“He has helped his servant Israel, remembering to be merciful to Abraham and his descendants forever, just as he promised our ancestors.”
Luke 1:54-55 (NIV)
I never tire of reading the account of a young Mary travelling to her older cousin Elisabeth’s house, receiving Elisabeth’s blessing, obviously taking it to heart for she breaks into a wonderful song of praise. What a work of the Holy Spirit!
I want us to notice that the language in Mary’s song echoes the last verse of Micah’s prophecy - “You will be faithful to Jacob, and show love to Abraham, as you pledged on oath to our ancestors in days long ago.” – Micah is convinced that God will act in the future to forgive His people and bring about that time of rebuilding prophesied in verse 11. Now Mary saw the arrival of Jesus as God’s mercy arriving to earth as a result of God’s faithfulness to an oath He swore long ago. She sees in the birth of Jesus the fulfillment of Micah’s words of faith.
I wonder friend if you believe that today - right now – this moment - on the part of the earth that you occupy, that the time for rebuilding in your life has come. That’s how Mary saw the arrival of Christ to her and to her people, do we see the arrival of Christ in our life the same Mary did?
If we believe this, and admit that for many of the Jews in Mary’s day, the arrival of the Christ brought destruction, then we must believe that how we respond to Christ determines whether or not we will rebuild or as Micah says “lick dust”.
May the Holy Spirit fill each of us with His Presence, a sense of His holiness that shows us our sin, and drives us to flee to our God for His mercy and forgiveness. For all who respond to Christ in this way, today is the first day of the rebuilding of their lives.
What is my response to the Christ?
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