The Upper Room Devotional 24 December 2023
The Upper Room Devotional 24 December 2023, Sunday Message by Jennifer Christenson (Wisconsin, USA)
TOPIC: 4th Sunday of Advent
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TODAY’S READING
Luke 2:15-20
Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart. – Luke 2:19 (NRSVUE)
In the silence of my infant daughter’s room, I finally understood Mary’s pondering. In those precious moments after my daughter had fallen asleep in my arms, my thoughts flitted from the long hours of labor, to the moment my daughter was laid on my chest, to her big brother holding her for the first time. I marveled at the miracle of giving birth, and how fearfully and wonderfully made we truly are. I gave thanks to God for allowing me to play a vital role in bringing this new life into the world.
We can’t know, of course, what Mary’s thoughts were that holy night. We can only guess what this exhausted young mother pondered as the shepherds’ voices faded into the night. Being a new parent is overwhelming enough. Imagine what it felt like for Mary to know that her child, this sweet baby boy swaddled in the manger, was born to save us all. Surely that was almost too much to bear. And so she pondered. She let the thoughts and emotions turn over and over in her heart as she gave thanks to God for inviting her to play this critical role in the salvation of the world.
As we celebrate the Incarnation, may our hearts also be filled with wonder and awe as we ponder the ways God is inviting us to bring the light and life of Christ into the world.
TODAY’S PRAYER
God of love, bless our pondering this holy season. Fill us with the same hope and wonder Mary felt. May our thoughts always lead us to you. Amen.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
Today I will watch for God’s invitations to bring love into the world.
PRAYER FOCUS
New and expecting parents
The Upper Room is a daily devotional magazine published in more than 30 languages and 100 countries around the world. The daily meditations are written by readers of the magazine and others interested in sharing their faith experiences through writing—both laity and clergy, published authors and new writers. The meditations are stories of real people working to live faithfully with the Bible as their touchstone. Every day, readers of The Upper Room around the world read the same story in many different languages and pray the same prayer together. (The Upper Room Devotional 17 December 2023)
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