Thinking about Mary

            Yesterday’s reading in the Secret Place—which I didn’t read until this morning—focused on Mary’s courage, from Luke 1:26 – 38. Manny Santiago's words got me thinking about my own courage or lack thereof.

            How do I react to change, or even an announcement of change? How do I react to strange? What if an angel showed up in my kitchen or in my car on the way to work?

The Annunciation from the Nativity Story

 

            Mary’s first reaction was to be “greatly troubled” and I surmise fearful, since the angel’s next words start with, “Do not be afraid, Mary.” What enabled Mary to move from “greatly troubled” in verse 26 to “bring it on” in verse 38? Why didn’t Mary argue like Moses (Exodus 3 – 4) or nervously ask for proof like Gideon (Judges 6)?

            Some might point out that Mary seems to be arguing or asking for proof when she says, “How will this be since I am a virgin?” I think she’s asking for clarity. “Excuse me, Mr. Angel. Did you mean I’m going to conceive this child after Joseph and I get married? Or did you mean right now in some other way?” I think that’s a reasonable question. Apparently, Gabriel agrees, because instead of striking her mute like Zechariah earlier in the chapter, he explains.

            I notice four things in the scripture passage that suggest how Mary got past “greatly troubled.” Three of them start with the letter “p.” I really wish all four did, because I’m all about alliteration. But maybe the three explain the one.

God’s Favor, featuring

     God’s Presence—The Lord is with you.

            God’s Power—The power of the Most High will overshadow you.

                   God’s Promise—For with God nothing will be impossible. (1:37, NKJV)

            Gabriel calls Mary “highly favored” and also tells her “you have found favor with God.” Dictionary.com lists numerous shades of meaning for “favor” both as a noun and verb, and I think these fit: the state of being approved or held in regard, excessive kindness…; preferential treatment. 

            Let’s be clear that usually when someone in scripture is favored and chosen, it’s not for a trip to Disney, but for a difficult assignment. (No wonder Moses and Gideon protested.) In nine or so months, Mary will hear this warning from the old saint Simeon, “And a sword will pierce your own soul too.” (Luke 1:35)

            Along with God’s favor, Gabriel assures Mary she also receives God’s presence, power and promise. It’s part of the favor package. 

            Now here’s the best part:  That favor package is offered to all of us! When I’m confronted with change or strange or a difficult assignment from God, I also have access to God’s presence, God’s power, and God’s promises upon promises upon promises.

            I hope I remember that. I hope you do, too.

 ²⁶In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, ²⁷ to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. ²⁸ The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”

²⁹ Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. ³⁰ But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. ³¹ You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. ³² He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, ³³ and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”

³⁴ “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”

³⁵ The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called^[b] the Son of God. ³⁶ Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. ³⁷ For no word from God will ever fail.”

³⁸ “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her. 

(Luke 1, NIV, from www.biblegateway.com)

I is for Immeasurably

This twelve-letter adverb plays a flamboyant role in a favorite Bible verse. But first let’s break it down.

As a verb, measure means “to ascertain the extent, dimensions, quantity, capacity, etc., of, especially by comparison with a standard:” Measurable is the related adjective meaning “capable of being measured.” Measurably is the adverb form, which www.dictionary.com refuses to expand upon, so I just have to remember that while an adjective modifies a noun, an adverb modifies a verb or an adjective.

Are you still with me? I’m not certain I’m still with me.

An immeasurably better burger

So now if I add the prefix im onto measurable, it becomes immeasurable, meaning “incapable of being measured; limitless.” And the adverb becomes immeasurably. In the sentence, This hamburger is immeasurably better than the one you burned, the adverb immeasurably modifies the adjective better. 

How can I diagram a sentence in a blog?**

I think we’re all more than ready to leave words and proceed to the Word and the favorite verse. Ephesians 3:20 is the benediction to Paul’s prayer for his readers. Here’s the whole prayer for context with the verse highlighted:

¹⁴ For this reason I kneel before the Father, ¹⁵ from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. ¹⁶ I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, ¹⁷ so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, ¹⁸ may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, ¹⁹ and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

²⁰ Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, ²¹ to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

            There are other places in Scripture which tell us God answers our prayers, such as:  “If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!” (Matthew 7:11, NIV—You can get what you need at 7-11.) And, “…your Father knows what you need before you ask him.” (Matthew 6:8, NIV)

            But there’s something about that word immeasurably that’s makes me like Ephesians 3:20 immeasurably more. Sure it’s great that God knows what I need before I ask, but what if I don’t know what to ask for? What if my imagination is limited?

