Like so many of you, I have fallen in love with The Chosen, the TV series based on the life of Jesus. I hadn’t watched any of the 2nd season because I was waiting for it to come out on DVD so I could watch without interruption! Finally, they announced the DVD was available, so I ordered it right away and then… I waited. I was giddy with expectation and could not wait to watch the new season. I didn’t receive a specific delivery date, only a window of time in which to expect delivery. So, every day I waited and hoped “today” would be the day.
About a week later, as I was coming to the end of my early morning prayer time with God, I whispered quietly, “Oh, please let The Chosen come today”! A few hours later the mail was delivered and lo and behold there it was! The Chosen. It came. Today! I was so excited and shouted “thank you, Jesus” as if He had sent it via special delivery straight to me. I love when that happens. It’s like the Lord gives you a desire for something so simple or delightful just to watch your face light up when it arrives. I know it is a simple thing, but it delighted me, and got me thinking. I wonder if Mary ever came to the end of her morning prayers and whispered quietly, “Oh, please let The Chosen come today”!
Isaiah had prophesied 700 years earlier: “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given…” (Isaiah 9:6). She must have heard that scripture all her life. Did she wait with expectation every day for The Chosen to arrive? Did she wonder who the “virgin” would be and what kind of woman would receive such favor from God?
One thing she knew: “The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this” (Isaiah 9:7). So, she waited. And, maybe in her early morning prayers, she occasionally whispered, “Oh, please let The Chosen come today.”
And, suddenly one day without warning the Angel Gabriel came to Mary with astounding news: The Chosen is coming via a very special delivery, and You are the virgin Isaiah wrote about. Can you imagine the look on her face? Mary’s song recorded in Luke 1:46 says it all: “My soul glorifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.”
As we look forward to Christmas, may we all collectively shout, “Thank you, Jesus. You are exactly as Isaiah prophesied: “Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace” (Is. 9:6).
The wait is over, my friends. The Chosen is here.
Merry Christmas, everyone!
Penny Bennett
