This first week of Advent I return to the story of God entering the very thing he created. All the history and happenings of prophets and kings. From the parting of the Red Sea to the years of silence. The whole world awaited this moment. Many believed they knew exactly how it would unfold. No one imagined the Extraordinary would change the world through an ordinary young girl.
I try to place myself in Mary’s shoes. A young girl going about her daily living. I imagine her day looked a lot like mine. Rising early for prayer, preparing for the day, checking off the long list of things to do. She cooked, cleaned, and worked. She shared a meal with family. Greeted her friends in the market. Maybe she dreamed about what it would be like married to the one chosen for her.
The scriptures give no account of a girl with some special ability. She didn’t spend countless hours practicing a talent others saw in her. Her life looked like most others.
Yet… all this ordinary was about to shift.
Good morning!
You’re beautiful with God’s beauty,
Beautiful inside and out!
God be with you.
Luke 1:28 MSG
The scriptures describe Mary’s response to Gabriel’s greeting as confused.
disturbed.
shaken.
She wondered what in the world this greeting meant.
I get it.
If an angel showed up, called you beautiful and favored by God, it might be hard to believe. Because you know you are just an ordinary, nothing special girl. You are not the daughter of a high priest or a princess of the king. You know the snarky comment you gave yesterday, and the impatience stirring behind the smile.
You know.
You know God knows.
And it certainly doesn’t equate to beauty.
Still. There’s no denying an angel standing in the room. No denying fear drains away with angelic-whispered words, “Do not be afraid.”
In this moment, Mary became completely present to the light in the room.
I am taken aback by Mary’s response to Gabriel’s message. There is no concern about what others will think. No worry about Joseph’s response or the danger she faces as an unwed pregnant girl. She doesn’t count the cost or list out the pros and cons. Nor does she tell the angel all the reasons she’s unworthy or unable to bring God into the world.
The question she asks after receiving the news is not the question I would have asked.
I would have requested a step by step plan.
A script on how to tell those I hold most dear this news.
What words to say when people I love don’t believe me.
Not Mary. It’s as if she accepts the news but is not quite sure how in the world a virgin will become pregnant.
Which in my mind is the least of the issues she would soon face.
Just a few sentences of explanation about something completely unbelievable, and she’s like, “Okay. I’m all in.”
“I am the Lord’s servant.
May everything you have said about me come true.”
Luke 1:38 NLT
I wonder how she did it. How did she say yes without hesitation. I want to be unhindered in this way, but I’m not. Even in the smallest of inspirations to bring God into the world I become anything but present.
I cynically rely on my past failures and weigh the risks of trying again.
I look ahead to all the ways something might go terribly wrong.
I peek around every “what if” corner in hopes of preparing myself for unwanted surprises.
I almost always tell God I’m unqualified, uneducated… unworthy.
I squirm and wrestle and some days refuse to move forward.
In the blink of an eye my focus shifts from God to me. Fear covers everything and I’m left without a curious bone in my body. In my unfocused, disconnected state I find it very difficult to say yes to God.
Practicing being present is not for the faint of heart. It takes time, risk, turning off the idols of distraction. It requires something different than the world has to offer. There’s no producing, no checking off boxes, most often it feels like doing nothing at all.
Everything seems so… ordinary.
I think that’s the point.
When I am all tangled up in me, there’s no way for the ordinary to become extraordinary. I simply zoom through the day without connection to God or others. But… when I practice remaining in the moment, focusing my mind and heart on Good News, I discover all the ordinary daily living is beyond extraordinary.
Oh friends… this is the season of waiting for Messiah to come. It’s being present in every moment. I pray your days are blessed with the sound of angelic Good News as you discover the path that leads you to Presence.
You’ll find him wrapped in ordinary cloth and lying in a manger.
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