December 20, 2023

December 20, 2023

The Eighteenth Day of Advent

As we draw nearer to the date we celebrate as Christmas, my body wants to be even more quiet, still.  It seems, these days, my thoughts begin to travel back in time, with more frequency, with the passing of the days.  Each of us, so often, seeks answers from family and friends, when we should first seek counsel from within.  I say this because I am amazed how much spiritual communication was taking place before the birth of Jesus.  Mary received a vision, and apparently, she had no issue doing what the angel asked of her, saying “yes,” to the messenger from God, and doing so without a bit of hesitation.  We are told she went to visit her relative, Elizabeth, and here too, Elizabeth not only received Mary’s greeting, but knew, from within, what Mary had come to share with her.  Believing, trusting, knowing, communicating with an angel, acting on what was revealed from within.  This is how I want to live.

          On this eighteenth day of Advent, 2023, the reading I have chosen is from Luke 1:39-45.

The Reading

December 20, 2023

“³⁹ At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea, ⁴⁰ where she entered Zechariah’s home and greeted Elizabeth. ⁴¹ When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. ⁴² In a loud voice she exclaimed: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! ⁴³ But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? ⁴⁴ As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. ⁴⁵ Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!”  Luke 1:39-41