Focus Verse Luke 1:30-31
The angel Gabriel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus.”
Whenever an Angel appears with a message from God, people generally respond with both fear and awe. And then the Angel speaks. The fear and the awe deepen. I’m not sure that changes much when the Angel says, “Do not be afraid.”
Mary, who was probably a mature 13 years old, was “perplexed” by the Angel’s initial greeting which included, twice, letting her know that she had found “favor” with God. Many sources translate favor as “full of grace.” Perplexed seems an understatement to the suggestion that one, as a virgin, might give birth to the “literal” son of God.
Reflection: What does it mean to you for someone to be “full of grace”? How might Mary have felt after finding out exactly what God wanted from her especially with the talk of suffering to come. Have you ever had an experience of God that mystified you and yet filled you with fear, too? How did you move beyond your fear to embrace the grace offered to you?
If music is a spiritual pathway for you, pause for a moment and take this link for a YouTube video to listen to "Fear Not Mary" from the ARISE! Choral/Orchestral Production, Composer: Bryan L Pullman.
Prayer: Breathing “The Jesus Prayer”
Breathing in … Lord Jesus Christ
Breathing out … Have mercy
*pray by breathing this prayer repetitively until the prayer prays you. You’ll know the prayer is praying you when the words come to you at random times in random places. You will simply feel the words on your lips, in sync with your breathing. And you have begun the process of praying unceasingly through the power of the Holy Spirit! For more information about praying The Jesus Prayer, an ancient prayer form from the days of early Christian History, practiced by the Desert Mothers and Fathers, take this LINK ... http://www.m-sfm.org/the-jesus-prayer.html
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