December 24, 2009
READING: Matthew 1:23
“Look the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,
And they shall name him Emmanuel,”
Which means, “God is with us”.
Matthew 1: 23
The Virgin Birth. One of the great side tracks of all times. In point of fact, it doesn’t matter. The books of Mark and John blow right past it. They pick up where John the Baptist baptizes Jesus as a full grown man. Matthew mentions it in brief. And only Luke treats it in any depth. So let’s not quibble over Mary’s virginity. Instead, lets’ focus on her faith. Consistent with contemporary Jewish culture, she was most likely new to puberty and here she was, talking with a strange creature who wanted to know if, oh by the way, she’d like to become the mother of God. Odd offer, especially since God already existed. “No, no, no...” says the angel. “I mean the mother of the son of God.” Also a strange offer, since Jews were monotheists. “It’s ok,” says the angel. It’s actually a trinity thing. So God is still one … just has three parts.” And Mary, who was actually a pretty sharp cookie, paused to ponder --- then said “do with me what you will.” There may have been harp music in the background. Most likely there wasn’t. Mary made the deal, and thereby sealed her future.
Admittedly, I took a few liberties there. But it illustrates that the heroes in the Bible all had a grand leap of faith moment, where they took a step that defied logic and safety. As we prep for the birth of our savior, let’s take a moment to ponder the adolescent whose courage changed the course of history. Do we have the courage to also utter, “do with me what you will”? That’s pretty heady stuff.
Heavenly Father,
Let us have the courage to say, “Do with me what you will” and then give us the ears to hear you and the courage to act. Amen.
And they shall name him Emmanuel,”
Which means, “God is with us”.
Matthew 1: 23
The Virgin Birth. One of the great side tracks of all times. In point of fact, it doesn’t matter. The books of Mark and John blow right past it. They pick up where John the Baptist baptizes Jesus as a full grown man. Matthew mentions it in brief. And only Luke treats it in any depth. So let’s not quibble over Mary’s virginity. Instead, lets’ focus on her faith. Consistent with contemporary Jewish culture, she was most likely new to puberty and here she was, talking with a strange creature who wanted to know if, oh by the way, she’d like to become the mother of God. Odd offer, especially since God already existed. “No, no, no...” says the angel. “I mean the mother of the son of God.” Also a strange offer, since Jews were monotheists. “It’s ok,” says the angel. It’s actually a trinity thing. So God is still one … just has three parts.” And Mary, who was actually a pretty sharp cookie, paused to ponder --- then said “do with me what you will.” There may have been harp music in the background. Most likely there wasn’t. Mary made the deal, and thereby sealed her future.
Admittedly, I took a few liberties there. But it illustrates that the heroes in the Bible all had a grand leap of faith moment, where they took a step that defied logic and safety. As we prep for the birth of our savior, let’s take a moment to ponder the adolescent whose courage changed the course of history. Do we have the courage to also utter, “do with me what you will”? That’s pretty heady stuff.
Heavenly Father,
Let us have the courage to say, “Do with me what you will” and then give us the ears to hear you and the courage to act. Amen.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment