“My soul magnifies the Lord,
And my spirit rejoices in God my savior…”
- Micah 5:2-5a
- Hebrews 10:5-10
- Luke 1:39-45, (46-55)
So, if you haven’t noticed by now, let me offer a statement of the obvious. All the authors of these Advent devotionals are engaged in interim/transitional ministries across our Presbytery. We are blessed to come alongside congregations for a time of reflection, self-study, and preparation for God’s preferred future for our communities of faith.
Hmm… is it me, or does that in many ways describe the season of Advent? This is a time of listening to the voice in the wilderness of our lives, to prepare our hearts for the One that is to come, and will come again. And this is the time to refocus on what truly matters in life, in our own hearts, and communally.
I want to focus on those lectionary verses in the parentheses. The Magnificat, the Song of Mary, beckons us to not only live this life constantly magnifying, extolling, and glorifying the One who became one of us in the person of that Babe of Bethlehem. It also reminds us to put a magnifying lens on the wondrous reality that God uses each and every one of us in bringing about God’s preferred future for the restoration and renewal of Creation. We need to keep our focus on what truly counts in our life together.
Just as we can get so caught up in the trimmings and activities of this season and lose our focus on magnifying the Lord, so too congregations can get so caught up in the stuff of church that we lose our sight of our reason for being in worshipping God, growing in Christ, and serving through the Spirit.
Mary reminds us to keep our focus on glorifying God, and realizing that each and every one of us have a part to play in sharing the Good News that to us a child is born, to us a Son is given. She reminds us to focus on our ministry and mission of filling the hungry with good things and lifting up the lowly.
And that is what Interim Ministry (oops, Advent) is all about!
Joy and Peace,
Scott
