Mary and Elizabeth sang for joy about our God who does great things. Read Luke 1:46-55. Many Christmas movies today have a similar plot. Christmas is in trouble, and someone needs to “save” Christmas. When a blizzard prevents Santa from flying because the reindeer and he can’t see where they are going, Rudolph, with his nose so bright, guides the sleigh through the blizzard and saves Christmas. When a divorced father scares Santa so badly that Santa falls off the roof and dies, he must wear the Santa suit and deliver the toys. He soon discovers that wearing the suit legally binds him to the Santa Clause, and he must prepare to leave his life to save Christmas every year. In the movie Elf, Christmas is in trouble because people don’t believe. Buddy the Elf saves Christmas in several ways, but the most important way was to inspire people to believe so that there would be enough Christmas magic to power Santa’s sleigh. My favorite quote from Buddy is, “The best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear.” In the original Christmas story, as recorded in Luke and Matthew, an angel announces to Mary that she will be giving birth to the Savior of the World. Mary soon leaves Bethlehem to join her cousin Elizabeth, who is also pregnant. When they greet each other, they rejoice over the wonderful news of what God is doing through them. Mary responds with singing. Her song is recorded in the book of Luke. It begins, “My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.” We celebrate the third Sunday of Advent with joy. We light the pink candle on the advent wreath to remind us to prepare our hearts to receive joy and to respond to God’s love with joyful singing. The song of Mary is often called the Magnificat, which is Latin for glorifies. It is the first Christmas song, even before the angels sing about the birth of Jesus. Let us prepare our hearts to receive joy and to show our joy as we sing the songs of the season.

Prayer: God of joy, thank you for the music that lifts our spirits and tunes our hearts to you. Help us to spread Christmas joy by singing songs of praise this Christmas. Amen.