To declare is to speak aloud what is already true, even when the world is not yet ready to hear it.
By December 22, Advent has drawn us to the edge of fulfillment. The waiting has narrowed. The light has grown. And still, before anything is born, before angels sing to shepherds or magi begin their long journey, God declares.
The angel’s words to Mary are not tentative. They are not suggestions or possibilities. They are a declaration: “The Lord is with you.” Before Mary understands how this will unfold, before she consents, before the risks become real, God names what is already true. Grace precedes explanation.
Declaration in Scripture is never mere information. It is creative speech. When God declares, reality bends toward life. “Let there be light” does not describe light; it summons it. “You are my beloved” does not wait for worthiness; it bestows identity. What God declares, becomes.
This is good news for those of us who arrive at December 22 tired, uncertain, or carrying the weight of a year that has not resolved neatly. Advent does not ask us to manufacture hope. It invites us to listen for what God has already spoken over us and over the world.
Declared: God is with us.
Declared: Fear does not have the final word.
Declared: Love is stronger than violence, mercy deeper than failure, light more enduring than darkness.
Mary’s response—“Let it be with me according to your word”—is not passive. It is courageous trust in a declaration she cannot yet see fulfilled. Advent faith often looks like this: standing in the space between God’s word and its completion, choosing to live as though the promise is already true.
In a world saturated with loud claims and fragile certainties, God’s declaration is quietly radical. It does not shout. It does not coerce. It simply speaks—and waits for hearts willing to receive it.
On this late Advent day, we are invited to attend to what has been declared over us, not by headlines or fears, but by the living God. We are named beloved before we are prepared. We are called into joy before circumstances improve. We are entrusted with hope before the manger appears.
Soon, the Word will become flesh. But even now, the promise has been spoken.
May we have ears to hear it.
May we have courage to trust it.
And may we live as people who carry God’s declaration into a waiting world.
Come, Lord Jesus.
Inner Altar 