Behold

Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.”
Then the angel departed from her.' Luke 1:38, NAB

In my Advent devotional today, the referenced Gospel reading comes from Luke 1:26-38.  We're told the angel Gabriel comes to Mary with a somewhat troubling greeting – “Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you” – as well as an overwhelmingly stunning announcement: “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High. The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore, the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God.” (Luke 1:28; 30-32;35, NAB)

Can you even imagine? Being visited by an angel is jaw-dropping enough of an experience. But to be given a message such as the one which Gabriel delivered to this young, already betrothed virgin from Nazareth? Well, it’s hard to fathom. Especially considering the consequences for birthing a child sans the benefit of marriage back in those days and in that locale were, at the very least, to be shunned by fiancé, family and friends, or worse: to be stoned to death.

Yet Mary doesn’t run and try to hide from the angel Gabriel’s presence (that would probably be my initial reaction); she doesn’t try to deflect and tell him that he’s got the wrong gal (me, again!), nor does she ask him to wait or to come back after she’s had time to consult with her parents, with Joseph or with her friends. No, after asking only one (one!!) question out of her youthful innocence, Mary’s humble, courageous response is this: “Behold, the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word.” (Luke 1:38, ERV)

Today, where is God calling you to go? How is He calling you to be His conduit, His ambassador, His instrument and to be present in the lives of others? What is He calling you to carry, to birth, to nurture? To whom is God calling you to serve, to encourage, to console, to love, to forgive?

Dear ones, as this season of preparation winds down, and the celebration of our Savior's birth draws near, keep your eyes, ears and heart open for what God is looking to do in and with your life, and consider what YOUR response might be, no matter how troubling or astonishing His calling may sound. And don’t be afraid.

An Advent Transformation

'The angel Gabriel from Heaven came,

His wings as drifted snow, his eyes as flame;
"All hail", said he, "Thou lowly maiden Mary,
Most highly favored lady", Gloria!' ~ 'Gabriel's Message' 

'Mary Is Visited By The Angel Gabriel,' by Walter Rane

Hello, my friends. It has been some months since I've posted anything here on my blog. Close to three months, to be exact. 

I'd had every good and sincere intention of quickly posting the promised 'sister' piece to my last post, 'Ministry Minded.' The majority of it is written, with the appropriate pictures and labels in place.

But here in the Draft portion of my blog it sits. Unfinished. Incomplete. Waiting. Because there was/is something missing. Something important. Something vital. Not in the post itself.

No. Something important, something vital is missing in me. Way deep inside. 

And because of this, I've been going through a transformation of sorts. It's been a slow and painful process, one that, truth be told, is quite irritating. One that I'm finding extremely difficult to embrace or accept. One that requires a willingness to obey (sadly, I don't always have that), AND truckloads of patience (oops...don't always have that either). 

One that leaves me drained and uninspired most days.

I feel like a butterfly just wanting to escape from my lonely, stifling cocoon, only to realize it's not time yet for me to emerge. God's hand keeps pulling me back in. 

Because He and I both know there is a need for Him to do so much more work in me.

courtesy of Koiné

Work that becomes more consistent, more intense and more painful with each passing day, as I journey through this particular season of preparation AND transformation known as Advent. 

However, in the suffocating starkness and silence of this cocoon, where the desire and inspiration to write often seems to have altogether disappeared, I felt God gently nudge me to share this very short, yet hauntingly beautiful song called 'Gabriel's Message.' I hope it will bless you as you listen to it.

I've never heard this song before. As I listen to it over and over -- these words that echo Scripture and set to music -- I'm struck by the thought that THIS...this song about the meeting between Mary and the angel Gabriel...can be taken as a story about another woman's Advent. Her time of preparation and transformation. Mary's set of circumstances are NOTHING like mine. And yet -- through this song, I find I can relate so well to her just now. This young woman on the cusp of change.

'Blessed Art Thou Among Women,' by Walter Rane

Mary's world was about to be forever and totally transformed by this strange, frightening, and unbelievably astounding news the angel Gabriel was set to deliver from Almighty God. She had no idea what this odd message from God would truly be preparing her for nor what it would ultimately require of her:

'"For known a blessed mother thou shalt be,
All generations laud and honor thee;
Thy Son shall be Emmanuel, by seers foretold
Most highly favored lady," Gloria!'

And yet, Mary's response shows her acceptance and willingness to obey; with words and heart attitudes that I would do well to echo in my own set of circumstances:

'Then gentle Mary meekly bowed her head,
"To me be as it pleaseth God," she said;
My soul shall laud and magnify His holy name"
Most highly favored lady, Gloria, Gloria!'

Meekness. Humility. Willingness. Acceptance. Obedience. Oh yeah -- all of THOSE vital, important things.

Maybe you are going through similar experiences. Maybe this Advent season is truly one of preparation and transformation for you. I'd love to hear from you, and perhaps we could pray for one another.

May the love, grace, mercy and peace of Christ abound in our hearts and lives this Advent and Christmas season, and in the coming new year, as He continues His great work in each one of us, however difficult, painful and time consuming it may be.

Tender Blessings,
Pam

(all lyrics used are from 'Gabriel's Message,' an original Basque Christmas folk carol, paraphrased into English by Sabine Baring-Gould with musical arrangement by Edgar Pettman; from Sting's 'If On A Winter's Night' CD )

Sounds of the Season -- Joseph's Lullaby, by Mercy Me

The Christmas story. 

