Joy to the World’s Expectant Christ-Bearers

Mary had dreams, too. Mary was a little girl who had hopes and dreams like any little girl. Her dreams, like ours, were shaped by the world she lived in. For her, then, dreams would absolutely include being engaged and married to a good, loving husband who would father her many sons and a few daughters. These kids would make them both proud, of course, and would care for them both as they moved into their old age.

Mary was Jewish, living in her homeland that was currently occupied by Rome. She and her people dreamed of one day ruling their own land again. That day would be brought on by an in-breaking of God in the person of the Messiah, who would rule in the way of King David, and bring with him the Majesty one would expect from such a Son of God.

Mary’s dream of the future did not include being visited by an angel to invite her to become pregnant before her wedding day by someone other than her betrothed. She couldn’t even imagine such a nightmare. When Mary’s dream was shattered by a very different reality, she was forced to reconsider much of what she valued and believed.

Orthodoxy. In his book, How (Not) To Speak of God, Peter Rollins, a fresh thinker, writer, theologian, dialoguer, etc., notes that the word orthodoxy is defined somewhat differently by Greeks than Hebrews. The Greek orientation, which is the foundation for most Western thought (read: our primary disposition toward thinking about everything), defines the word as “right believing”, which means there are certain constructs and points that define whether or not we are orthodox. This, then, is used to determine who is right and who is not, who is in and out – binary, black and white. Hebrew people, however, define it subtly and yet radically differently. Instead of right believing, the Hebrew mindset defines orthodoxy as believing right. This mindset is evident in many biblical narratives.

Mary was Hebrew, but still had expectations, hopes, and dreams that didn’t really fit with her understanding of God. She had to make a mental shift in order to remain orthodox (believing right). While she could have easily written off the whole experience as a hallucination brought on by an underdone potato eaten the night before, she chose instead to reconsider whether or not she was believing right. She chose to alter the way she believed to “believing right” instead of idolizing her held beliefs as “right”. Do you understand the difference?

We are pregnant. You and I who seek things of God are pregnant. There lies within us the Christ child, longing to be nurtured, to grow, to be born in and through us. Like Mary, we have a decision to make. In truth, we are already pregnant with a great many other ideas that we have called right, but get in the way of Christ. What ideas, dreams, fears, etc. are present in you, growing in you that do not really allow for Christ to develop in you? What needs to be cleared out in order for Christ to dwell? How do you need to think differently in order to believe right?

The Pearl. Jesus once taught a gathering of listeners that the Kingdom of God was like a great pearl of enormous value. When a merchant seeking such a find discovered it, he immediately sold everything he had in order to purchase the pearl. A paradox is present here. In order to gain the pearl, he had to sell everything, which left him nothing but the pearl. So he had everything and nothing at the same time. The gift of Christ is the Pearl. God’s Kingdom is the Pearl. Christ’s indwelling is the Pearl. What is God calling you to liquidate in order to acquire it? It may not mean cashing in all of your material possessions. More likely, it is your ego, your desire for control, your self-centeredness, your pride that keeps you on the throne of life instead of God. Of course, once we relinquish our very selves to God, all of our possessions are then at God’s disposal, aren’t they? Mary certainly gave this up to God in order for Christ to live in and through her. Will you?

The Generous Priest. Long ago there lived a priest who was known for his generosity toward the poor, opening up his cathedral to any and all that needed shelter, providing for their food and clothing needs as best he could. One evening, a knock came to the door of the cathedral. A demon was on the other side, and asked if he could have shelter there. The priest obliged. Once in the cathedral, the demon desecrated the building, and the altar. The demon asked to go home with the priest for dinner. After he ate, the demon wrecked the priest’s home. Finally, the demon asked if the priest would welcome him into his own soul as much as he had welcomed him into the cathedral and his own home. The priest, as before, opened even his soul to the demon. Once there, however, there was nothing to which the demon could cling, and no darkness in which to hide. The only thing there was light. The demon left in disgust, never to return (Rollins, p 113-114).

The invitation to Mary is the same for us: to find our source, our life, our love, our joy, in the paradox of giving all of ourselves away in order to gain the fullness of God. As we allow our transformation to emerge, we discover hope, love, peace, and joy. We find ourselves living differently, rightly, congruent with our believing right. This is the Good News that causes us to sing “Joy” to the whole world.

May you, as Mary, choose to believe right, nurture Christ within, and discover life anew.

Think…

1. What have you been told about what being a Christian will mean for you? For example, sometimes when we are being taught about faith, certain benefits are mentioned – concerning afterlife, emotional experiences, etc. Who presented those ideas to you?

2. What do you imagine were Mary’s thoughts and feelings as she was given this announcement? What sorts of things do you think went through her mind as she considered her decision in response to God’s invitation? What would saying yes mean for her emotionally, practically, intellectually, and spiritually?

3. How are the issues Mary faced similar or different to those we face as we consider the invitation given us to nurture Christ within, allowing the work of Christ to grow in us, being birthed in us?

4. If you were listening to Jesus’ talk about the Pearl of Great Price, what would your reaction have been? What is your reaction right now? Is the Pearl worth everything you have and are?

5. Mary’s example is a catalyst that invites us to consider our availability to God’s work in our lives. We are already impregnated with a great many things that leave no room for Christ to be nurtured. What activities that you have done should have been left undone and what various activities that you have left undone should you have done?

6. Consider Mary as she drew her last breath. She experienced Jesus’ conception, gestation, birth, childhood, adolescence, adulthood, ministry, crucifixion, death, resurrection, ascension, and then the Spirit’s presence and the birth of the Church. Do you think she had any regrets about her decision to be used of God to nurture Christ’s growth and birth in her life? Should you continually nurture Christ’s growth in your life, what do you imagine your final thoughts in this life might be?

7. What areas of your life is God calling you to rethink right now, so that Christ might grow in you?