Miracles
Gabriel appeared to Mary and said, “Greetings, favoured woman! The Lord is with you!” Confused and disturbed, Mary tried to think what the angel could mean. “Don’t be afraid, Mary,” the angel told her, “for you have found favour with God!”
Luke 1:28-30
Fear is often mentioned in the accounts leading up to Jesus’ birth. John the Baptist’s father, Zechariah, was told not to be afraid when Gabriel met with him. The same happened when the angel met with Mary. Joseph too was told not to be afraid when he was informed of Mary’s surprise pregnancy. For all of them, what was happening in their lives was an astonishing surprise. For John the Baptist’s mother, Elizabeth, the surprise was that she was well past child-bearing years; for Mary it was because she had never had sexual intercourse. All that was happening was totally miraculous, because we all tend to live with the assumption that only ordinary things will happen in life.
This first chapter of Luke challenges our thinking in all sorts of ways. Firstly, it reminds us that we serve a God of miracles and should expect him to do things that are totally out of the ordinary. On a number of occasions, I have seen people become Christians and the response has been: “Well I would never have expected them to become a Christian!” We need to live with an openness to God moving in all sorts of really surprising ways, and not limit him to what we have seen him do in the past. The second challenge is that we need to look to the future with such a confidence in God that there is no need for fear. God is the God of all Creation. He is the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. He has graciously sent us his Spirit. We have every reason to trust him completely.
QUESTION
How open are you to God moving in miraculous and surprising ways?
PRAYER
God of miracles, I worship you and praise you for the amazing things that you do each day. Help me to embrace and enjoy everything that you do. Amen