Are You Ready?

It's December 1, and if you're like me, you
spent Thanksgiving eve with a still-full
tummy and thoughts of preparing for Christmas.

Advent: a time of preparation for the coming of something important.

Who will help me put up the tree?
Where are my favorite ornaments?
Cookie recipes?
The "to do" list is long.

The banners in church spell out:
HOPE, WAIT, PREPARE.

**************

Mary, Jesus' mother, didn't enjoy a Thanksgiving meal. Her meals probably

wouldn't meet nutrition guidelines of our day.

However, she was preparing for Christmas
in a way we can not begin to comprehend.

The angel Gabriel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son.... He will be great and be called the Son of the Most High... His kingdom will never end." ...

The fact that she was pregnant and not yet married to Joseph had to be a concern. Gabriel's news that this newborn would become great with a kingdom that would never end had to seem incredible.

However, she soon hurried to a town in the hill country where Elizabeth, her relative lived. Gabriel had informed Mary that Elizabeth, in her old age, would also be with child.

Months later, Joseph and Mary journeyed to Bethlehem. Caesar had issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. It was while they were there that the baby Jesus was born. Yes, in a stable--because there was no room elsewhere.

Instead of the

"Tis the season to be jolly...fa, la,la,la,la, la,...,"

we could be singing

"Come thou long expected Jesus, born to set thy people free..."

Jesus' mother, Mary, was a model for each of us.
She received God's word,
pondered it deeply, and lived it.
She was a woman of faith.

 

Yes, it is the time of the year

when we are preparing

for something important.

As we are shopping, decorating, baking...

let us remember Mary, the woman of faith,

the first disciple,

who received the word of God,

pondered it deeply

and then lived it out humbly.