Hello everyone! My name is Elise Brooklyn and this is Scattering Flowers, a podcast where we scatter flowers of faith.
I’m so happy to be with you reading the Daily Gospels together.
Let’s get started! Today is Monday, December 23rd, and we’ll be reading Luke 1, 57-66.
Follow along in your Bible if you have one.
Now let’s read Luke 1, 57-66.
Now the time came for Elizabeth to be delivered, and she gave birth to a son.
And her neighbors and kin’s folk heard that the Lord had shown great mercy to her, and they rejoiced with her.
And on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they would have named him Zechariah after his father.
But his mother said, Not so, he shall be called John.
And they said to her, None of your kindred is called by this name.
And they made signs to his father inquiring what he would have him called.
And he asked for a writing tablet and wrote, His name is John.
And they all marveled, and immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed.
He spoke, blessing God, and fear came on all their neighbors.
And all these things were talked about through all the hill country of Judea.
And all who heard them laid them in their hearts, saying, What then will this child be?
For the hand of the Lord was with him.
Want to know something kind of neat?
My name is going to be something totally different than Elise.
But just a couple months before I was born, my mom had a dream while she was pregnant with me.
And she said in her dream, she was holding a baby.
And she was saying, It’s okay, Elise.
Everything is going to be okay, little Elise.
And then when I was born, and the nurse put me in my mom’s arms, she looked down at me and started crying to my dad saying that I looked just like the baby in her dream.
So she always tells me that my name was given to her by God.
And want to know something even cooler?
My name means God’s promise.
Today’s reading makes me think about what my name means, because Zechariah followed what the angel told him by giving his baby the name John.
The name John means God’s graciousness.
Another good name given by God.
Let’s pray.
In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Dear God, thank you for knowing us even before we are born or given a name.
Thank you for your grace and for listening to me when I call on you.
Amen.
In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
Thank you so much for listening.
I’ll be back tomorrow scattering more flowers.
See ya!