Friday, December 6, 2024

Feast Day of St. Nicholas

Collect: O God, our heavenly Father, you raised up your faithful servant Nicholas to be a Bishop and pastor in your Church and to feed your flock: Give abundantly to all pastors the gifts of your Holy Spirit, that they may minister in your household as true servants of Christ and stewards of your divine mysteries; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.  Amen. (Book of Common Prayer, p 638)

Read Luke 1:26-38

And Mary said, ‘Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.’ And the angel departed from her.

Luke 1:38

One of my favorite pieces of jewelry is a small, beaded bracelet with the simple declaration, “Fiat” on its face. I bought it when Bp. Darryl was beginning the interview process with the Missionary Diocese of All Saints (MDAS). As I said many times during that journey, I felt confident that he would be an incredible bishop but a little unsure about his wife.

Then one afternoon, I stumbled across a fiat bracelet. The timing could not have been better.

This little word - the Latin translation of Mary’s, “Let it be” - revealed in her a woman quick to enthrone God’s will for her life and overthrow her own.

Upon the angel’s words, she renounced her plans and stepped into the vast unknown. Like Abraham and Moses and Jacob before her, like the apostles of the Lamb later, she dropped her old life and believed that God did indeed know better than she what was best for her – and for the whole world. (No wonder all nations call her blessed!)

How telling is it that this brief phrase, this fiat, allowed the angel to immediately depart? Her “yes” received, his work was done.

Mary’s response laid bare her willingness to submit to the Lord’s plan even and especially when it did not align with her own. This was a posture she would need again and again throughout her life. How many times did Mary return to that same altar and lay down her plans, her hopes—her very son?

They say hard times reveal the heart, and this Advent season might offer a chance to reflect on what that means for us. When unexpected news—a bill, a loss, a change, a diagnosis—comes, how do we respond?

What arises in these moments unveils the contents of our hearts.

And it offers the chance to raise our own fiat to our Father, to say again in every moment, “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” (Matt. 6:10).

Prayer:  Father, thank you that your plan is good. Thank you that nothing comes to us that does not first pass through you, and we trust you to know what is best. Carry us in times of unexpected news, and give us grace to bear our cross with grace and submission.   Amen.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Where is God calling me to say “fiat” today?

Becki Fitzwater

PRAYER FOCUS:  those called to Holy Orders