Leading Through Advent: Accepting God’s Promise

Merry Christmas! You have been discovering new ways to lead through Advent. So, as you model what it means to be a follower of Jesus, remember that you are loved and appreciated for who you are and for your leadership. 

Let me remind you to focus first on the people around you. Whether they are the people entrusted to your care or people who need special care, you are God’s instrument of love and peace both as a follower of Jesus and as a leader.

It is my prayer that you experience the joy of Jesus this week. Before reading the Christmas story with family, read this story that gives some context to the birth of Jesus.

Read Luke 1:39-45

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.”

Reflect

With this scripture, two birth stories come together: the birth of John, son of Elizabeth (Elizabeth is married to Zechariah) and the birth of Jesus, son of Mary. The first is the story of a woman who is older. Her son will be the last of great prophets.

Zechariah and Elizabeth have been praying for a child. Zechariah learns that their prayer has been heard. The child will be named John and will be filled with the Holy Spirit even before his birth. This is important to Luke. He understood that the power of the Holy Spirit inspired the prophets. For Luke, John is the last of the great prophets.

The announcement that John would be a Spirit-filled person was not a matter of personal spirituality, but a gift of God. It is Luke’s way of announcing that the time of the Messiah was on the horizon. A new day was dawning.

Although Zechariah had been praying for a child, he could not believe the birth would happen without some additional evidence. Luke reveals his understanding of how faith is generated, validated, and maintained. Here the message seems to be that even an angel telling us our prayers are heard does not necessarily result in faith.

Mary’s Response

The second story is about a young woman whose son will usher in the kingdom of God. God chooses a young unmarried woman from an obscure village to be the mother of the Son of God. Although Mary’s response is that of a model believer, she asked questions like Zechariah. The difference is, asking questions is not itself a mark of unbelief, but to ask for signs is an indication of lack of faith. Mary has a questioning faith; Zechariah wanted a sign on which to base his faith.

William Barclay said, “God does not choose a person for ease and comfort and selfish joy but for a task that will take all that head and heart, and hand can bring to it. God chooses a person in order to use him or her.” Someone said, “Jesus Christ came not to make life easy but to make us great.”

Chosen By God

When Mary realizes she has been chosen by God, she praises God. She says, “With all my heart I glorify the Lord! In the depths of who I am I rejoice in God my savior…because the mighty one has done great things for me. Holy is his name.” Luke 1:46-47).

So, Luke brings the two stories together. He tells of Elizabeth, moved by the Holy Spirit, recognizing that Mary is pregnant. He interprets the event as God’s saving act. The same Holy Spirit interprets the movement of the unborn John. This is Luke’s way of putting John and Jesus together for the coming of the Messiah. It is his way of saying that Mary and Elizabeth had an influence over their two boys as they began their ministries. It is his way of showing how God worked in and through John and Jesus to fulfill his promise of the messiah, the anointed one.

Then Mary says:

“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. 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; indeed, his mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation.

He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. He has brought down the powerful from their thrones and lifted up the lowly; he has filled the hungry with good things and sent the rich away empty. He has come to the aid of his child Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, according to the promise he made to our ancestors, to Abraham and to his descendants forever.”

Relationship Between Elizabeth and Mary

When John comes on the scene preaching, “prepare the way of the Lord,” he uses the words of Isaiah (40:3-5) which are closely related to Mary’s words. Could it be that the relationship between Elizabeth and Mary influenced John’s preaching and his announcement of the coming Messiah?

I believe that is what Luke wants us to understand. There are always those who shape our values and guide our decisions. Luke wants us to know that Mary has helped pave the way for the anointed one. She models for us the faith needed to accept and receive God’s promise.

Respond to Luke 1

This Christmas take time to think about the people who have shaped your values and influenced your decision making? Who are the people who make the greatest difference in your life? Send an email or a text letting them know that you appreciate them and are grateful for their influence in your life?

Who are the people you influence? Be mindful of the difference you make in their lives. Make a special effort to show them your care and support.

Your life intertwines with other lives. Be aware of how you affect the people around you and what you might do to be a positive and loving presence in their lives.

Howard Thurman expressed it in “The Mood of Christmas”:

When the song of the angels is stilled,

When the star in the sky is gone

When the kings and princes are home

When the shepherds are back with their flock

The work of Christ begins:

To find the lost,

To heal the broken,

To feed the hungry

To release the prisoner,

To rebuild the nations,

To bring peace among people,

To make music in the heart.

Return

Give God thanks for the people you encountered today. Where did you meet Jesus? Who helped you experience a new way of living and leading? How did you express God’s love today? With whom do you need to celebrate the hope, the love, the new life you experienced? How will you prepare for God’s presence and power tomorrow? Ask God to give you the faith to be the leader God has created you to be.  

Prayer – The Wesleyan Covenant Prayer

I am no longer my own, but yours.
Put me to what you will, rank me with whom you will.
Put me to doing, put me to suffering.
Let me be employed by you or laid aside for you,
Exalted for you or brought low by you.
Let me be full, let me be empty.
Let me have all things, let me have nothing.
I freely and heartily yield all things to your pleasure and disposal.
And now, O glorious and blessed God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,
You are mine, and I am yours. So be it. And the covenant which I have made on earth,
Let it be ratified in heaven. Amen.

Have a blessed Christmas and remember, who you are is how you lead!