Not 'A Christmas Story.'  But THE Christmas story. The very first -- and most important one.  The story of the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

We know it so well, don't we?  We've read the accounts in the gospels of Matthew and Luke, heard it preached in countless sermons, watched movies and documentaries about it, listened to songs proclaiming the great news that came on that holy, silent night (silent -- really though, how silent could it have been with hosts of magnificent heavenly angels singing in the skies?). 

So many songs have been written about Jesus' birth -- about the infant King, His young mother, Mary; about the angelic hosts' appearaning to the shepherds and the journey of the wise men.  But there's one person that sort of seems to get lost in the literary and lyrical shuffle here:

Joseph.

Not too much has been written or sung about the man.  Yet to me, Joseph was a pretty central player in the Nativity scene.  Yes, indeed -- Joseph has his own story.

Think about it.  Joseph, no doubt a hard working carpenter from the House of David,  chooses a young, local girl, Mary -- a virgin -- to be his bride, only to later find out that his beloved betrothed is pregnant with a child that is NOT his!  Man of integrity that he is, he decides to divorce her quietly, so as not bring disgrace upon Mary and her family. An angel invades one of Joseph's dreams and tells him:

“Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give Him the name Jesus, because He will save His people from their sins.”

Can you imagine? When we dream, how much of what occurs in it do we actually take to heart?  When we dream of something so bizarre, so utterly off the hook, so 'this-can't-possibly-be-for-real!', don't we just chalk it up to something odd we must have eaten before we went to bed?

Yet after Joseph woke up, he did exactly what the angel told him to do.  And months later, Joseph finds himself en route to Bethlehem with a very pregnant Mary in tow.

When they finally get to their destination, there are no cushy hotels to rest in and call for room service.  No place to put up their tired aching (and in Mary's case, swollen) feet, no jacuzzi for Mary and Joseph to relax in with a complimentary glass of wine after their long, arduous journey.  Instead, they find lodging within the confines of a cave a the bottom of a hillside home.

(Interesting sidenote: I grew up, as I'm sure you did, hearing that it was a stable or a crèche in which Jesus was born.  However, I just did some research and found this bit of info at http://www.answersingenesis.org/: 'Joseph and Mary probably stayed with Joseph's relatives in Bethlehem, but because of the large influx of people, the house would have been crowded and the kataluma (guest room) was full. Consequently, Joseph and Mary would have been relegated to living in the lower level of the house. ....Some homes in the Judean hill country were built right into a hillside, so the lower level may have even been a cave, with the house built on and around it.').

When Mary goes into labor, there is no House of David Hospital or Bethlehem Medical Center around the corner and down the street for Joseph to rush her to.  There are no helpful, encouraging midwives on hand, no skillful doctors waiting to help deliver the Messiah into the world. 

There's only Joseph.  A very tired carpenter.  Experienced in woodworking.  Not so experienced in helping his wife through labor and delivering an infant.  And the infant Son of God at that! 

What do you suppose that was like for him? Awkward? Frightening? Thrilling?

I wonder.....what could Joseph have been thinking? How did he feel, being the very first person to look upon the tiny, newborn face of Jesus Christ, God Incarnate? Even though Jesus wasn't his flesh and blood child, did Joseph's heart skip a beat or two? Did he instantly form a bond and fall in love with the precious, flailing Child in his arms?

At that moment, did Joseph remember everything the angel had foretold to him and to Mary about Jesus?

None of us will ever know, this side of Heaven.  I guess those questions will be ones we'll be asking when eternity becomes our reality.  Until then, you and I can only wonder and imagine.

I'm guessing Bart Millard, lead singer for the Christian band, Mercy Me, must have wondered about Joseph, too, because he wrote and recorded with his band the song, 'Joseph's Lullaby.'  It's a beautiful song, whose music and lyrics (I've included both) touch my heart and make me cry everytime I hear it.  It's become one of my very favorite songs of the Christmas season.  A song of the love of a father for his newborn son.  And God's One and Only Son.




'In The Arms of Joseph', by Simon Dewey


Perhaps this song will become one of your Christmas favorites as well.  Just keep a tissue or two handy.

Go to sleep my Son
This manger for your bed
You have a long road before You
Rest Your little head

Can You feel the weight of Your glory?
Do You understand the price?
Or does the Father guard Your heart for now
So You can sleep tonight?

Go to sleep my Son
Go and chase Your dreams
This world can wait for one more moment
Go and sleep in peace

I believe the glory of Heaven
Is lying in my arms tonight
Lord, I ask that He for just this moment
Simply be my child

Go to sleep my Son
Baby, close Your eyes
Soon enough You'll save the day
But for now, dear Child of mine
Oh my Jesus, Sleep tight

Sounds of the Season -- Mary, Did You Know? by the Katinas

I've heard many different versions of this song, but this one is my favorite.



When I listen to this song, and think about what I've read over the years in the Gospel accounts of Mary's encounter with the angel Gabriel, I have to wonder -- did Mary have any notion at all of what it was going to mean and all that would take place in her life when she chose to say 'Yes' to being the mother of the Son of the Most High?

Did she know -- did she wonder -- what it would cost her?  Or what it would ultimately cost her Son?



Did she have the slightest inkling what it would be like to be the mother of the Son of God? That indeed, when she would kiss the sweet, tender, baby soft skin of her infant child, Jesus, she was kissing the very face of Yahweh?

Mary had no time to run and ask for wise and godly counsel from anyone about what she should do.  She just said "Yes."

As I live my life, I can only hope to be as trusting, as obedient and as willing as Mary was, responding with her same simple, childlike faith when called to the Lord's service:

“I am the LORD’s handmaiden. May it be to me as you have said.”