Reading for the week of January 5: Luke 1
Click Here for more information on the #LukeActs2014 Reading Plan

Pastor Lisa’s Journal
Scripture
Then his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke this prophecy: “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has looked favorably on his people and redeemed them.” – Luke 1:67-68 NRSV

Click Here for a reflection entitled In Darkness, Light by Steve Garnaas Holmes

Observation
Over and over again in Luke 1, I see God’s promise of redemption. God will bring goodness, wholeness, and salvation out of all that is broken, disordered, captive and unjust.

Mary reminds us the lowly are not forgotten or cursed. The young, the inexperienced, the under educated, the oppressed, the nobodies from nowhere. They will be lifted up. In God… to God… All have value. All can be used of God in powerful ways. All are invited to welcome God deep within, to bear the Promised One into the world.

Elizabeth reminds us the barren are not forgotten or cursed. The elderly, the long disappointed, the labeled, the disgraced. With God, they have a place to belong, to sing, to share. Some will bear the miracle of children, but all can find a place in the family of God. All are empowered to encourage, to welcome and to raise up those who are young in faith.

Zechariah reminds us of the barren, too. Barren in family and barren in faith. Unbelieving, desiring proof. His maturity, breeding, status, education, and ordination have failed him. He knows the rituals but can no longer cling to the promises. Even so, he is not forgotten or cursed. He is not beyond God’s grace. No one is. Like Elizabeth and Mary, he becomes pregnant with hope and births a new life.

The Mighty One has done great things for us (vs 49)

• Hears our prayers (vs 13)
• Makes a way for relationships to be restored with God and with others (vs 16, 17)
• Looks on us with favor, including the barren, the unbelieving, and the lowly (vs 31, 48, 68)
• Extends mercy (vs 50, 54, 58, 72)
• Brings justice for the lowly when they are oppressed by the powerful (vs 51-54, 71, 74)
• Remembers and upholds the covenants (vs 54-55)
• Fills us with the Holy Spirit (vs 15, 35, 41, 67)
• Raises up a mighty Savior to forgive our sins, give us light, and guide us in the way of peace (vs 69, 72, 77-79)

The Mighty One has done great things for us… all of us… Holy is His Name

Application
Our responses to God’s redeeming grace and mercy

• Leave the fear behind (vs 13, 31)
• Rejoice (vs 14, 47, 58)
• Here I am the servant of the Lord (vs 38, 74)
• Praise and Proclaim God’s character and actions (42, 46, 68)

Prayer
Jesus, Light of the World,
We bless you and praise you
For the warmth of your love
For the radiance of your grace
For all the ways you illumine the path of hope and life
By your tender mercy,
The dawn from on high breaks upon us and all the world
Shining in us and through us and for us
All who are in darkness and the shadow of death
May come to your light
All may walk in the ways of peace
Shine on Radiant One
Our Light and our Salvation
Shine on
Amen.

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For the #LukeActs2014 reading plan, I’m using the SOAP method for keeping a spiritual journal, as taught at New Hope Christian Fellowship in Hawaii. For more information on this simple and powerful way of engaging the Word of God, please click here

For the graphics I created for my memory verses from Luke 1, click here

For the introductory post to Luke 1, click here

reflection and prayer © 2014 Lisa Ann Moss Degrenia
Contact Lisa for posting and publication considerations.