On this Christmas day, I would like us to focus and reflect on one verse from today’s gospel lesson: “Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart.” (Luke 2:19)
What words did Mary treasure and ponder in her heart? The answer is in the program where today’s gospel lesson is printed. The shepherds living in the field told Mary what they heard from the angel of God: “I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger." And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying, "Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favors!" This certainly is wonderful and glorious news to hear for a mother. These words of the shepherds Mary treasured and pondered in her heart are the message of hope for her and the world. She was called to keep hope no matter what, while we don’t know what that exactly looked like for her. Let’s not forget what Mary went through and imagine what she as the mother of Jesus had to go through. As we are going over this, I would like us to be more engaging and imaginative this time. I need your help on this. Whenever I pause at the conjunction “yet”, please respond with “She treasured and pondered.” We will skip the entire verse and simplify. Not that difficult. So, let’s begin. Mary had to stay up on and off at night or early in the morning to feed Jesus and change his diapers. YET, “She treasured and pondered.” Mary had to make sure Jesus didn’t climb up too high or manage his tantrum when he entered his terrible twos and other stages. YET, “She treasured and pondered.” When Jesus was twelve, the entire family went to Jerusalem for the Festival of the Passover. Jesus, instead of returning home with his family, stayed in the temple. Mary finally found him in the temple court and asked him, “Child, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been searching for you in great anxiety.” Jesus responded, “Why were you searching for me? Did you not know I had to be in my Father’s house?” (Luke 2:48b-49) Well, Mary did not know what he was talking about, and I bet she would’ve felt boiled with appropriate anger. YET, “She treasured and pondered.” It seemed to Mary that Jesus had changed so much after he associated with her eccentric nephew John. He was so vegan, living in the wilderness! She thought they were just hanging out at the River Jordan but she heard the news that her vegan nephew baptized her son. Some told her there was a voice from heaven, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you, I am well pleased.” (Luke 2:22b) Strange as this whole thing had been, thinking to herself, “What are these boys doing!?” YET, “She treasured and pondered.” Jesus was missing again. Mary heard he spent forty days in the desert and was upset. “What’s he thinking? What was he doing out there, starving himself to death?!” YET, “She treasured and pondered.” Then, he left home and began wandering around with his twelve friends. She heard the rumor he was teaching and healing the sick but she also heard another rumor that all the religious authorities were out to get him, that he had gone out of his mind, and that he was possessed by Beelzebul. (Mark 3:20-22) She couldn’t just stay put. So, she finally went out to restrain him. There were so many people around him. She told some people there to let Jesus know his mother was there. Oh boy, he heard me yet he said, “My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and do it.” (8:21) Mary was so puzzled. YET, “She treasured and pondered.” Nothing could stop Jesus from proclaiming the kingdom of God within. Mary’s worst nightmare came true. He was arrested and sentenced to death. She watched her innocent and precious child publicly mocked, humiliated, and judged. She stood near the cross of her son. Jesus looked at her and his friend John and said to her, “Here is your son.” Then he said to his friend John, “Here is your mother.” (John 19:25-27) How could she replace her son with someone else? YET, “She treasured and pondered.” Mary heard Jesus muttering, “I am thirsty.” (John 19:28) She asked, “Someone please give him something to drink.” He had the sponge full of wine and said, “It is finished.” (John 19:30) She may have cried out loud, “My son is gone. He is gone. My God, my God, why have you forsaken my son? Why have you forsaken me?” YET, “She treasured and pondered.” After Jesus died, she couldn’t function. Nothing was the same as before. But she heard a crazy rumor from his friends, that he appeared to them, that he was resurrected, that the Risen Son is back in the name of love. YET, “She treasured and pondered.” My friends in Christ, Mary, the Mother of Jesus, had seen it all ups and downs from the beginning of his life in her womb. YET, she treasured and pondered despite all she had to go through. The heart of our Christian faith, after all, is the message of hope resurrecting when all else fails, when there seems to be nothing but despair. So, we treasure and ponder just like Mary treasured and pondered. We treasure and ponder the message of hope despite all the challenging life events we have gone through, are currently going through, and will have to go through. Not losing that hope is the message and our testimony of Christ’s coming in the midst of darkness. Then, it’s not a matter of whether we believe in God or not but responding to the question “Have we not lost our hope in God?” and saying, “No, we haven’t.” or “I don’t see it but I haven’t given up on this hope. I don’t know exactly what it looks like but I hold onto the hope that comes in the name of the resurrection. If you can’t hold onto it, I’ll hold it for you until you can.” For some of you, this Christmas might not be the same as last year’s. It can be more exciting or sorrowful. As we treasure and ponder as Mary did, we make this holiday holy and hopeful. I wish you a meaningful Christmas season this year. Merry Christmas. |
Paul"...life up your love to that cloud [of unknowing]...let God draw your love up to that cloud...through the help of his grace, to forget every other thing." Archives
January 2025
|