Thursday, December 13, 2018

My Advent Companion, Mary: Thursday's Reflection

I did what I always do when I have a new direction for my meditation/prayer time or when I am preparing a class or talk or retreat or when I am diving into a writing topic: I gather resources, beginning with my personal library. 









When I randomly selected the Mary card (Read here.) as my Advent companion, I eagerly stacked books near my Girlfriend Chair, which is where I sit in the mornings. I was prepared to study Mary, but, of course, that isn't really what is happening. 







Instead, I am sitting with Mary and listening to what she has to say to me. Sometimes we just sit and breathe. She's pregnant and near her delivery date, so her breath is sometimes heavy and labored. She sits with her hand on the curved mound, patting the babe she has not yet met, but feeling the movement, the tapping and kicking. I remember those days, even though they were so long ago and my children have been adults for many years. 

Sometimes, however, I read to Mary. I read what others have written about her or what she might have said. 

                   Not to one
                   but to many you have called:
                   come
                   on the dancing wind
                   come
                   from the deepest forest
                   come 
                   from the highest places
                   come
                   from the edge of darkness
                   come 
                   from the depth of fear
                   and become
                   the bearer of God.
                                      Jan Richardson 
                                     Night Visions, Searching the Shadows of 
                                     Advent and Christmas, p. 7

And then we chat.

I exclaim, "The bearer of God? The bearer of God!!"

She tells me she was amazed at that notion, too, but she was assured all would be well. She had been chosen and without having any satisfactory answers, she finally agreed, "Let it be so." 

"Or did I say, 'let it be me' or 'let it be done'? I'm not sure. I don't think it really matters. 

"No, I suppose not, but the bearer of God? Really?"

"Really. I agreed to be the bearer of God, but the question now, Nancy, is how will you be the bearer of God?"

It is my turn to sigh heavily, deeply. That is the question, isn't it? And one I sometimes struggle to answer. 

I tend to be overwhelmed by all the possibilities, the opportunities, which become muddled by all I think I have to do or want to do or am in the middle of doing. I feel pregnant, almost overfull, with ideas and insights and choices right now. 

Ah, this is the perfect time to stop and breathe. To clear the space. To pause. How can I be the bearer of God today, right now, here and now? 

I am reminded of the Hasidic saying, "Every time we walk down the street, we are preceded by hosts of angels singing, 'Make way, make way for the image of God.'"

We are each invited to be the image of God, the bearer of God. In fact, we each ARE the image of God, the bearer of God. We do that in our interactions, our reactions, our actions. We do that in the way we choose to move through the day and in the way we lift our hearts in prayer and our hands in service. 

"It's quite simple isn't it, Mary?" 

Mary nods in that serene, accepting way she has. "Let it be so."

An Invitation
How do you live as the bearer of God? I would love to know. 




2 comments:

  1. Oh, my! Yes, this is the question we are asked. I'm pretty sure I'll be borrowing from you for Sunday's sermon! Thank you, God Bearer.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. As always, I look forward to your sermons, for they always touch me.

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