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Listen, process, change, share

December 22, 2018

Advent 4 – 2018

Luke 1:39-45

Marian Free

In the name of God who overwhelms us with goodness and love. Amen.

Do you remember tumbling in the door after school bursting with news of the day? Or bringing home a special purchase eager to share your pleasure with whoever might be there? Or waiting anxiously for a partner to return from work so that you can tell them the amazing news about your infant’s triumphs during the day? When we have good news we can’t keep it to ourselves. Somehow the joy is intensified by the sharing of it. We also have a need to share bad news, but then we are hoping that the pain will be lessened if someone else knows how we are feeling.

Mary has news. She may not really know if it is good news or bad news. It is certainly momentous news, news that she simply can’t keep to herself. If Luke is to be believed, on hearing the angel’s words, Mary sets out at once for the hill country to share the news with Elizabeth. We will never know exactly why she does this. It is possible that Mary wants to avoid the prying eyes, snide suggestions and pointed questions that will surely meet her if she remains at home. Mary might be worried by the censure of her extended family and the potential for violent attack if her story is not believed. Elizabeth lives far enough away that Mary could find refuge until things settle down at home. Furthermore, Mary can expect if not a warm welcome, at least some understanding from her cousin who, like her, has experienced what God can do, and whose news was, almost certainly, met with suspicion at worst and confusion at best.

Perhaps Mary needs time to process the news, to work out what it means to be pregnant. Her body will have begun to change – tender breasts, morning sickness, aversion to certain foods and a longing for others. In a small village Mary may know what the other women go through and not be surprised by the changes, but for her the pregnancy is unexpected and she may not be entirely ready. We have to imagine that Mary will also need to process what it means to be the mother of the Son of the Most High, who “will inherit the throne of David”. Unlike us Mary does not know the end of the story. Who knows what is going through her mind. Does she imagine that the child will be a mighty warrior who will wage war against the Romans or that in the same miraculous way that she became pregnant, her child will simply find himself crowned king? Is her mind filled with images of royal palaces, power and wealth or is she simply curious as to what this all might mean for her?

It is equally possible that Mary, filled with amazement and joy wants to share that feeling with someone who will really understand, someone who, like her, has had the most extraordinary experience of God. Their age difference melts away. God has blessed the one with a long-awaited child and the other with a totally unexpected child. Both children have a role to play in the coming of God’s kingdom.

All that is simply speculation we don’t know what Mary thought or why she raced off to see Elizabeth. Luke’s beginning is designed to set the scene for what is to come – John’s place in the story, Jesus’ Jewish credentials and the place of the Holy Spirit in the coming of the Kingdom. Luke wants us to know that the angel speaks to Mary and Mary responds – by saying ‘yes’ and by sharing the news.

If we pay attention we will know that God speaks to us in many and varied ways. Sometimes the news will be momentous and at others times a gentle nudge. We may be asked to move beyond our comfort zone, to take on a difficult task or simply to let go of a behaviour or attitude that is preventing our growth.

When God asks something of us we need time to think about how the change in our life might impact on or affect those around us. We might wonder what others will think of us and whether we have the courage to pursue the course. We will probably need time to process the impact a change of direction will have on our lives and to consider what changes we need to make in order for it happen and we will want to share the news with a trusted friend or a spiritual director – if not with the whole world.

Advent challenges us to be alert to God’s presence and to be ready to respond.

Listen, process, change, share.

Tags:annunciation, Elizabeth, Mary, prepared to change, sharing the news
Posted in Advent, Luke's gospel | Comments Off on Listen, process, change, share

What will you say?

July 19, 2018

Pentecost 9- 2018

Mark 6:30-34, 50-56

Marian Free

(Notes while on leave)

In the name of God before whom we must all some day give an account. Amen.

“When the apostles returned they gathered around Jesus and told him all they had done and taught.” This sentence can seem out of context and it can very easily be overlooked. Jesus’ empowering and sending out of the disciples (with which the chapter began) has been interrupted by the account of the death of John the Baptist. Then as if there had been no interruption, the disciples are back and they are bursting to tell Jesus all about their experiences.

I am reminded of my own youth – bursting in to the family home after school and spilling out all the events of the day while my mother listened and prepared afternoon tea. When, in later years, my mother was not home after school it took a while to get used to not having anyone with whom to share the day. By the time she did get home (even if it was shortly after my siblings and I) the excitement of the day would have waned and the news by then would seem dull and old (no longer ‘news’). We would all go about our business, perhaps sharing the bare details or something that was really out of the ordinary. By dinner time my siblings and I had filled in three hours doing other things – homework, play. Our father had to use persuasion to extract some details of the day from us. So that he could be part of our daily experiences he would insist that we share an “educational adventure”. It was often a struggle to come up with anything interesting that happened during the day because it all seemed so long ago and any gloss had long worn off.

As a parent I was on the receiving end of such excited recounting of the days events. I well remember driving a child home from an excursion with a grandparent. During the course of the 20 minute drive I think I heard the entire script for ‘The Little Mermaid’. For my daughter the experience had been so wonderful that she was compelled to share it in minute detail. (I’m sure that had her father been the driver I would have been told only the barest outline.)

“When the apostles returned they gathered around Jesus and told him all they had done and taught.” These words that often slip past me as I move on to the next part of the gospel struck me with some force on this occasion. I found myself thinking: “Will I have so much to tell?” I wondered what it would be like to ‘come home’ to Jesus. What would be the high points that I would want to share with him? Would I figuratively burst through the door so full of news about how God has worked in my life, the changes in others that Spirit has brought about through me.

This line of text has given me pause for thought.

In the end it doesn’t really matter how we think of judgement. We all believe that we will have to face God one day. How will we report on the life we have been given? Will our excitement and joy match that of the disciples? Will we be satisfied with what we have done with the gifts God has given us or filled with fear and trepidation when we realize how much we have squandered?

“When the apostles returned they gathered around Jesus and told him all they had done and taught.” When Jesus returns what will we have to say?

Tags:gathering around Jesus, giving an account, judgement, sharing the news
Posted in Mark's gospel | Comments Off on What will you say?

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