Mary

Nothing is Impossible

Posted on by Betsy

Name a task or goal that you feel is completely impossible. For me, running a full Marathon, opening a pickle jar, and understanding how we got to where we are in our country today are things on my “impossible list.” Try as I might, I will never achieve these goals, but fortunately, my life does not depend on any of them coming to fruition.

Our lectionary passage today offers a beautiful word of hope about the impossible. It may seem strange to land at the beginning of the nativity narrative in Luke when we are smack in the middle of Lent but bear with me. This week we will celebrate the Annunciation, when the angel Gabriel came to a young virgin named Mary to announce the good news that she would bear the messiah.

Luke 1 (Common English Bible)

26 When Elizabeth was six months pregnant, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a city in Galilee, 27 to a virgin who was engaged to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David’s house. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28 When the angel came to her, he said, “Rejoice, favored one! The Lord is with you!” 29 She was confused by these words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. 30 The angel said, “Don’t be afraid, Mary. God is honoring you. 31 Look! You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. 32 He will be great and he will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of David his father. 33 He will rule over Jacob’s house forever, and there will be no end to his kingdom.”

We learn three things about Mary in what Gabriel said to her. First, she was highly favored by God. Second, the Lord was with her. Third, she was blessed. Do you know that Scripture assures the same of us? Ephesians 1:6 reminds us that we, too, are favored by God. Jesus’ last words as recorded in Matthew 28:20 tell us that God is with us always. And according to Ephesians 1:3, we too are blessed. I think this indicates that like Mary, we can experience the power of God when he calls us to do the hard and even impossible things.

34 Then Mary said to the angel, “How will this happen since I haven’t had sexual relations with a man?”

35 The angel replied, “The Holy Spirit will come over you and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore, the one who is to be born will be holy. He will be called God’s Son. 36 Look, even in her old age, your relative Elizabeth has conceived a son. This woman who was labeled ‘unable to conceive’ is now six months pregnant. 37 Nothing is impossible for God.”

The word “overshadow” in verse 35 translates to “to cover with a cloud.” We are immediately taken back to our Old Testament history of the Shekinah, which was the visible sign of the manifestation of God’s glory and presence. (See Exodus 16:10.) And the message is clear: No word of God shall be powerless … no thing attempted or needing to be done is impossible for God.

38 Then Mary said, “I am the Lord’s servant. Let it be with me just as you have said.” Then the angel left her.

Mary’s servant-response should be ours as well. Let it be with us just as you have said. We trust in you, Lord!

Bring it on.

Overshadowed in Glory

Pushy Mamas

Posted on by Betsy

I have had the pleasure (and sometimes the discomfort) of observing motherhood in my congregations, family, and neighborhood. I am convinced that we mother the way we were mothered. This Christmas, my oldest asked for books for her children. I saw a direct line from that request to how I raised her and to how I was raised. Reading has always been a top priority in our families, and afternoons spent lounging under blankets for family “read-a-thons” are some of my favorite memories of raising her, and of my own childhood. What patterns or practices can you see in your family that have been passed down?

Another thing that I have noticed in my family is a tendency for mothers to be somewhat pushy. Not in a mean, demeaning, or aggressive way, but in a way of showing deep confidence in our children and not letting up on encouraging them when they are about to give up on themselves. “You can do it! Try again! Don’t give up!” are things we say to our children because they were said to us.

Call us pushy, we don’t care. Pushy mothering is holy.

Today’s lectionary passage is about Jesus’ first miracle. That should be the star of the show: For the first time ever, Jesus revealed his divine nature in public and transformed water into wine. But this time around, let us focus on his pushy mother. I think even John would be okay with this: Notice even before he mentions Jesus’ presence at the wedding, he tells us “Jesus’ mother was there” as if to say, “pay attention to Mary.”

John 2 (The Message)

2 1-3 Three days later there was a wedding in the village of Cana in Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there. Jesus and his disciples were guests also. When they started running low on wine at the wedding banquet, Jesus’ mother told him, “They’re just about out of wine.”

