Advent Devotional December 21, 2025

Scripture

Luke 1:39-48a

39 In those days Mary set out and went with haste to a Judean town in the hill country, 40 where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. 41 When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit 42 and exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. 43 And why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me? 44 For as soon as I heard the sound of your greeting, the child in my womb leaped for joy. 45 And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her by the Lord.”

46 And Mary said,

“My soul magnifies the Lord,47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,48 for he has looked with favor on the lowly state of his servant.

Devotion

The Rev. Dr. Steven Allman '09/'24

Luke’s gospel begins with a statement of what Jesus’s ministry will be about. Even before Jesus is born, Luke mentions King Herod, but then moves quickly to Zechariah and Elizabeth, a priest and his wife serving far from the center of power, to describe how God mercifully gave this aging couple a child. Then the story moves even further from the center of power to Galilee in Nazareth, where a peasant girl named Mary is told by an angel that she’s going to give birth to the Son of God. Mary and Elizabeth recognize the honor they’ve been given, but they respond with humility. Mary begins her Magnificat by saying, “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked with favor on the lowly state of his servant.” That humility is a fitting response to the presence of a God who “brings down the proud from their thrones” and “lifts up the lowly.” The Incarnation we celebrate during the Christmas season is about God being merciful to and present with the poor and the powerless.

This passage not only provides a mission statement for Jesus’ ministry—it also gives present-day disciples a word of comfort and challenge. It’s a challenge because our culture values the rich and powerful. We worship self-made men and pass legislation that takes government assistance away from the poor. We miss the point of the gospel when we do this. Today’s passage is comforting because many of us don’t feel powerful—we feel unable to change our circumstances for the better, and we wonder if this world will ever improve. In Jesus, we have the promise that those who yearn for a better world will see it someday. In the meantime, we’re challenged to live into that world by loving the powerless and learning to trust a God who cares about each of us, not matter how small.

Prayer

Holy God, we thank You for the care You give to each of us. We thank You for loving and valuing each of us and giving meaning to our lives. Help us to see the grace of knowing that You love us. Help us to experience that grace in our own lives and share it with every person we come into contact with. May we see every person, and especially those not valued by our society, as your beloved child. We pray this in Jesus’ name. Amen.