Births of John and Jesus Foretold

PRAYER PRACTICE

Lectio – Read today’s passage through once. Then spend some time praying and asking God to show you what you need to pay attention to in the text. Read it again. Now ask God to help you see what this text, and the part that has stood out, may mean for you. Don’t expect to get a clear word every time but always be ready to really hear from God through His Word.

DAILY READING

Luke 1:5-38

DEVOTION/REFLECTION

Cousins

by Judy Webb

An angel appeared to Zechariah to foretell the long-awaited birth of a son. In another instance, again an angel appeared but this time to Mary, a young unmarried woman. She was told of a son she would bear, The Messiah. Both of these angelic appearances came to pass. "For no word from God will ever fail.” (Luke 1:37)­­

When I was a child, I loved to spend time with my cousins. Oh, there were neighborhood kids I was friends with, but the time with my cousins was special. Partly because I thought they had such a good life. There were 5 of them so there was always something happening around them. Their father and my mother were brother and sister, so a strong bond existed from the beginning. We didn't always get along, but we still had good times together. Maybe partly because when we were together, it was usually at grandma and grandpa's house, and it doesn't get any better than that.

As I was considering what avenue to take for this devotion, the idea of cousins arose. I began to wonder if Jesus and John had the opportunity to play together. Because we are reading through Luke twice, trying to get to know Jesus better, I began to consider the human side of Jesus, especially as a toddler or very young boy. Certainly, he played with other children. Then when I remembered He and John were cousins, I paralleled that with my childhood playmates. 

We learn how to be productive and viable adults through our childhood experiences. I know, Jesus was God. But we are told often that he was very human too. Perhaps his love and respect for John is partly a result of his early friendship with him. Both these boys had huge futures awaiting them, but first they had to grow into those shoes. The familial bond didn't just happen overnight. I know it could have, but I doubt that it did.

Reflect and Consider: It seems fitting to think about this human side to Jesus on this Holy Day of Ash Wednesday. A day when we remember and ponder our own humanity. Jesus felt emotions, just as we do. He felt pain and sadness and loss; and soon he would be exposed to great physical anguish, only matched by the emotional pain that was certain to be part of His final days.

"For no word from God will ever fail.” (Luke 1:37)

Birth of John and Jesus Foretold

PRAYER PRACTICE

Lectio – Read today’s passage through once. Then spend some time praying and asking God to show you what you need to pay attention to in the text. Read it again. Now ask God to help you see what this text, and the part that has stood out, may mean for you. Don’t expect to get a clear word every time but always be ready to really hear from God through His Word. 

DAILY READING

Luke 1:5-38

REFLECTION

Never Ending Story

by Diane Ward 

In the Gospel of Luke, we have the clearest picture of Jesus’ humanity.  Luke was a cultured educated writer, an artist with words. Luke was a much-loved physician. His stories reflect his wide interest in people, women, children and the sick and helpless.

My sister and I were expectant mothers at the same time. We were excited preparing for the birth of our babies. We shared the events of our nine-month journeys. Our first-borns grew together, played together and in ways were more brother and sister than cousins. During this time, I read Luke’s accounting of Jesus’ and John’s births. I was in awe of these two women, one a teenager and the other middle-aged. I thought about their challenges, Mary’s compromised social status as an un-wed mother, Mary walking the distance to Elizabeth’s home, and Elizabeth’s time of confinement living with a husband unable to speak. I pondered the mystery and miracle of both conceptions.

Matthew’s account of Jesus’ birth focused on Joseph, “a man’s story. Luke’s account was a different story, “a woman’s story.”  

The humanity of Jesus is not about pregnant women spending time together. It was and is a harbinger, a foretelling of John’s and Jesus” missions, the never-ending story of God’s plan of salvation for mankind. We trust Luke’s account as it was said of him, “he was a historian of first rank.”

“Many have undertaken to draw up an account of the things that have been fulfilled among us. Just as they were shown to us by those who from the first were eyewitnesses and servants of the word. Since I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning, I too decided to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught.” (Luke 1:1-4)