4th Sunday of Advent

Read Luke 1: 26-38

The angel replied, "The Holy Spirit shall come upon you, and the power of God shall overshadow you; so the baby born to you will be utterly holy - the Son of God. Furthermore, six months ago your relative Elizabeth - the barren one, they called her - became pregnant in her old age! For every promise from God shall surely come true."

Luke 1: 35-37 (TLB)

"It's impossible." Surely this thought went through Mary's mind as the angel revealed God's plan. But then the heavenly messenger went on to prove his authenticity by informing Mary of another impossibility happening to her cousin Elizabeth, who was far past the age of childbearing but was in her sixth month of pregnancy. From a biological perspective, there was no good reason for why these things should come to pass. But they revealed the divine truth spoken by the angel: "Nothing is impossible for God."

Taking a closer look at this story, Joe Di Francesco, from Ontario, Canada, noticed that there are three elements leading up to the impossible being made possible. The scripture points out that Mary was humble. Secondly, she was enabled by the power of the Most High. The impossible was not her doing. Lastly, she believed God's promise and trusted that it would be as the angel said.

So the next time the Lord asks us to do something seemingly impossible, we don't need to fear. Following Mary's example, we can humbly let our Creator's power work through us and trust God's faithfulness. The Almighty delights in working with us, in us, and through us to accomplish the impossible.

Prayer: Dear Father, help us to follow Mary's example and trust in you. Use us to accomplish your purposes - even when it seems impossible to us, in Jesus' name. Amen.