Scripture:
(Luke 1:39-55) In those days Mary set
out and went with haste to a Judean town in the hill country, where she
entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth
heard Mary's greeting, the child leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was
filled with the Holy Spirit and exclaimed with a loud cry, "Blessed are
you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And why has
this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me? For as
soon as I heard the sound of your greeting, the child in my womb leaped
for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a
fulfillment of what was spoken to her by the Lord."
And Mary said, "My soul magnifies the
Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked with
favor on the lowliness of his servant. Surely, from now on all
generations will call me blessed; for the Mighty One has done great
things for me, and holy is his name. His mercy is for those who fear
him from generation to generation. He has shown strength with
his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts. He
has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the
lowly; he has filled the hungry with good things, and sent
the rich away empty. He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance
of his mercy, according to the promise he made to our ancestors, to
Abraham and to his descendants forever."
Prayer:
God, look favorably on us when we are humble.
Help us rejoice in the strength of your arm rather than in our prideful
thoughts. You have created a world of abundant good gifts.
Help us to live full lives in awareness of your abundance.
And keep us from fencing ourselves in with constraining fears of want and
need.
