By: Bobot Apit

Dec 20, 2010 - Monday Meditation (Overwhelmed!) 
Mary was willing to be open to God with her questions, her fears, and her consternation.  AND, Mary was willing to trust the angel’s assurance of God’s presence, in the midst of the questions, fears and unknown future.... and to move forward - “Let it be done according to your word.” As I/we face our futures of unknown beginnings, or daily humdrum moments or a closing of life’s chapter, this is my prayer this season:  to trust the loving embrace of God and be open to what may be revealed in these days, weeks and months ahead ...according to God’s word and promise. 
  
Isaiah 7:10-14 
Psalm 24:1-2, 3-4ab, 5-6 
Luke 1:26-38 In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, 27 to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary. 28 And he came to her and said, "Hail, O favored one, the Lord is with you!" 29 But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and considered in her mind what sort of greeting this might be. 30 And the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. 32 He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there will be no end." 34 And Mary said to the angel, "How shall this be, since I have no husband?" 35 And the angel said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and
the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God. 36 And behold, your kinswoman Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. 37 For with God nothing will be impossible."38 And Mary said, "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word." And the angel departed from her. 
  
  
Meditation by Cathy Weiss Pedersen  
“Do not be afraid, Mary!”... “May it be done according to your word....” 
These familiar words from Luke continue the advent vigil into our celebration of Christmas. 
Throughout this week we hear the angel of God delivering messages of joy, of unbelievable events, and of ordinary people being surprised and then growing into acceptance of God’s presence among them.  It is a very well-known story for all of us...perhaps so familiar that we zone in and out as we hear and/or read it: the announcement to Mary of her pregnancy, of Mary and Elizabeth ministering to one another in their extended visit, of the birth of John and Zachary’s unbelief turned into joy as he announces his son’s name, and then the story of the humble birth of Jesus. 
  
Yet, these words and happenings, God’s caressing words of presence, “Do not be afraid,” can awaken us to the now of God’s call in the midst of our lives today. 
  
As I ponder these words this year, they are a comfort to me following the recent death of my mother.   This year’s Christmas season brings an emptiness and a ‘letting go’.... a call to celebrate mom and yet to acknowledge the loss of mom in our midst. As we gathered around mom in her last hours, she was not afraid, but ready to ‘lift up her spirit’ with God.  But it was we - her family, my dad and sibs, who were in need of those words of assurance, “ Do not be afraid,”......I am with you.  Our faith and belief is that God was with us and with mom...but our hearts had not yet caught up to KNOWING it.   
  
How often do we find ourselves in day-to-day struggles and ‘have to do’s’ - not wishing to continue, perhaps unsure of ourselves or the project or the challenge of the day?  It is times like these that we may very well experience raw fear - the unknown lurks and we are unsure of ourselves.   Yet, it is in trying to do this ourselves – to find the courage within us to face our fears that we stumble...it is these times that God is present, whispering, “DO NOT BE AFRAID”. 
  
Mary’s questions, “How can this be?” are very real.   She found herself in the midst of an incredibly strange experience of being told something very frightening and awe-filled - that she was to be with child...who was to be God’s son!   
  
Mary had tremendous faith in herself AND in her God to believe the angel’s message.... with all the questions of the future lurking.... that she was only betrothed (and not married) to Joseph...what would happen?  What did it mean that her child was to be the Son of the Most High? 
  
Mary was willing to be open to God with her questions, her fears, and her consternation.  AND, Mary was willing to trust the angel’s assurance of God’s presence, in the midst of the questions, fears and unknown future.... and to move forward - “Let it be done according to your word.” 
  
As I/we face our futures of unknown beginnings, or daily humdrum moments or a closing of life’s chapter, this is my prayer this season:  May I/we allow God in ... open with our fears, longings, emptiness and emotional roller coasters.... to trust the loving embrace of God and be open to what may be revealed in these days, weeks and months ahead ...according to God’s word and promise. 
  
  
Supplementary Reading 
Eaglet! 
  
"Like an eagle that stirs up its nest, that flutters over its young, spreading out its wings, catching them, bearing them on its pinions." -Deuteronomy 32:11, ESV 
  
My husband and I owned a home out in a rural area where our boys could have space to run and play. We were blessed to see God's handiwork in the land where we lived. I loved to watch the birds. Roadrunners - majestic birds - jumped onto our picnic table. Hummingbirds, with tiny, fragile eggs. Red-winged black birds, sweeping over the grasses, with a flash of color. Powerful birds of prey that kept watch and helped maintain balance in God's creation. 
  
Eagles are such birds. They nest high in craggy mountaintops or tops of towering pine trees. And their young are safe in their nest. Mom hunts and brings back meal after meal. There is no need for the eaglet to leave. Every provision, every protection is there for them. 
  
However, eventually the mother will stir up her nest and nudge the eaglet out. 
  
I don't know about you, but I think how terrifying it must be to take a leap of faith from that high up! But, if the eaglet stays in the nest - it misses out - on the grandeur that is out there. The eaglet can see such a tiny, myopic slice of the world from its nest. 
  
It is the mother, the father, the adult eagle that sees the majestic ocean, the glorious mountain ranges, the vast expanse than can only be seen when they spread their wings and fly! Is it risky? Of course. But they were born to fly. 
  
You were created to fly! You were created to live life to its fullest! God has dreams for you. You have a choice - to stay in a safe nest and miss out on His dreams. Or spread your wings and take the leap - and fly and experience all the beauty God has in store for you. 
  
Creator God, thank You for providing a safe place for my wings to grow. Now, I ask You to give me Your vision for my life. Give me the faith to spread the wings You created and You have strengthened - so I can fly for You! Amen. 
  
How has God provided for you? How has God strengthened your wings? To where is God calling you to fly? -  Sheila Schuller Coleman