Favored

Luke 1:26-38 [i] Christmas songs are playing on the radio and in all the stores, songs about mistletoe, Rudolf and white Christmases. We celebrate love and peace. We celebrate the birth of a Savior. We sing about peace on earth and joy to the world. Truly, the birth of Jesus Christ in the manger at Bethlehem is worth celebrating. He is God with us, Emmanuel, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. He is our hope and salvation, and represents God’s favor toward us. In spite of the celebration and the words we hear about God’s love for us, it may not seem that God loves us. With all that happens in our lives and in our world, it can seem at times that God is not here. Do we really enjoy God’s favor? What does it look like to be favored of God? Mary was a young virgin engaged to be married to a man named Joseph. She was chosen by God to be the mother of Jesus. She, of all people, represents what it means to be favored of God. Mary said of hers