December 20th: Rejoice

Submitted by August Hekhuis (age 9) and Adelaide Hekhuis (age 6)

Mary’s Song of Praise

 And Mary said,

“My soul magnifies the Lord,
 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant.
Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed;

for the Mighty One has done great things for me,
and holy is his name.
His mercy is for those who fear him
from generation to generation.
He has shown strength with his arm;
he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts.
He has brought down the powerful from their thrones,
and lifted up the lowly;
he has filled the hungry with good things,
and sent the rich away empty.

 He has helped his servant Israel,

in remembrance of his mercy,
according to the promise he made to our ancestors,
to Abraham and to his descendants forever.” Luke 1:46-55 

When I think of rejoice, I think of parties and celebrations. We celebrate Christmas because Christ was born. It is harder to celebrate this year because we can’t get together with family, we can’t travel, or go on airplanes. But I want to celebrate even more. The good news is that we can still celebrate. It’s interesting that God didn’t come out of the clouds as an adult that was invulnerable. He came out vulnerable as a child of mortals. He could have been the son of an emperor or a rich person who owned property. But instead Jesus was the son of a carpenter and a poor woman. That’s important. We are having a humble Christmas this year and that reminds me of Jesus’ humble beginnings. 

Message by August Hekhuis. Painting by Adelaide Hekhuis.