Here I Am

“Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.” Luke 1:38

Grace and peace to you on this Christmas Eve weekend. I pray that you continue to grow in the knowledge that God loves you and has chosen to dwell with us. God is present in your life. No matter what your circumstances, God is a constant source of love and companionship.

Tomorrow morning, the final Sunday of Advent, we will gather to hear the Annunciation, the moment when the angel Gabriel came to Mary to announce that she would bear a son, and he would be called “Son of God.”  While at first Mary wondered, “How can this be?” she soon assented. “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.”  

Mary’s profound “yes” to God’s miraculous work in her life reminds us that our response to love is critical to God’s work in the world. The Angel Gabriel could have received any number of “no’s” before meeting Mary. But Mary said “yes,” changing her life, and the course of human history, forever.

Like Mary, we must be ready to say “yes” to wondrous possibilities beyond our imagination. We must be ready to say “yes” to new ways of being that reveal the love of God to friends, family, and neighbors … even strangers. Like Mary, we must be ready to say “yes” without knowing exactly where God’s love will lead us, without knowing what pain and hardship might come. Like Mary, we must be ready to say “yes” with the confidence that no matter what, God is with us.

God’s love is deep and wide. God’s love is so deep and so wide that He came to dwell among us in the person of Jesus. God gave his only son to live and die for us, making new life possible for us and all people.

Are you ready to say “yes” to God knowing that your life will be changed forever?

If you missed the pageant and Mary’s “yes” last Sunday, you can view the photographs from the pageant here. Thank you to the more than 30 children who participated and to the adults who led them.

See you tomorrow!