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| Annunciation by Henry Ossawa Tanner |
On the church calendar the Solemnity of the Annunciation on March 25 offers a rich opportunity for Lenten prayer and reflection. Lent is a time for us to become ever more aware of how God never ceases to draw near to us and the feast of the Annunciation is a stunning example of God's desire for imminence...
From today's Word...
The angel Gabriel was sent from God
to a town of Galilee called Nazareth,
to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph,
of the house of David,
and the virgin's name was Mary.
And coming to her, he said,
"Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you."
But she was greatly troubled at what was said
and pondered what sort of greeting this might be.
Then the angel said to her,
"Do not be afraid, Mary,
for you have found favor with God.
Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son,
and you shall name him Jesus.
He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High,
and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father,
and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever,
and of his Kingdom there will be no end...”
From today's Word...
The angel Gabriel was sent from God
to a town of Galilee called Nazareth,
to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph,
of the house of David,
and the virgin's name was Mary.
And coming to her, he said,
"Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you."
But she was greatly troubled at what was said
and pondered what sort of greeting this might be.
Then the angel said to her,
"Do not be afraid, Mary,
for you have found favor with God.
Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son,
and you shall name him Jesus.
He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High,
and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father,
and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever,
and of his Kingdom there will be no end...”
Reflecting on the feast
The feast of the Annunciation
celebrates the angel's announcement to Mary
that she would conceive and bear the Christ into our world
Imagine the openness of Mary's heart
to hear the angel's voice, the message,
the word that that the Word would be come flesh
in her own flesh...
Imagine that God desires to speak to us, too,
a word to comfort, heal and call us
to know the depths of his love...
Prayer
Sometimes, Lord,
my heart aches for a message,
looks for an angel,
listens for, needs, a word from you...
My heart waits to hear
what you might speak to me,
to my life, to my worries, to my fears...
My heart waits to hear you say,
"Do not be afraid... I am with you...
I am always with you... I will never leave you...
I am beside you, before you and behind you,
above and below and within you..."
My heart strains to hear you say,
"You have found favor with me...
I care for you... I care about you...
I watch for you... I watch out for you...
You have a place in my heart,
a place I keep only for you
and I look for you in my heart..."
Speak to my heart, Lord,
send an angel, a message, a word...
Speak to me as you spoke to Mary:
when I am not expecting you...
when I am confused and do not understand...
when I am afraid of what tomorrow may bring...
Fill my heart with your grace
that I might see every angel you send my way,
that I might hear every word you speak to me,
that I might ponder whatever might be
the message of love you offer...
Amen.
Subscribe to A Concord Pastor Comments
I have a question- and this may very well be my not understanding, but in your beginning paragraph in this post you say, "...how God never draws near to us..."
ReplyDeletemaybe I am just not understanding the context, etc- which is entirely possible, as so much is over my head...
(I am confused about the word 'never')
thank you.
Thanks !
ReplyDeleteIt should read "never ceases to draw near" but I can't edit from my phone so I'll correct it later!
Mea culpa!