            It’s like what I wrote about Moses in a Secret Place devotion some time ago: Moses imagined he could help the enslaved Israelites by killing one oppressive foreman. Compared to God in the imagination department, Moses was somewhat limited. God drowned the entire Egyptian army after sending the Israelites across the Red Sea on dry land. Now that took care of the oppression problem.

http://blog.youversion.com/2014/09/new-bible-app-for-kids-story-parting-the-red-sea-the-ten-commandments/

            I long to be not limited by my pea-sized imagination. I long to tap the power of God’s ginormous imagination. How about you?

** 

A diagrammed sentence on a blog--and just in time for Independence Day!

Another Mountain for Moses

               Speak to the rock.

            In the thirty-ninth year of my two-week journey from Sinai to Canaan, I was beyond calm speaking. I wanted to strike something or someone…better the rock than one of God’s complaining chosen.

            Water exploded from the rock, God honoring his promise. God had always called me his friend, but now I had dishonored him and there was a price to pay: The covenant he had sworn to Abraham God now snatched from my hands. I would never homestead in Canaan. Though I had successfully pleaded for other offenders, the Holy One would not consider my case.

            So he stood with me on Mount Nebo, two old friends who had traveled countless dusty miles together, and we looked toward the horizon:  fields green with new barley, olive groves and vineyards, hills and valleys—a breathtaking panorama, a fertile land that would soon be a home for my people. God dried my bittersweet tears, and I slept with my fathers.

            But I’m awake now—though I can’t understand how or why—standing again on a mountain. No longer distant, the green fields and lush groves seem close enough to touch, a promise returned to my trembling hands.

            I turn and shade my eyes from the white-hot brilliance of the man before me, but he grasps my shoulders and pulls me close. Gazing into his eyes, I recognize the holy fire I had first glimpsed in a burning desert bush.

            Welcome home, Old Friend.

           (I wrote this several years ago and just rediscovered it in my files. It is based on events in Numbers 20 and Mark 9.)

God is the template

            Comforting, encouraging words and phrases surrounded and permeated me as I looked up Bible verses about God’s goodness and how he expresses it and how we experience it.

mercy, compassion, refuge, unfailing love

upright, forgiving, caring, providing

teacher, guide

            Good has become a weak word in English vocabulary, almost as scrawny as nice or fine. How’s your hamburger? Good…but I wish it were a T-bone steak. How are you feeling? Good…except for my intermittently throbbing ankle. How was the writers’ conference? Good…but I didn’t connect with a publisher who wants to give me a $100,000 advance.

            The way I hear good being used, it generally means not horrible.

            When the biblical authors wrote about God using good and goodness, they meant, “God loves you so overwhelmingly much that he wants to provide everything you need and tenderly care for you forever.”

            If there had been punctuation in biblical times, they would have added a kazillion exclamation points.

            God told Moses, “I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the LORD [YHWH], in your presence.” (Exodus 33:19, NIV) Then when God caused his goodness to pass in front of Moses, God spoke these words, “The Lord, the Lord [YHWH, YHWH], the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin.” (Exodus 34:6 – 7, NIV)

            This is one of many places where God says, “This is what my goodness is all about.”

            So I’m reading along, basking in the goodness, when I run smack into Mark 10:18, with Jesus responding to someone who respectfully called him good. “Why do you call me good?…No one is good—except God alone.”

            Here’s what hit me alongside the head this morning:

            God is the template for goodness. If I want to be good—and I do, and scripture commands it—God’s character and behavior created the model. I (and I suspect many other Christians) tend to define goodness in terms of keeping the rules, not sinning any of the big ones. But God expands the definition of goodness, and his word catalogs its features in hundreds of passages.

Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children. Ephesians 5:1, NIV