A Reading from Isaiah 52:7-12
7 How beautiful on the mountains
are the feet of those who bring good news,
who proclaim peace,
who bring good tidings,
who proclaim salvation,
who say to Zion,
“Your God reigns!”
8 Listen! Your watchmen lift up their voices;
together they shout for joy.
When the Lord returns to Zion,
they will see it with their own eyes.
9 Burst into songs of joy together,
you ruins of Jerusalem,
for the Lord has comforted his people,
he has redeemed Jerusalem.
10 The Lord will lay bare his holy arm
in the sight of all the nations,
and all the ends of the earth will see
the salvation of our God.
11 Depart, depart, go out from there!
Touch no unclean thing!
Come out from it and be pure,
you who carry the articles of the Lord’s house.
12 But you will not leave in haste
or go in flight;
for the Lord will go before you,
the God of Israel will be your rear guard.
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Meditation
The Feast of the Annunciation commemorates Gabriel’s proclamation to the Virgin Mary that she will bear the Messiah in her womb. The Annunciation is more than a divine pregnancy reveal, it inaugurates God’s kingdom through the Incarnation. Gabriel is announcing that Jesus, who is the embodiment of peace, salvation, and good news, is with her. Gabriel is announcing that the long-expected Messiah is here.
The Annunciation happens at a point in Israel’s history where they are waiting for their promised Messiah. It comes during a period of longing, waiting, and expectation, much like our Lenten season. Yet, God breaks through this silence and proclaims the good news of salvation to God’s people. Gabriel’s announcement to Mary is, as we sing in “O Holy Night,” a “thrill of hope”; and “the weary world rejoices.”
The prophet Isaiah foretells that God’s messenger will bring good news of God’s peace and salvation. The Feast of the Annunciation celebrates the arrival of this peace, salvation, and the good news embodied in our Lord Jesus.
In the weariness of our lives, may we rejoice in the hope of the Messiah. God’s salvation and peace are with us because Christ is with us. And may the good news that we have received reverberate to our communities as we also proclaim the Annunciation.
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Steven McCain is a seminarian living in Durham, North Carolina, with his wife, Elizabeth, and two sons, Benjamin and James.
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Daily Devotional Cycle of Prayer
Today we pray for:
The Episcopal Diocese of West Texas
The Diocese of Rumonge – The Anglican Church of Burundi
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