Mary’s Encounter With Jesus
As we enter this beautiful Christmas season, our Encounters with Jesus series invites us to pause and reflect on one of the most tender and transformative stories in all of Scripture: Mary’s encounter with the angel and the birth of Jesus.
When the angel appeared to Mary with the astonishing message that she would carry the Savior of the world, her first response was honest confusion—“How can this be?”—yet it was quickly followed by courageous faith: “Let it be to me according to your word.” Mary shows us that faith is not the absence of questions; it is the willingness to trust God even when His plans stretch far beyond our understanding.
As the Christmas story unfolds, we see Mary travel to Bethlehem, deliver her Son in the humblest of settings, and welcome shepherds who arrive with breathtaking news from heaven. And after all the wonder, all the noise, all the unexpected visitors, Scripture tells us that “Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.”
What a beautiful posture for us to adopt this season. In the midst of our own busy schedules, family gatherings, and long to-do lists, Christmas invites us not just to celebrate—but to ponder. To slow down. To treasure the ways God continues to enter our lives with hope, grace, and unexpected joy.
In His Service,
Pastor Patrick