“Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you!” (Lk 1:28).
I trust that your Advent celebrations are off to a good start, my friends, and that you are willing and able to carve out some personal space along the way to embrace the marvelous mystery of our Lord’s incarnation this Christmas. A brief glance at the church calendar tends to reinforce the fact that folks like us are easily tempted to place greater emphasis upon action than contemplation during this time of the year. Mary’s contribution to the Christmas story reminds us that both are equally important.
While it is readily apparent that Mary was quick to act upon critical concerns in a timely manner, it is also equally apparent that she did not hesitate to hit the “pause” button on a regular basis in order to slow down, sit back, and take it all in. This holy rhythm of action and contemplation is not unique to Mary, of course. We can identify similar patterns in the lives of Elizabeth and Zechariah, Simeon and Anna, or the Magi, for example. But it could be easily argued that there is no one who embodies this God-bearing rhythm of life more fully or faithfully than Mary, the mother of Jesus. Perhaps this explains why she was given the nickname theotokos (“God-bearer”) by so many of our early church fathers (Dionysios, Athanasius, Chrysostom, Augustine, etc.).
Unlike Mary, none of us can duplicate the miracle of the Virgin Birth. But as disciples of Jesus Christ we are all called to be “God-bearers” in our own time and place as we, like Mary, invite the Spirit of the living God to overshadow us, indwell us, and empower us to bear fearless and faithful witness to the tangible presence of Emmanuel, the One who has not only come to be “with” us (Mt 1:23), but to be “in” us (Col 1:27) and “for” us (Rm 8:31).
With this in mind, what might we be able to learn from Mary during this Advent season that might help us to more fully embody the marks of a faithful God-bearer? Like Mary, I believe we are called to devote equal time and energy to both action and contemplation this Christmas as we seek to …
- Trust God without trepidation (the contemplative response). May you and I, like Mary, be willing and able to receive our Lord’s angelic annunciation “do not be afraid” by faith, regardless of our circumstances, so that we might rest in the freedom to “wonder,” “marvel,” “ponder,” and “treasure up” all these things in our hearts as we quietly meditate upon the majesty and mystery of our Lord’s incarnation. And may we, like another Mary who knew and loved Jesus dearly, choose to set aside the tyranny of the urgent in order to embrace the extraordinary privilege of sitting at the Lord’s feet and listening attentively to his voice, remaining mindful that, at the end of the day, this is the one and only thing we actually have that can never be taken away from us. (cf. Lk 1:29; 2:19, 33, 51; 10:38-42)
- Obey God without obligation (the active response). May you and I, like Mary, be willing and able to recognize our Lord’s clear calling by faith as well, regardless of our inadequacies, so that we don’t have to waste needless time worrying about whether we are good enough, smart enough, old enough, rich enough, powerful enough, popular enough, beautiful enough, or religious enough to be found worthy of God’s favor. And may we, like yet another Mary who knew and loved Jesus deeply, choose to rest so securely in the unconditional love and mercy of Jesus that we are literally compelled to bear faithful and fearless witness to the gospel with a joyous and reckless abandon that is motivated not by some dry, dutiful, legalistic obligation but out of pure, passionate, loving obedience. (cf. Lk 1:39, 46-55; 2:4-5, 22, 39, 41; Mk 16:9-10)
These are just two of the most essential traits of a truly God-bearing life, but they certainly served Mary of Nazareth very well throughout her lifelong journey with Jesus. The same could be said for Mary of Bethany, Mary of Magdala, and every other faithful servant of Christ across the ages. And that includes each and every member of our extended family of Friends here in Mid-America. Each and every one of us has been chosen to take our place in the Christmas story as well, serving as modern-day theotokoi (“God-bearers”), flawed yet faithful embodiments of our Lord Jesus Christ, right here, right now. And we do so with a growing awareness that we not only share a common history and identity with every man, woman, boy and girl who has entered into this God-bearing life through the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we share a common destiny as well:
We have not yet had the slightest notion of the tremendous thing He means to make of us. If we let him – for we can prevent Him, if we choose – He will make the feeblest and filthiest of us into a dazzling, radiant, immortal creature, pulsating all through with such energy and joy and wisdom and love as we cannot now imagine, a bright stainless mirror which reflects back to God perfectly (though, of course, on a smaller scale) His own boundless power and delight and goodness. The process will be long and in parts very painful; but that is what we are in for. Nothing less (C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity).
Maranatha! Come, Lord Jesus!
– David O. Williams, General Superintendent
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