Word for the day by Christian Education Forum

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 Annunciation to Virgin Mary

Luke 1:26-38

The Key verse: But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God.”(Luke 1:30 - NIV)

In the devotional book Voices of the Faithful, an exciting and thoughtful incident is depicted from the life of a missionary named Gerri who was working in an African town. One day exciting news came to her that the Lozi king was coming to attend the church services and to eat at her house. Finally, the day arrived and the king is at her house. She explained her missionary activities. In the Lozi language, the name Gerri sounded like “jelly” because the I sound is hard for people to pronounce. Without knowing the protocol etiquette, she boldly asked for a Lozi name. 

As he was preparing to leave, the king said, “My wife and I have decided upon a name for you. It will be Liseli. It means ‘light.’ I want God’s Word to be light and life to the people of Western Province.”

The scripture portion for our meditation is all about God’s messenger Gabriel on a visit to a peasant village of Nazareth to meet Mary, a teenager. The visit of Gabriel seems like a motion: Gabriel is “sent” (v.26), “came” (v. 28) and after a conversation “departed” (v. 38). She trusted the Word of the Lord and surrendered by saying, “I am the Lord’s servant. May your word to me be fulfilled.”(v. 38) 

It is in trusting and surrendering that to the Word of God, we become channels of God’s grace to the world. It is her total submission that helped the world to receive the light from God, Jesus Christ who is the “LIGHT of the world.”
 

Prayer
Gracious God, help us to engage with your divine Word daily so that we become light to the world.


Thought for the Day
You can be a source of light to the dark world if you trust and surrender to His Word. 


Rev. Ninu Chandy
Bethel Mar Thoma Church
Krishnarajapuram
Bangalore. 

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