Luke
1:26-38
In
the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in
Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was
Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary.
And he came to her and said, “Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you.” But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be.
The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”
Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?”
The angel said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God. And now, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month for her who was said to be barren. For nothing will be impossible with God.”
Then Mary said, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.” Then the angel departed from her.
And he came to her and said, “Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you.” But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be.
The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”
Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?”
The angel said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God. And now, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month for her who was said to be barren. For nothing will be impossible with God.”
Then Mary said, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.” Then the angel departed from her.
Roads
I
have spent a lot of my life looking for the right road....
I
was in the army, I was a cook, I was a warehouse guy, I was a
salesman, I lived in religious life for many many years and all that
time the road I was on changed from time to time. I would ask God to
“Put my feet” on the right road, and he never failed to come
through. All of my past experiences have added to the person I am, to
the spouse I am, the father I am, the worker I am and even the kind
of minister, or lay minister that I am. As I look at my life every
time I have said “yes” to God on where my life should lead it has
always worked
out fantastically. I
have been told more than a few times that I could not change the
course of my life but I have always been able to with the Lords help,
and now I have a good job, a wonderful wife and a beautiful son and
every day I still find the Lord working away to “put my feet” on
his road.....
Now
I read this Gospel in another season of my life, and this time, I
find myself drawn to the word perplexed.
Mary’s “yes” is not immediate or easy, and she asks one
specific question: How? What are the mechanics of this impossible
pregnancy? The angel’s answer is far less specific: a rather vague
assurance that God has a hand in this.
Somewhere between becoming a parent and simply becoming older, I find myself growing more attuned to the brokenness of this world. The beauty and wholeness of the little life entrusted to me stand in heartbreaking contrast to the pervasive ugliness of sin and selfishness. I am perplexed, bewildered, greatly troubled by the seemingly endless creativity with which we humans harm each other.
Once again, though, Mary of the Annunciation stands as companion and inspiration. Her response to bewilderment is not to despair but to ponder. She lets her questions, her uncertainty, her trepidation draw her deeper into the mystery of who God is and how God works in this world. She takes the angel at his word: vague though it may seem, God does have a hand in this, and perhaps that answer is enough after all.
And, eventually, Mary’s bewilderment gives way to wonder—wonder expressed in the praise-filled Magnificat she will sing in the next scene. So at the end of this Advent season, I pray for endurance in pondering, so that bewilderment at God’s apparent absence might give way to wonder at God’s ever-promised presence. When we say “yes” God’s hand becomes so evident that its impossible to miss.
Somewhere between becoming a parent and simply becoming older, I find myself growing more attuned to the brokenness of this world. The beauty and wholeness of the little life entrusted to me stand in heartbreaking contrast to the pervasive ugliness of sin and selfishness. I am perplexed, bewildered, greatly troubled by the seemingly endless creativity with which we humans harm each other.
Once again, though, Mary of the Annunciation stands as companion and inspiration. Her response to bewilderment is not to despair but to ponder. She lets her questions, her uncertainty, her trepidation draw her deeper into the mystery of who God is and how God works in this world. She takes the angel at his word: vague though it may seem, God does have a hand in this, and perhaps that answer is enough after all.
And, eventually, Mary’s bewilderment gives way to wonder—wonder expressed in the praise-filled Magnificat she will sing in the next scene. So at the end of this Advent season, I pray for endurance in pondering, so that bewilderment at God’s apparent absence might give way to wonder at God’s ever-promised presence. When we say “yes” God’s hand becomes so evident that its impossible to miss.
Merry
Christmas
Take
Care and God Bless
Good
Enough
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