SCRIPTURES: Luke 1:26-38 | Isaiah 43:1-7

Mary is described as “blessed among women” (Luke 1:28). She is neither wealthy nor powerful, and yet she is chosen to bear God’s child. Her story begins with blessedness and so does ours, for

the prophet Isaiah declares that we are claimed by a God who calls our name. We are a blessing

because we belong to God. When blessedness is our beginning, we begin to see the world—and

others—through the eyes of a God who says: “You are precious in my sight” (Isaiah 43:4).

WE CAN'T GO ALONE

SCRIPTURES: Ruth 1 | Ecclesiastes 4:9-12

One of life’s most essential lessons is that we are never meant to go alone. And yet, modern culture pushes us more and more into lonely silos. If Ruth had followed her culture’s norms, she would have gone home to her family of origin after her husband died, but instead, she commits herself to her mother-in-law, Naomi. Together they form a new family and covenant. Ruth and Naomi travel together to Bethlehem at the beginning of the barley harvest, foreshadowing the journey Mary and Joseph will one day take to be counted in the census. Both Ruth and Naomi as well as Mary and Joseph are unconventional pairs, but if God can bring unlikely people together, God can form us into a covenant community too.

DO THE GOOD THAT IS YOURS TO DO

SCRIPTURES: Luke 3:7-16 | Isaiah 58:9b-12

As John the Baptist is teaching about bearing good fruit, the crowds, tax collectors, and soldiers ask him, “What, then, should we do?” His answer to each group is slightly different, but ultimately the same: “Do the good that is yours to do.” We can each bear good fruit through acts of justice and righteousness. We can all be what Isaiah calls “repairers of the breach” by satisfying the needs of the afflicted.

HOPE IS WORTH THE RISK

SCRIPTURES: Matthew 1:18-25 | Luke 1:46-55

Hope is vulnerable and can feel like a tremendous risk, especially if you’ve experienced loss or trauma. But Mary shows us a resilient hope that takes risks—she risks her body to bear a son who will become the hope of her people. Similarly, Joseph makes a risky choice to stay with Mary;

dismissing her quietly would have kept him safe. But instead, he chooses hope. He chooses to trust

the angel, and it makes all the difference. It can feel safer and easier to be a cynic, but the world doesn’t need more cynics. It needs people who say, “It can be better," and make it so.