9 Months

The Annunciation, Henry Ossawa Tanner, 1898

Sometimes I get surprised by things that I probably should already know.  Tonight as I was reading through the Bible texts for the day I was sidetracked by the realization that today, March 25th, is the celebration of the Annunciation (the day the Angel Gabriel announced to Mary that she was with child).  Surprise!  9 months until Christmas.  We'd better get busy, right?

No, I'm not telling you this so you start thinking about Christmas, we are in Lent so don't get distracted.  In fact, this Sunday is Palm Sunday so we are only 10 days away from Easter!  Time flies when you're having fun, or maybe for Lent time flies when you are examining your spiritual life.  Just when this time of examination and intentional sacrifice gets to be old-hat we are confronted by the praise of Palm Sunday.  Just as we prepare to turn our eyes to the cross, we are confronted by the thought that if Mary's pregnancy lasted nine months, today is the day she was confronted with the news that would change her life (and ours too.)  

Mary had some questions for the angel.  She wondered, "how can this be?"  Yet in the end she responds with "may it be as you have said, for nothing is impossible with God."  This very woman, though older by the time, knelt at the foot of the cross as that same mysterious child of hers gave His life up by saying, "let not my will, but Yours be done, God."  I am sure that throughout the life of her son Mary had many opportunities to reflect on the mystery of this God-child, yet nothing could prepare her for his death.  

Submission is not something that comes very easily to me.  I am far too stubborn to be told what to do, though many times if I just listened I would save myself a lot of grief.  There's this rebellious spirit in me that often wants to do exactly the opposite of what someone else tells me to do.  I can learn a lot from both Jesus and Mary in this example  can you?  Trusting that God has our best interest in mind can prevent us from letting our stubbornness get in the way of what God has in store for us.  If we really believe that nothing is impossible with God we can trust in those Holy Spirit insights and dreams that sometimes feel pretty lifeless. God brings life into the most barren of places, light into the darkness of doubt.  

So my prayer this evening is that we are open to the voice of God, and that before we can call it crazy we actually take a minute to trust and obey, for nothing is impossible with God.  Thanks be to God.