Make space for angels

Luke 1:34-35

Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” The angel said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God.

Making space for angels 

When we are lost in grief

When we long for light

When we cannot see a way to peace

Making space for angels

When we are anxious for loved ones

And for all who suffer

And when we fear for our world

Making space for angels

in the midst of our everyday

For angels disrupt and transform

Angels bring news

and if we make space

we will hear in their song

Good news sent by God

For all the world

Making space for angels

(Liz Crumlish) 

Anticipation

 Luke 1:57-58

The Birth of John the Baptist

Now the time came for Elizabeth to give birth, and she bore a son. Her neighbours and relatives heard that the Lord had shown his great mercy to her, and they rejoiced with her.

The birth of John -

the eagerly anticipated forerunner of Jesus

Anticipation

May be accompanied

with joy or with dread

Longed-for events carry

more than a whiff of unpredictability

The birth of a baby

confounds expectations

and wreaks havoc that lasts a lifetime

As we anticipate birth in this season

may our careful preparations be disrupted

by all that refuses to fit our narrow vision

And may our hearts be expanded

to encompass the chaos into which we are invited

And may both joy and dread accompany our anticipation

of God being born into a world such as this.

(Liz Crumlish)