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, “Greetings, favored one! 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. Luke 1:26-38
So far we have seen Luke's orderly account about being a God-lover starts with staying open to God's presence in our midst. And next, Luke says that God will not be contained or confined to a temple. God shows up in our everyday lives. We have no idea what Mary was don't before the Angel Gabriel came and interrupted/disrupted the trajectory of her life. Maybe she was working or wandering around or wondering what it was going to be like to be married to Joseph. God enters into that ordinary moment. For far too long we have compartmentalized and categorized our lives. We go to church on Sunday for one hour, check...then we go about the rest of our normal lives. To be sure, one hour out of 168 for the week isn't a lot. You spend more time in traffic than in a pew...although it might not always feel that way. Yet, worship is a moment of practice of staying awake and alert to God. Through music, prayers, silence, scripture, words, and rituals, we try to model pathways you might continue to explore in the week to come. How might music on Monday or silence on Tuesday or reading Scripture on Wednesday let the rhythm of worship guide your week? The prayer practices woven together in the tapestry of worship are a song we keep singing all week long. To be sure that is not how we usually look/understand/engage worship. But, perhaps it could be. It certainly compels me as someone who tries to write liturgy (meaning "The Work of the People").
I don't think God interrupted and disrupted Mary's life because she had somehow "earned" or "deserved" the invitation to be the God-bearer in the world. I remember once a professor asking, "Did the angel Gabriel appear to other women before Mary who just did not listen or notice or even say, 'No thanks.'" I know I miss God's still creating presence in my life. In the blur of busyness that is the expectation of modern day life, God's can be sacredly subtle sometimes. Have I ever missed the angel trying to get my attention because I was trying to race to a meeting while eating lunch in my car and musing about an upcoming sermon? That question causes me to slow down...try to find a savory pace for life.
Or in a word..."ponder". By the way, this is the exact same word Luke will use at Jesus' birth when Mary hears the tale of the shepherds. Can we be more Mary-like and ponder? Ponder isn't just some intellectual exercise. It is to stand before the mystery of God and be. To enter into the mystery, not so that we understand it, but let it sink into our souls and stir our hearts. To ponder is to be open, accessible and even vulnerable. Not exactly words we often use today. But they are exactly the words that are opposite of being afraid. Remember two posts ago when I wrote about the words, "Do not be afraid," words found in both this story and in the previous one about Zechariah? Fear is about being closed-off. Pondering is an openness and willingness to let God roam around our lives. Which of those truths...fear or ponder...get the last word in determining what you do and say? Which of those truths...fear or ponder...feel like good news so that we might be Theophilus, God-lovers, for such a time as this?
I know for me...those are questions I truly want to ponder.
Grace and peace ~~
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