Loving God, you have come to us,

   not with great signs and wonders,

   but in a babe who became a humble carpenter.

You took on human form,

   not with the trappings of power and might,

   but among folk who fasted, prayed, and gave thanks

   in the midst of their poverty.

You made your witness,

   not with devices of intimidation and coercion,

   but through an instrument of suffering and scorn.

For your foolishness is wiser than human thought,

   and your weakness is stronger than all human powers.

Grant that we may hear and respond to your wisdom,

O God. Amen.

Lavon Baylor, worship author

And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”