We’ve now come ever so close on this the Fourth Sunday of Advent. There are just a few days left until we welcome the little baby Jesus born in Bethlehem. But, in this last week, what is the story we need to hear and ponder? Ah…it is the story of Mary, the Promise-Bearer who reveals just how we can prepare for Christmas!

Promise-bearer? Mary is a promise-bearer? Yes, a promise-bearer! For A Promise-Bearer is someone who carries and/or becomes the means to fulfill a promise. Therefore, isn’t Mary a promise bearer as she vows: “Here I am, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word,” for she’s the one who literally bears God’s promise of salvation to the world?

As we gather on this final weekend of preparation consider how we might be like Mary and become God’s promise-bearer? That’s a novel thought! Yet, it is also a great way for us to reflect and consider. For Mary’s story may just inspire us to consider Christmas as a call to live in a way that will bring God’s promise of love in Jesus to all we meet.