Archives

December

Advent is here and soon, we will celebrate the birth of Jesus. The manger scene will be set up in the sanctuary. Many of you will set up a crèche scene in your own homes, too. There'll be statues of Joseph, the shepherds, a cow and a few sheep and…Mary. For a few weeks, we will let Mary out of the box and then after we celebrate Epiphany (the coming of the wisemen), we'll pack her up and put her away again.

Mary the Mother of God. Those words don't come naturally to most Protestants. We're uncomfortable with them. We're uncomfortable with Mary too, it seems. We may criticize our Roman Catholic brothers and sisters for their understanding of her place in God's plan, but we had better own up to the fact that we treat her shabbily. She deserves honor that we seldom offer to her.

When the angel Gabriel comes to announce to her that she will be the mother of the Messiah, she is a bit confused and frightened when the angel tells her these things. She questions God's messenger; but in the end she makes a very bold statement, "Here I am, the servant of the Lord. Let it be with me according to your word."

Giving birth to Jesus would radically change her life. Things would happen that wouldn't make any sense to her (God didn't explain all the details). There would come a time when she would stand at the foot of a cross and watch her son die a slow agonizing death. She was there at the beginning and at the end. The disciples ran away, but she did not.

Mary is an example of what real faith looks like. She gives herself to God's purpose. She nurtures and raises Jesus with Joseph her husband. When Jesus leaves the carpenter shop, she gets her other sons and tries to bring him home because she doesn't understand what Jesus was doing. She doesn't understand; but, she doesn't let that stand in the way of her faith in the Lord's plan. Mary was steadfast to the end.

I can't say that, can you? Sometimes, we look at the challenges to our faith and try to figure out how we can avoid them. Not Mary. She didn't stop. She didn't give up. She suffered hardship, pain and trial; but she persevered. Mary is someone we should emulate.

When you set up your manger scene or when you see the one at the front of the church, take some time to look to Mary. She is a gift from God to us too. She shows us that as God helped her deal with her tumultuous life, so God promises to do in our lives also. As God guided and inspired her, so God will do for us. As Mary brought Christ into this world, so we are called to bring Christ to others in this world today. Don't put Mary in a box and forget about her. Look to her example of faith. She can be a source of inspiration and joy. Look to her example and look to her son, Jesus Christ. Merry Christmas!

Yours in Christ,