Faith Daily | 20 December 2022

PRAYER of the DAY - APBA p468

O Lord,

raise up your power and come among us,

and with great might succour us,

that, whereas through our sins and wickedness

we are sore let and hindered

in running the race that is set before us,

your bountiful grace and mercy

may speedily help and deliver us;

through your Son our Lord,

to whom with you and the Holy Spirit

be honour and glory, now and for ever.

Amen.

GOSPEL for the Day: Luke 1: 28-38

28And he came to her and said, ‘Greetings, favoured one! The Lord is with you.’ 29But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. 30The angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favour with God. 31And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. 32He 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. 33He will reign over the house of Jacob for ever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.’ 34Mary said to the angel, ‘How can this be, since I am a virgin?’ 35The 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. 36And 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. 37For nothing will be impossible with God.’ 38Then 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.

GOSPEL REFLECTION: Rev’d Jan

Christ-mas time is all about “nothing will be impossible with God”. The absolute impossible is God becoming human, “And the Word became flesh and lived among us….”

Every Christ-mas time we again journey with Mary from the impossible to the beyond impossible, Easter Day. We focus on her humanity; most of all we focus on her trust in God’s Word.

For each of us, the seemingly impossible of God’s Word in our own life is possible. The truth is, it is always there – the Word of God is in our lives. Jesus was renowned for saying “those with ears, listen”. If we can trust God’s voice always being, and in our being, then we will also learn how to listen.

It will be different for each of us. For Elijah, on Mount Horeb, waiting for God to “pass by”, the voice came in the “sound of sheer silence”. It seems to me, we need to practice the listening for that sheer silence in our lives – I believe it is not necessarily about a space of no noise. It is the space we are willing to make in our lives that is for God, and only for God.

The Word is there, God is waiting – may we all be open to recognize and respond, like Mary, to the ultimate word we can give back to our loving God …”Here I am, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.”

FINAL PRAYER The lyrics of “Mary did you know?, sung by Pentatonix, part of Sunday 7am homily

Mary, did you know that your baby boy Would one day walk on water? Mary, did you know that your baby boy Would save our sons and daughters? Did you know that your baby boy Has come to make you new? This child that you delivered, will soon deliver you

Mary, did you know that your baby boy Will give sight to a blind man? Mary, did you know that your baby boy Will calm the storm with his hand?

Did you know that your baby boy Has walked where angels trod? When you kiss your little baby You kiss the face of God

Mary, did you know? Mary, did you know? Mary, did you know? Did you know? Mary, did you know? Mary, did you know? Mary, did you know? Mary, did you know? Mary, did you know? Mary, did you know?

The blind will see, the deaf will hear The dead will live again The lame will leap, the dumb will speak The praises of the Lamb

Mary, did you know that your baby boy Is Lord of all creation? Mary, did you know that your baby boy Would one day rule the nations? Did you know that your baby boy Is heaven's perfect Lamb? That sleeping child you're holding is the great, I Am

Amen.