Poor Mary! The Mother of our Lord has suffered both excessive veneration and wary neglect over the Christian centuries. But the Mary of the Bible is surely one of the most remarkable and important characters we encounter. Imagine being told by an angel as a young Jewish teenager that you would be giving birth to the Messiah, the long-expected Son of David! The King! Reign forever! And your betrothed husband would have nothing to do with the conception! And it would be a work of the Holy Spirit of almighty God coming upon you! Fear! Question! Joy! Wonder! Blessedness! Fear again! Ponder! Accept! Tell! All of these impulses and more were tumbling through her all at once. Perhaps if we pay her proper attention we too can catch a fresh glimpse of the true magnitude of this extraordinary birth so long ago.
Have a very Mary Christmas this year.
The Lection Connection post for December 24 & 25 can be found as follows:
Fourth Sunday of Advent, December 24, 2017, Year B
Nativity of the Lord – Proper 1, December 25, 2017, Year B