"A Pregnant Mary"

This is my devotion for our annual Advent devotion book for Memorial this year. The really cool thing, is that the whole devotional can be found online at our website this year! I'm hoping that people are finding it useful and as a way to enrich their Advent season. Mine was posted yesterday, so here it is for you, my lovely readers! Enjoy! PS- If you are reading this today (Thursday) please pray for me, as my Track 2 interview that I mentioned a few weeks ago is happening right now! My senior pastor is in talking with the clergy as we speak, and I will have my interview time shortly. Thanks for your support!

Wednesday, December 2

“A Pregnant Mary”
Submitted by Jill Howard

Scripture: Read Luke 1:30
“The Angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will call him Jesus.’”

Last year at Advent and Christmas time, Pastor Scott and I were thinking of ways to make Memorial’s worship services more meaningful and creative. We decided to try building the nativity scene so that a new person or animal was introduced into the scene each week. As fate would have it, the set we ended up with, while beautiful, only contained a Mary figure who was already holding the baby Jesus. “Well, that won’t work,” we thought as we pondered how to introduce Mary into the nativity scene that week. “We want to introduce Mary, but Jesus doesn’t come in until Christmas Eve!” So then, the idea of a pregnant Mary figurine was introduced into our plans, and I absolutely loved the idea! What better way to introduce Mary than to have her in her pregnancy state- fragile, but strong, beautiful and pure. Having never been pregnant or a mother myself, I fell in love with Mary all over again -- Mary the mother, Mary the holy vessel, Mary the woman of God, the woman of courage who bore Jesus to us. It was a Mary that many of us never picture in the nativity scene, but a Mary that certainly belonged. This year, as we introduce these sacred symbols of the holy family into our progressive nativity scene, may we all take a moment to consider pregnant Mary and what she did for all of us in bearing Jesus the Christ, our Lord and Savior … Immanuel.

Dear God, we thank you for Mary -- her courage, her faith in you, and her love for all of us shown through bearing us our Lord and Savior. May we find peace this Christmas, knowing that love is being brought into the world all over again. Amen.