Wednesday 25th March | Brogan Hume
Readings
Reflection
We take a detour from our normal readings today as the church around the world celebrates the incredible moment when Mary was told by an angel that she was to be pregnant with Jesus. Our readings are about that event, recounted in Luke 1: 26-38. These are fantastic texts to think about Jesus, and the difference His presence makes in our lives.
In the reading from Samuel we hear Hannah, a barren woman given the gift of a Son, praising God and celebrating His might and mercy. She sings of God’s nature to give good gifts, especially to those who are in need. This theme is carried on in Romans 5, where Paul explains that Jesus is the greatest gift that the world has ever known, and that His presence changes everything. Paul startlingly compares Jesus with Adam, through whom sin and suffering enter the world. Yet if Adam is the transmitter and sin the sickness, Jesus is the cure. His presence in the world is more powerful than the sin and suffering that came through Adam, and one day His victory will be seen as the world is set free from sin and suffering altogether. How we long for that day in our present time of need.
Yet even today, before that day, as we remain in our homes this is true: Jesus’ presence changes everything. We are not stripped of liberty, but rather clothed with the freedom to spend time in God’s presence remembering and celebrating the greatest gift the world has ever known: Jesus Christ.
Prayers
Lord God, we come before you today with thanksgiving as we remember that you came to seek us and save us in Jesus Christ.
Spend some time giving thanks to God for His grace, and for all the other good gifts He has given you in the last 24 hours - no matter how big or small.
Lord God, we come before you today in celebration of your might and mercy, just as Hannah did. Thank you that your nature is always to have mercy.
Pick out a few lines from Hannah’s song (1 Samuel 2:1 -10), and use them to praise God.
Lord God, we come before you today seeking your healing and redemption. We long for the day when sin and suffering are no more. Come, Lord Jesus.
Bring before God the areas of the world where we know much healing is needed - including those cities, countries, and people most affected by the coronavirus outbreak.
Lord God, as we come before you today may we know your presence - which changes everything. Today I am not stripped of liberty, but clothed with freedom as a child of God. Fill me afresh with your Spirit I pray.
Spend some time waiting on God, praying to be filled with His presence and peace.
Collect
We beseech you, O Lord,
Pour your grace into our hearts,
That as we have known the incarnation of your Son Jesus Christ by the message of an angel,
So by his cross and passion
We may be brought to the glory of his resurrection;
Through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
Who is alive and reigns with you,
In the unity of the Holy Spirit,
One God, now and for ever.
Amen.
