Hello and welcome to week 4 of Advent.
This week,
Electio Divina on Luke 1.
And as a way to prepare,
We invite stillness.
So I invite you to be aware of your breathing,
To follow the in-breath and the out-breath.
And as you do,
To allow your shoulders to sink,
To allow yourself to be supported.
To let go of the day so far and of what's to come.
To receive the grace to be present here and now.
And my prayer as we come to this Lectio Divina is that you would receive everything you need in this moment.
That your heart would be encouraged.
And that you would connect with God in a deeper way.
May peace accompany you through these readings.
Amen.
So I'm going to read Luke 1 26-38 three times.
And on this first reading,
I invite you to simply allow the words to come as a reign without attaching to any of them.
Simply let them be.
Luke 1 26.
In the sixth month,
The angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth.
To a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph of the house of David.
The Virgin's name was Mary.
And he came to her and said,
Greetings favoured one.
The Lord is with you.
But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be.
The angel said to her,
Do not be afraid,
Mary,
For you have found favour with God.
And now you will conceive in your womb and bear a son and you will name him Jesus.
He will be great and will be called the son of the Most High.
And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor,
David.
He will reign over the house of Jacob forever and of his kingdom there will be no end.
Mary said to the angel,
How can this be?
Since I am a virgin.
The angel said to her,
The Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.
Therefore the child to be born will be holy.
He will be called the son of God.
And now your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son.
And this is the sixth month for her who was said to be barren.
For nothing will be impossible with God.
Then Mary said,
Here am I,
The servant of the Lord.
Let it be with me according to your word.
Then the angel departed from her.
On this second reading I invite you to notice any words or phrases that stand out to you.
In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth.
To a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph of the house of David.
The virgin's name was Mary.
And he came to her and said,
Greetings favoured one,
The Lord is with you.
But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be.
The angel said to her,
Do not be afraid Mary,
For you have found favour with God.
And now you will conceive in your womb and bear a son.
And you will name him Jesus.
He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High.
And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David.
He will reign over the house of Jacob forever and of his kingdom there will be no end.
Mary said to the angel,
How can this be since I am a virgin?
The angel said to her,
The Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.
Therefore the child to be born will be holy.
He will be called Son of God.
And now your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son.
And this is the sixth month for her who was said to be barren.
For nothing will be impossible with God.
Then Mary said,
Here am I,
The servant of the Lord.
Let it be with me according to your word.
Then the angel departed from her.
With this third reading,
Reflect on how the words or phrases that stood out to you connect to your current life experience.
Take time to linger over the word or phrase.
To focus on it until it engages your body,
Your heart and your awareness.
What are these words or phrases inviting or offering?
In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth.
To a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph of the house of David.
The virgin's name was Mary.
And he came to her and said,
Greetings favoured one,
The Lord is with you.
But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be.
The angel said to her,
Do not be afraid Mary,
For you have found favour with God.
And now you will conceive in your womb and bear a son,
And you will name him Jesus.
He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High.
And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David.
He will reign over the house of Jacob forever,
And of his kingdom there will be no end.
Mary said to the angel,
How can this be since I am a virgin?
The angel said to her,
The Holy Spirit will come upon you,
And the power of the Most High will overshadow you.
Therefore the child to be born will be holy,
He will be called Son of God.
And now your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son.
And this is the sixth month for her who was said to be barren.
For nothing will be impossible with God.
Then Mary said,
Here am I,
The servant of the Lord,
Let it be with me according to your word.
Then the angel departed from her.
And as a way to end this Advent Series,
I offer a simple prayer.
A radiant love born anew in the deepest dark,
Hold us in knowing your truth.
And if today is not the day of your rebirth within us,
Give us the joy of knowing your radiance is on the way.
And patience to stay the journey until your dawn arrives.
Amen.
