Scripture Scribbles: December 22, 2024
the Gospel
Luke 1:39-45
Mary set out
and traveled to the hill country in haste
to a town of Judah,
where she entered the house of Zechariah
and greeted Elizabeth.
When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting,
the infant leaped in her womb,
and Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit,
cried out in a loud voice and said,
“Blessed are you among women,
and blessed is the fruit of your womb.
And how does this happen to me,
that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears,
the infant in my womb leaped for joy.
Blessed are you who believed
that what was spoken to you by the Lord
would be fulfilled.”
the scribble
So many characters in the Bible gave us precise examples of obedience and faithfulness. Among them are Abraham, Moses, Joshua, Jesus, and Mary. Now is indeed the season of joy and thanksgiving because it’s Christmas. In a few days, we will be celebrating the nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ. However, I’d like to pay homage to our Blessed Virgin Mary today. Especially today.
In my festive spirit, I would like to acknowledge all those who, in one way or another, contributed to the momentous conception and the sacred delivery of our savior Jesus Christ, as a baby. Thank you, God, Angel Gabriel, Joseph, Melchor, Baltazar, Gaspar, the shepherds, the chorus of angels, and I’m sorry if I missed anyone. Thank YOU, Blessed Mother. I can’t put my head around all the things that could’ve happened had you not said yes to God faithfully, without as much as a second thought. Hence, my gratefulness towards you is beyond measure.
I know we’re not Mary. There’s only one her and she has set the bar so high, to say the least. However, we can be ourselves and still take a leap of faith.
Can we also praise God even when things go against our plans? In the midst of an accident, can we say thank you Lord, we’re alive and not hurt badly? How about if we missed a flight? Didn’t get the job? Or got passed over for a promotion? Lost your baby, has a debt that went unimaginably huge, got your engagement broken, got a serious illness, and many other unexpected circumstances that went against our plans.
At times like these, it is incredibly hard to believe in God’s promise. Instead, we sometimes think what went wrong or what have we done to deserved these misfortunes. Mama Mary is human, just like we are. And though her initial reaction was shock (and fear) because she is a virgin who would soon conceive, and it’s God’s son at that, she was steadfast in her decision to carry on and not to ask too many questions anymore.
Like Mama Mary, may we stop asking too many questions when pain and confusion befall us. May we trust the process instead. Because the process will lead us to what the Lord has promised us. Always. And at the end of the day, His will is beyond beautiful, much more than what we have ever longed for.
Dear God, thank you for making us believers. May you always guide us to your word, whenever we lose sight of your divine promise. Amen.
Today’s devotion was written by Ewina Yu
