Sanctuary Foundation Advent Devotional Day 9
Christmas gives us many songs to sing. Songs about holly and snow and kissing and driving home and jingling bells. Out come the children’s choirs and the cheesy classics alongside the traditional carols about peace and joy.
But one of the first Christmas songs recorded in the Bible sets a very different tone altogether.
It comes after Mary receives the strangest positive pregnancy test the world has ever seen. First an angel, and then her cousin’s miracle baby provide the two blue lines she needs to be convinced that she is not only going to be a mother, but that she will be the mother God has chosen for his son.
Mary sings: “My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour… He has lifted up the humble … filled the hungry with good things.”
Mary’s Christmas song is about a revolution. The social order of the whole world is being turned upside down. It’s about opening doors for the poor not the rich, welcoming the outcast not the in-crowd, feeding the hungry not the greedy.
This is a revolution song we need to sing today: a song that inspires hospitality and generosity from those who may have forgotten their value, a song that reminds us of God’s priorities this Christmas.
Thank you
Krish Kandiah
Director, Sanctuary Foundation
Thank you for joining us on this Season of Sanctuary Advent Journey looking at the themes of welcome and hospitality that lie at the heart of the Christmas story. As you prepare your hearts and homes for Christmas, please consider opening doors of hope for those around you. For more inspiration and information please visit www.sanctuaryfoundation.org.uk