everlasting. Amen.
PRESENCE AND PEACE
Lord, let your light pour into my heart,
that I may praise you with my whole being,
for Jesus’ sake. Amen.
PRAISE Psalm 27.1
The Lord is my light and my salvation;
whom then shall I fear?
The Lord is the strength of my life;
of whom then shall I be afraid?
READING Luke 1.39-45
Soon afterwards Mary set out and hurried away to a town in the uplands of Judah. She went into Zechariah’s house and greeted Elizabeth. And when Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby stirred in her womb. Then Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and exclaimed in a loud voice, ‘God’s blessing is on you above all women, and his blessing is on the fruit of your womb. Who am I, that the mother of my Lord should visit me? I tell you, when your greeting sounded in my ears, the baby in my womb leapt for joy. Happy is she who has had faith that the Lord’s promise to her would be fulfilled!’
REFLECTION
Imagine that moment when Mary and Elizabeth met; two women from the same extended family, both expecting babies. You can see the joy in their eyes, the sheer wonder in the way they smile at each other and then embrace.
Just as Mary hastened to visit Elizabeth, so God hastens to us. And what is our response?
PRAYER
Pray for all who are expecting babies.
Pray for the fathers and mothers you know.
Our Father . . .
CONCLUSION
Creator God, we give you thanks for the unutterable joy and miracle of all new life.
. . . in the tender compassion of our God,
the dawn from heaven will break upon us,
to shine on those who live in darkness,
under the shadow of death,
and to guide our feet into the way of peace.
Luke 1.78-79
PRESENCE AND PEACE Psalm 9.10
And those who know your name
will put their trust in you,
for you, Lord, have never failed those who seek you.
READING Genesis 21.1-3,6-7
The Lord showed favour to Sarah as he had promised, and made good what he had said about her. She conceived and at the time foretold by God she bore a son to Abraham in his old age. The son whom Sarah bore to him Abraham named Isaac . . . Sarah said, ‘God has given me good reason to laugh, and everyone who hears will laugh with me.’ She added, ‘Whoever would have told Abraham that Sarah would suckle children? Yet I have borne him a son in his old age.’
REFLECTION
In this episode in the life of Abraham and Sarah we are given a glimpse of that delight that frequently accompanies the arrival of a baby. Everything seems so full of promise; everything seems to reflect the joyous light of eternity. The birth of a child is a glory, a miracle, a song that whispers its own alleluia.
Think back over your own life, and give thanks for any moments of joy that have been so wonderful, you cannot put them into words.
CONFESSION
Almighty God, when we fail to see you in moments of joy, forgive our blindness and arrogance of heart, for Jesus’ sake. Amen.
PRAYER
Thank God for those things that have happened this day which have brought laughter to your eyes.
Pray for all those children in the world whose lives are marked and maimed by poverty and disease.
Pray for those who work in health care, especially your own doctor.
Our Father . . .
CONCLUSION
God be in my head and in my understanding;
God be in my eyes and in my looking;
God be in my mouth and in my speaking;
God be at my end and at my departing.
Richard Pynson (1448–1529)
PRESENCE AND PEACE Isaiah 49.13
Shout for joy, you heavens; earth, rejoice;
break into songs of triumph, you mountains,
for the Lord has comforted his people
and has had pity on them in their distress.
May the songs of heaven be within me and around me this day and always.
PRAISE Luke 1.68-69
Praise to the Lord, the God of Israel!
For he has turned to his people and set them free.
He has raised for us a strong deliverer
from the house of his servant David.
READING Luke 1.57,59-64
When the time came for Elizabeth’s child to be born, she gave birth to a son . . . On the eighth day they came to circumcise the child; and they were going to name him Zechariah after his father, but his mother spoke up: ‘No!’ she said. ‘He is to be called John.’ ‘But’, they said, ‘there is nobody in your family who has that name.’ They enquired of his father by signs what he would like him to be called. He asked for a writing tablet and to everybody’s astonishment wrote, ‘His name is John.’ Immediately his lips and tongue were freed and he began to speak, praising God.
REFLECTION
There is, in this story of Zechariah, a palpable sense of release. Zechariah is released from his inability to speak but ironically the people standing around are dumbfounded. Once they have recovered from the shock they ask what the future of the child will be. Liberation and release are great gifts. They open us up to new possibilities. What are those things that leave you in a kind of imprisoned speechlessness? What needs to happen to help you to face the future?
PRAYER
Pray for any people you know who are deeply unhappy, that they may rediscover a joy they once knew.
Pray for those who face this day in real distress of mind or body, that they may experience God’s strength upon them.
Our Father . . .
CONCLUSION
Father in heaven, I commend myself into your loving hands this day; may your Spirit be within me so that my life may be a song of praise for you, now and for ever.
