# Yes Day 1 > Come to Stillness: Take a few minutes to allow your mind and heart to be still before God. ### Opening Prayer: *"I belong to the Lord, body and soul," replied Mary, "let it happen as you say." (Luke 1:38 JBP)* #### Psalm for the Week: Psalm 77 #### In the Day of Trouble I Seek the Lord #### To the choirmaster: according to Jeduthun. A Psalm of Asaph. *77 I cry aloud to God, aloud to God, and he will hear me. 2 In the day of my trouble I seek the Lord; in the night my hand is stretched out without wearying; my soul refuses to be comforted.3 When I remember God, I moan; when I meditate, my spirit faints. Selah4 You hold my eyelids open; I am so troubled that I cannot speak.5 I consider the days of old,the years long ago.6 I said,[a] “Let me remember my song in the night; let me meditate in my heart.”Then my spirit made a diligent search:7 “Will the Lord spurn forever, and never again be favorable?* *8 Has his steadfast love forever ceased?Are his promises at an end for all time?9 Has God forgotten to be gracious? Has he in anger shut up his compassion?” Selah10 Then I said, “I will appeal to this,to the years of the right hand of the Most High.”[b]11 I will remember the deeds of the Lord; yes, I will remember your wonders of old.12 I will ponder all your work,and meditate on your mighty deeds.13 Your way, O God, is holy. What god is great like our God?14 You are the God who works wonders;you have made known your might among the peoples.15 You with your arm redeemed your people,the children of Jacob and Joseph. Selah* *16 When the waters saw you, O God,when the waters saw you, they were afraid;indeed, the deep trembled.17 The clouds poured out water;the skies gave forth thunder;your arrows flashed on every side.18 The crash of your thunder was in the whirlwind; your lightnings lighted up the world;the earth trembled and shook.* *19 Your way was through the sea, your path through the great waters; yet your footprints were unseen.[c]20 You led your people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron.* #### Scripture for the Day: Luke 1:5-25 #### Birth of John the Baptist Foretold *5 In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah,[a] of the division of Abijah. And he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. 6 And they were both righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord. 7 But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and both were advanced in years.* *8 Now while he was serving as priest before God when his division was on duty, 9 according to the custom of the priesthood, he was chosen by lot to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense. 10 And the whole multitude of the people were praying outside at the hour of incense. 11 And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. 12 And Zechariah was troubled when he saw him, and fear fell upon him. 13 But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. 14 And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, 15 for he will be great before the Lord. And he must not drink wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother's womb. 16 And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, 17 and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.”* *18 And Zechariah said to the angel, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.” 19 And the angel answered him, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. 20 And behold, you will be silent and unable to speak until the day that these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time.” 21 And the people were waiting for Zechariah, and they were wondering at his delay in the temple. 22 And when he came out, he was unable to speak to them, and they realized that he had seen a vision in the temple. And he kept making signs to them and remained mute. 23 And when his time of service was ended, he went to his home.* *24 After these days his wife Elizabeth conceived, and for five months she kept herself hidden, saying, 25 “Thus the Lord has done for me in the days when he looked on me, to take away my reproach among people.”* #### Reading for Reflection: *The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you…Luke 1:35* *What exactly happened in that moment? That wonder-filled moment when you said yes to God and the Holy Spirit came upon you? That unspeakably intimate encounter when the Most High overshadowed you? What was it like? I have to know! Was it heavenly? Was it more wonderful than anything you ever dreamed of, or dared to imagine? God entered into you; he penetrated you to the core, more deeply than anyone ever thought possible. God, the Most High, entered into you, and that entering in created new life within. He left something of his life-giving-self deep inside; something beautiful beyond imagination was conceived in you. You were pregnant with God and had the unbelievable privilege of carrying him around inside of you; of nurturing his new life within you until time reached its fullness and he was ready to come forth, to show himself, to be born into this world. You, Mary, are the Theotokos—the God-bearer, because God entered into you. And because he entered into you, he can enter into us as well. May we, too, be come upon. May we, too, be overshadowed by the Most High. May God enter into us, penetrate us to the core, and bring to life something of himself deep within our souls. May we, too, be pregnant with God; and nurture and care for his new life within us until it is ready to be born into our lives…born into our world. ~Jim Branch December 2011* #### Reflection and Listening: silent and written #### Prayer: for the church, for others, for myself #### Song for the Week: Come Thou Long Expected Jesus *Come, thou long expected Jesus* *Born to set thy people free* *From our fears and sins release us* *Let us find our rest in thee* *Israel’s strength and consolation* *Hope of all the earth thou art* *Dear desire of every nation* *Joy of every longing heart* *Joy to those who long to see thee* *Dayspring from on high appear* *Come thou promised rod of Jesse* *Of thy birth we long to hear* *O’er the hills the angels singing* *News, glad tidings of a birth* *Go to him your praises ringing* *Christ the Lord has come to earth* *Come to earth to taste our sadness* *He whose glories knew no end* *By his life he brings us gladness* *Our Redeemer, Shepherd, Friend* *Leaving riches without number* *Born within a cattle stall* *This the everlasting wonder* *Christ was born the Lord of all* *Born thy people to deliver,* *Born a child and yet a King,* *Born to reign in us forever,* *Now thy gracious kingdom bring.* *By thine own eternal spirit* *Rule in all our hearts alone,* *By thine all sufficient merit,* *Raise us to thy glorious throne.* ### Closing Prayer *I have heard your call, my Lord, and respond with a yes that arises from the depth of my being. I know that if I follow close to you, nothing shall be able to separate me from your love. Amen. A Guide to Prayer for All Who Seek God by Norman Shawchuck and Rueben P. Job)*