4 Jesus said, “Is that any of our business, Mother—yours or mine? This isn’t my time. Don’t push me.”

Has your kid ever said, “Don’t push me” to you? Did you ignore it? I did. So did Mary. I love John’s comment that “she went ahead anyway.” You go, Mary!

5 She went ahead anyway, telling the servants, “Whatever he tells you, do it.”

6-7 Six stoneware water pots were there, used by the Jews for ritual washings. Each held twenty to thirty gallons. Jesus ordered the servants, “Fill the pots with water.” And they filled them to the brim.

8 “Now fill your pitchers and take them to the host,” Jesus said, and they did.

9-10 When the host tasted the water that had become wine (he didn’t know what had just happened but the servants, of course, knew), he called out to the bridegroom, “Everybody I know begins with their finest wines and after the guests have had their fill brings in the cheap stuff. But you’ve saved the best till now!”

I will boldly assert that as divine as Jesus was, we have Mary to credit with this first miracle. Even God Incarnate needed a push from someone who believed in him even more than he believed in himself at that moment.

So push on, Mamas. Encourage, equip, cajole, support, and don’t take “no” for an answer. Your belief in your child may be all they need to succeed. And mother-love is a miracle in and of itself.

So go be Mary.

11 This act in Cana of Galilee was the first sign Jesus gave, the first glimpse of his glory. And his disciples believed in him.

Morning Miracle by Michelle Robertson

The Servant

Posted on by Betsy

My email is filled this morning with “last minute Christmas gift ideas” and I am mentally doing a gift checklist to see if I need anything last minute. In six days it will all be over and our selections, for better or for worse, will be revealed and we’ll know whether or not we got a hit or a miss.

We’ve been blessed with family this weekend and stories of unusual Christmas presents were shared. I had to laugh when my husband confessed to everyone that he had a miss the first Christmas after we got married. He had even gone to three stores to buy it! I still can’t imagine what possessed him to get me a bacon press, and he can’t remember why he was so sure it was exactly what I wanted. It made a great door stop, though.

In our countdown to Christmas readings this week, we will consider the best Christmas gift the world ever received from Mary’s perspective. I am always amazed to think about how young she was and how unstartled she was at this extremely startling pronouncement:

Luke 1 (Common English Bible)

26 When Elizabeth was six months pregnant, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a city in Galilee, 27 to a virgin who was engaged to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David’s house. The virgin’s name was Mary.28 When the angel came to her, he said, “Rejoice, favored one! The Lord is with you!” 29 She was confused by these words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. 30 The angel said, “Don’t be afraid, Mary. God is honoring you. 31 Look! You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. 32 He will be great and he will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of David his father. 33 He will rule over Jacob’s house forever, and there will be no end to his kingdom.”

Can you imagine what it would be like to be visited by an angel? What do they even look like? Of course Mary was confused! But I love that the angel said, “Don’t be afraid, Mary. God is honoring you.” Indeed, “don’t be afraid” is often the way angels greet people. I’m not sure that would work for me, as I would probably be lying unconscious on the floor after having fainted, so I would miss the whole “don’t be afraid” part.

34 Then Mary said to the angel, “How will this happen since I haven’t had sexual relations with a man?”

35 The angel replied, “The Holy Spirit will come over you and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore, the one who is to be born will be holy. He will be called God’s Son. 36 Look, even in her old age, your relative Elizabeth has conceived a son. This woman who was labeled ‘unable to conceive’ is now six months pregnant. 37 Nothing is impossible for God.”

Young Mary received comfort from her cousin’s miraculous pregnancy to help her negotiate her own. The normalization of extraordinary conceptions now ran in their family and probably helped both women accept that they had been favored by God, and they would be all right. The angel spoke an important truth that day: Nothing is impossible for God.

What impossible thing are you up against today? What kind of miraculous intervention do you need right now? If an angel were to appear to you in this moment, what news would you hope for?

38 Then Mary said, “I am the Lord’s servant. Let it be with me just as you have said.” Then the angel left her.

Mary’s example of servanthood is legendary. When God calls us to do an important, wonderful, strange, and impossible task for him, this is how we should respond as well.

Are you feeling up against it today? You are God’s favored one. Nothing is impossible with God.

Favored Ones by Michelle Robertson