Daily Devotion, August 3, 2020

Devotion: Read Acts 1:12-14.

In our readings this week, we will draw lessons from the life of Mary, the mother of our Lord. Perhaps you would have expected us to begin the week with the account of the angel visiting the Virgin Mary in Nazareth as her introduction. But Mary needs no introduction, and we will begin here with the last mention of Mary in the New Testament and work our way back to the first one with the angel. Church tradition holds that the Apostle John moved to Ephesus, and as Mary’s caretaker (tomorrow’s passage), he took her with him to live until her death.

Luke wrote the Gospel of Luke and the Book of Acts, and it was in his gospel that Luke says Mary “treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart” after Jesus’ birth and again after finding him at the age of twelve at the temple with the teachers, listening and asking questions. After all her close personal experiences with her son, Mary is found in today’s passage among those who are faithful to him as Lord, the Christ. Some scholars say Luke very likely learned about the details of the birth of Christ from Mary, who found her memories precious and who thought long and hard about their collective meaning. And after his crucifixion, Mary was named among those who believed in him. Personal Worship Option: Give thanks today for the very informed witness of Mary, who was able to move from seeing her son as a baby, then as a young carpenter, and finally as her Lord. Give thanks for other witnesses in your life whose views you respect and whose faith in Christ have helped to strengthen your own faith.