Let not Your Heart be Troubled.
Hallo! The birds have been singing early morning. It seems Spring might be round the corner at last so I'd like to introduce another facet of the unfolding year ...and the questions it raises. In about three weeks it will be the feast of the Annunciation within the Church Calendar. This was when Mary, the young virgin, was visited by an angel messenger who told her,
“Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favour with God.
“And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name JESUS.
“He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David.
“And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.”. (Luke 1:30-33).
Can you imagine dear reader what YOU would say or do if a mighty Angel swooped down to where you were quietly sitting, maybe knitting or planning the next meal? (It is tradition that Mary was spinning yarn which was used for material for the temple.). Can you imagine what the neighbours might say when you told them - if you dared speak of it at all?
To be honest I cannot imagine my response even though I know the story well. But what does strike me about her response was her almost self-reflective 'affirmation' to herself, 'I am the Handmaid of the Lord'. She knew that she loved God, had given her life to learn His ways and to serve according to the needs and instructions of those who had taught her. She knew that she was open to His Life in her. She was without pride or self-will. She surrendered to the message and invitation of God: after asking 'How can this be?' with the response, 'Let it be to me according to Your Word'.
And indeed that is what happened. She faced, accepted and gave birth to an 'illegitimate' child in worldly terms. She gave birth to Christ, Son of God, Son of Man. And Joseph, her betrothed husband, was also spoken to by an angel, and accepted her and the child as his God-given responsibility. But I wonder if we, whether Christians or not, are willing to 'hear from God', and stand and bear love when it goes against the crowd and is thus 'illegitimate'?
I remember with some shame a time when I was living in a rural area of Scotland. I had no car at that time and was taken on a Sunday to a 'Home Church' with two families as there were no buses on a Sunday to get to mass in the town 15 miles away. I had become friendly with a man from the village, who was considered fairly simple. He too had started joining in the simple but beautiful worship at the House Church, and sharing the soup lunch each Sunday. But one day after the service, for some reason there was something critical said against this man, and I had colluded with 'the crowd' instead of standing in love and truth to speak for him.
When I went into the kitchen to help get food, he followed me in. Without anger, but with great sadness he said, 'You've never spoken like that to me before'. I felt as if a knife had entered my heart...and as if Jesus was speaking to me. He was right, I had been swayed 'by the crowd', and spoken ill of someone who had neither malice nor bitterness in him. And if I had spoken out, the others would have received the truth, because they too were God-fearing - but had been blinded by the world or selfish perspective and failed to stand for love and Truth.
Jesus always demonstrated His love for the outcast, oppressed, sick, lame, and the 'prisoners' of all kinds. In thinking about this now, I realise I can not live for the scribes and the pharisees, who want to make the rules and apply them to everyone. Jesus constantly broke their rules, and emphasised His desire to heal and make whole, even on a Sabbath...because the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.
So I encourage myself and everyone, as we enter into Lent, or simply into inner-Spring-cleaning, lets look at our fundamental beliefs, and who we look to for our role-models. Lets look to Mary who said YES, to bearing God the Word, God the bearer of LIFE in order to bear the Rule of Love, setting prisoners free. So like the Angel said to Mary, 'Do not be afraid'. Lets open ourselves up to God's prompting to somehow break the 'mould' and be present to pray for and bring love to the outcast and despised in whatever way God asks of us.
Lord have mercy on me for my half-heartedness, and wilfulness when I run away from the broken and lost because I think I cannot help them. I can't but You can. Give me courage to persevere in Your Name. Amen.
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