Word to the Wise
Saturday, December 20, 2008 - Saturday in the Third Week of Advent
[Isaiah 7:10-14 and Luke 1:26-38]Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.
These words, spoken by Mary of Nazareth at the conclusion of her encounter with the angel, Gabriel, are rightly presented as an ultimate act of faith. But it is not simply the ultimate act of faith of ONE person. It is presented as the model for ALL disciples! The Gospel of Luke makes a point of presenting Mary as the model disciple throughout the "infancy narrative." This is no merely pious statement! When we look at the Christmas crib set that we take down from the closet or attic each year and make a part of our Christmas "decorations" we might ponder a bit what Mary's commitment came to mean! Anyone who has lived in a farming community knows what stables can be like! Any woman who has borne children can only sympathize with a trip on foot or on donkey from Nazareth to Bethlehem! Any parent can testify to the feeling that comes when one's child declares "independence" and wanders off. The same is true when that same child seems to "relativize" his family, declaring it less than "hearing the word of God and keeping it!" (Of course, Mary is the model of that!). Last and certainly not least is the anguish of seeing one's only child (and one's only means of support!) tortured and crucified! Perhaps this kind of meditation can help us to realize the gift that we have received at the hands of Mary in cooperation with God's plan. We don't have to unwrap it. We just need to spend a few moments pondering it in the mind and heart. Being a disciple means putting ourselves in that scene or our own equivalent of it! "May it be done to me according to your word!" AMEN
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