March 25
The Annunciation of our Lord
“Little shoes bring me the news the sky has come down to play
Winter snows and summers will go with no time for yesterday
A is for Angel that's where we start
A is for angel took hold of my heart”
www.petermayer.com/songs/a-is-for-angel
“Let it be.” Those words were first spoken by Mary, the Mother of our Lord when the angel Gabriel came to her with a heavenly birth announcement. So often we see great paintings like the one by Carlo Crivelli
www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/carlo-crivelli-the-annunciation-with-saint-emidius
which depict the appearance of Gabriel winging in to see Mary. I would like to suggest on this holy day that we celebrate the “announcement” of a lifetime that there was another angel in the room that day. The angel I am referring to is “Courage.” For it took at great deal of courage for this young girl to be open, vulnerable and receptive enough to hear and believe the angel’s message. “Let it be,” is what she said. It’s a prayer. It’s a dream. It’s an answer.
Today you might want to mediate on the notion of “Courage.” What angel might be visiting you with a message full of potentiality, hope and new life? How might you and I have the courage to say and pray “Let it be.”
“Pour your grace into our hearts, O God, that we who have known the incarnation of your Son, Jesus Christ, announced by an angel, may by his cross and passion be brought to the glory of his resurrection; for he lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen” (ELW)
26In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, 27to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin's name was Mary. 28And he came to her and said, "Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you." 29But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. 30The angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. 32He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. 33He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end." 34Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I am a virgin?" 35The 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. 36And now, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month for her who was said to be barren. 37For nothing will be impossible with God." 38Then Mary said, "Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word." Then the angel departed from her. Luke 1:26-38
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several listeners and readers have responded to the conversation on PEACE
From Mark Reinking- St. Louis
“For me, peace is finding that place where I acknowledge the God is in control, not me.”
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From Warren Miller-Denver
“A few quick thoughts...
Peace has so many dimensions -- it can be illusive, and yet, it can be found. It seems it comes to us and to the world in it's own time; then it can dart away so quickly. For so many it seems to not come at all. "My peace be with you..." just isn't.
Time and distance from our Center and the tawdry tale of our human circumstance hides us from the face of peace. Then, at the Holy Spirit's time Peace joins with Hope and we are found. "My peace be with you ..." is.
Once we find Peace and Hope we don't want to let them go; Peace and Hope are so very soothing to the soul. It's in Peace and with Abundant Hope we find our footing in our relations with God and our fellow man...”
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From Andrea Moser
“I’ve been thinking about your email on Peace all day. It’s Wednesday, I have a standing “lunch date” with my grandfather who has dementia. I go during his lunch and visit instead of after work. It started when we first moved him to a nursing home as a way to reassure him I’d visit, it gave him a sense of peace that he could count on Wednesdays even though I’m frequently there more often. My way of giving him peace has given much more peace to me. Peace is lunch in the day room at the nursing home with grandpa, the quiet moments we share when he’s having lunch. He needs help more and more these days but there is a sense of peace during the meal when we laugh and he tells me of a Key West I never knew. “
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“The Peace of God is what I seek when everything around me appears to be chaos. His peace gives me the ability to stop, regain my focus, and see what needs to be compeleted. Even in those times I may have fear about the task that needs to be completed, the peace of God gives me the strength to see it through.
May His peace be with you today as well,”
Jeff Sagester
Midlothian, VA
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