Adventing along till Christmas…

     Week 2 of Advent we lit the Peace candle. In our Advent Journey to Bethlehem we studied the character of Joseph. Thus far we've learned some significant things regarding the Christmas story…
–Mary was a very young girl who responded to God's call with, "Here am I, a servant of the Lord." She chose to answer God's call in spite of the potential danger to herself and risked her engagement to Joseph.
–Joseph, whether old or young, was a man of  mercy, for he took her as his wife to offer her protection from public scorn for being pregnant without a husband. 
–God is a God who calls the unlikely to do amazing things in the world. 

     Each week of Advent, as the youth gather to discuss our lessons on the characters of the Christmas story during Sunday school, we ask ourselves significant questions…"What do we know about this week's person of study?" and "What does this say about God?" I want to share some interesting discoveries the youth have made in these past few weeks study. 

     When I ask the question of "What does this say about who God is?" in the context of what we know of  Mary and Joseph , here is what they've found…

1. God is unpredictable–we value those with power, money or privilege, yet in the Christmas story God is revealed through the least powerful, least prestigious and poorest of characters. 
2. God is persistent–instead of moving on when Mary asks, "How can this be?" the angel Gabriel simply explains how the Holy Spirit will make this happen. Instead of moving on when Joseph considers quietly divorcing Mary when he finds out she is pregnant with a child that is not his, an angel appears to him in a dream and explains things. Our fears and our doubts are allowed, God just patiently works through us in spite of them.
3. God is looking for someone who is courageous in spite of their doubts and fears, who is faithful and who is humble; but, most of all, God is looking for those who will answer with a "yes."

When I asked them what this means for them, they, of course, responded with good humor…"It means we need to not be any of those things because God could choose one of us next time." 

…But isn't that the point? …Shouldn't God be working through us? …Are we receptive to doing what God calls us to do in the world, being who God calls us to be? …Doubt, fear and questions are allowed, but ultimately, will we respond with "Here am I, a servant of the Lord?"

Blessings,
Tracy