Today is December 18th in the 3rd week of Advent.

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace through the power of the Holy Spirit.   
 
Take a moment and quiet yourself. Take a deep breath. Welcome God’s presence, and say Come Holy Spirit.  
 
Today’s reading is from the Gospel of Luke, chapter 2.  
 

“When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.” So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.” 
 

We find two responses in this bit of Luke’s story: the shepherds are busy – they head to Bethlehem, they find Jesus and everything just like the angels had spoken of… and they start talking about it to everyone they know. And then we have Mary… who treasured up and pondered ‘these things’ in her heart. Who do you feel more connected to today, in this final week of Advent? The excitement and joy and evangelistic fervor of the shepherds? Or the interior -and I’d guess probably tired! - contemplation of Mary? 
 
Where might God be inviting you to lean, then? If you are by nature contemplative, might it be good to lean towards evangelistic joy? On the other hand, if you are more excited and busy this week, might it be sweet to lean toward a bit of quiet consideration?  
 
Pray now for God to grow you more fully into the person He made you to be. Pray that He would grow you into a mature worship and followership of Him, marked by both joy, evangelism, and the thrill of Christmas… and by an ability to be very quiet, treasuring up and abiding with Christ in stillness. 
 
Faith in Christ is a gift of revelation, not an intellectual pursuit. Pray as we end for God’s spirit to stir up in you the gift of faith. Pray also for the world around you – filled with darkness and longing – to receive a revelation of Christ this Christmas. 
 

Come, thou long expected Jesus, 
born to set thy people free; 
from our fears and sins release us, 
let us find our rest in thee. 

Behold, the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it… 

In the name of the Father, and the son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.