In the sixth month, 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 be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name 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 the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end."

Cold and exhausted, she reflects on that first encounter with the angel. God had found favor with her, yet now she lies in a stable, far away from home, scarred by the wounds of ridicule from being pregnant and unmarried, while her new husband sits in the distance. It was Mary’s “yes” which set the whole story in motion. It was her amazing belief that God could do what He promised that made it possible. But this was not what she had envisioned, that she would give birth to the Son of the Most High in a stable, a son who now lays in a feeding trough for cattle.

As we light the candle we enter Mary’s story. We reflect on the times when we’ve said “YES” to God and have had a strong trust in His ability to do the impossible. We also reflect on the times when maybe we haven’t had as strong of a faith and yearned to feel His presence.

May we find favor with God and respond with a Yes. May the words of Mary be our very own: “I am the Lord’s servant. May it be to me as you have said.”

Question: God invited Mary to do something very special -- to be the mother of Jesus. He sent His invitation to Mary through the angel Gabriel. God invites every person on earth to do things, very special things. But, He does not usually use angels to invite us. What are some of the ways that God invites you to do the special things He has for you to do? What are some of the things that God has called you to do in the past? What is He calling you toward now in your life?

Peace, Hope and Love
Doug