The following was written by a friend, and it moved me.  I asked, and received, her permission to share it with you all:


Third Sunday of AdventWeek of: December 15, 2019
Scripture: Luke 1:46b-55
... my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant. Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed; for the Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name. His mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation.
(Luke 1:47-50, NRSV)

DevotionAnd yet she persisted.
In spite of her lowly station in life, in spite of her marginalization by culture and society, in spite of all the chaos, Mary says "yes." For her "yes," she is granted one of the greatest gifts of all time, to bear the very body of Jesus the Christ in her womb. She willingly holds the incarnation of God-with-us in her belly. Lifting that belly, she sings out one of the most victorious songs ever sung.
In the very act of saying "yes" to God's call, Mary knows that God has lifted the lowly. Mary knows that the hungry are being fed and that God's mercy is great. She sings in hope with assurance that God will fulfill the promises made to her ancestors.
This Sunday we light three candles, with the third being historically pink to celebrate Gaudete ["Rejoice ye"] Sunday. This week of Advent is often seen as a more joyful time as we look through the victorious eyes of Mary to the coming of God in human flesh. You could say that we have been granted liturgical license to fling our arms open with an abandoned shout of "yes"!



Prayerful Reflection:May we say "yes" to God in spite of whatever station we find ourselves. May we seek with God to lift the marginalized, to feed the hungry, and to show mercy. In doing these actions, we join Mary on this journey of birthing God again on earth in this time and space, and we rejoice!





Grace Cox-Johnson
Director of Music, Blue Ridge Presbyterian Church, Raytown, MO
Artist in Residence, Community Christian Church, Kansas City, MO 

​It's 4:30 in the afternoon, and it is becoming dark.  Part of that is the building across the street.  It blocks whatever sunshine might still be there, but it is getting darker.  I think about our ancestors who couldn't just go flip a light switch to brighten their environment.  And even though candles and oil lamps do give light, it isn't really enough to do much beyond the basic requirements of life.  And that doesn't even begin to touch TV, radio, computers, etc.  Darkness requires us to slow down.  We can't see as well where we're going, and could get lost, or trip over something.  Darkness changes the way things look.  Shadows are deeper, familiar things look strange, and many people are lulled into sleep.  We tend to draw into ourselves, and to be quieter.

Into this nighttime darkness, to shepherds tending their flocks, came angels.  Now, they might have just appeared as men, and walked quietly up to the shepherds.  But most of the time we envision a very bright angel appearing in the sky, then being joined by many, many more.  Scripture tells us they were terrified.  Well, yes!  The night is dark and calm, the sheep are sleeping, the shepherds may be talking quietly as they listen for the sound of predators.  Into this calm quiet comes...BAM!! light, sound, speaking, singing, angels for goodness' sake!  No wonder they were terrified.  And the angel tells them to be calm.  Be still.  To not be afraid, in fact, to rejoice.  It's no wonder they decided o go into town to see what the angels were talking about.  In their shoes, wouldn't you?


Loving God, into the darkness of the night came the light of angelic messengers.  Into the darkness of our world came the light of Messiah.  Into the darkness of our lives you continue to come, often in the form of love from friends and neighbors.  Some of us are struggling with doubt, fear, and grief, but we know that no matter what we face your light of love will go with us and before us.  No matter how dark the night may be, Joy comes with the morning.  May your love and mercy surround us, and beckon us out of our darkness into the light, to see what new thing you are doing today.  Amen.