December 14, 2025: Advent 3: Even In Our Fear, We Are Called Forward
Luke 1: 26-39 and Jeremiah 1: 4-10

Rev. Dr. Leslie Taylor, preaching

God often calls the unlikely and the unprepared. Jeremiah was just a boy when he was tasked with speaking truth to power, confessing his inadequacy with the cry, “I am only a youth.” Mary was merely a teenager when Gabriel announced she would bear God’s Son, leading her to ask in bewilderment, “How can this be?”

Like them, we often fear that we aren’t enough, that we will be alone, or that we won’t be heard. Yet, the theme “Even in Our Fear, We Are Called Forward” reminds us that stepping out in faith doesn’t require leaving our fears behind. Courage is not always a grand, heroic gesture; often, it is the quiet act of saying “yes” while our knees shake.

As you read Luci Shaw’s poem, “Mary Considers Her Situation”, (see below), imagine the emotions stirring within Mary. What sacrifices did she

weigh? What passions burned within her “like a sun rising”? Despite the social scrutiny and the threats awaiting her, Mary did not freeze. The Gospel tells us she left “with haste” to find Elizabeth — seeking safety and support, yes, but moving forward nonetheless. Even with a trembling voice, she stepped into her calling, and the words of the Magnificat began to form on her lips.

See you after worship on Sunday as we study “Calling All Angels” by Erin Wathen, and on Wednesday at noon on Zoom for the series discussion, “What Do You Fear? Insisting On Hope This Advent.”

Mary Considers Her Situation
by Luci Shaw

What next, she wonders,
with the angel disappearing, and her room
suddenly gone dark.

The loneliness of her news
possesses her. She ponders
how to tell her mother.

But then, part dazzled part prescient—
she hugs her body, a pod with a seed
that will split her.

She nestles into herself, half-convinced
it was some kind of good dream,
she its visionary.

Still the secret at her heart burns like
a sun rising. How to hold it in —
that which cannot be contained.

The way we worship is the way we live.

Worship is the work of the people, bringing together our fullest selves in a communal act of love and gratitude.  Each voice is important; each person is valued as the Spirit draws out our authentic gifts and talents, shared in the ever-widening circle of God’s people.  We hope you’ll join us this week as we gather to worship the God of extravagant welcome.