We, too, are to be bearers of good news to all people, even and especially to those we might otherwise think of as unworthy or unacceptable.

Will we use the strength and power that is within us to hurt and destroy? Or will we use it for blessing and for peace?

The promises God makes to Israel in these passages point to the intimacy between the Creator and the created.

To truly give ourselves over to Christ means that some things in our lives will be threatened – our self-dependence, our self-righteousness, or self-interest.

Paul insists that Gentiles have become ‘fellow heirs, members of the same body, and sharers in the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.’

"May he be like rain that falls on the mown grass, like showers that water the earth."

In this, we read a calling for all of God’s people, no matter where they are, no matter their station in life, to lift their eyes from the darkness and the chaos of the world.

When you have crises in your life, how do you respond? Do you panic, fall apart, spring into action, etc? Do you take time when the immediate crisis is over to reflect on what happened, how you responded, and how God might have been working through it? How might Mary’s response be an example to you? How could you respond more prayerfully and contemplatively to events in your life?

God has chosen you and your response should be to clothe yourself with all the characteristics of Christ.

In this call to praise, the psalmist urges all of creation to join a universal chorus of thanksgiving.