Season of Advent
A gift to you as we celebrate the birth of a savior half a world away.
Do Not Be Afraid
Luke 1:26-38
In the center of Nazareth today, there is a well. An Orthodox church has been built over the spring that feeds the well, and for many Christians, this spring is where Gabriel came to Mary to deliver his astounding message. But ten minutes’ walk down the street from that spot is a Catholic basilica, the largest church in the Middle East. And the basilica has been built over what is said to be the house of Mary. And for many other Christians, this house is the true place of the annunciation.
It seems internal differences within Christianity are always with us. But a bridging story is told by some. In the bridging story, the angel appears to Mary at the well, but in fear she begins running home. Gabriel follows with reassurances and explanations. And so, in the bridging story, the annunciation begins at the well, continues as Mary runs, and concludes with Mary’s acceptance, which occurs at her home.
The bridging story embraces both traditions. But the fear that causes Mary to run must be either supplied from outside the Gospel text, or reasoned to from the text, because all we get explicitly from Luke is that Mary – very likely an early teenage girl from a subsistence farmer family or similar social class – ponders, asks how, and ultimately accepts the calling she is given. Even when she sings the song of praise later on with her cousin Elizabeth, we are not given the content of her inner reflections. Does she sing praises in authentic joy and confidence? Or does she sing a familiar song of praise to strengthen herself in her trepidation? What happens in between?
Stained glass window inside the Basilica of the Annunciation in Nazareth. Photo by Jeff
Again, Mary is a contemplative personality as Luke presents her. She has inner thoughts. So exactly what is the content of the reflections of this teenage girl in the hours and days immediately following the annuncation? Some possibilities: How will I get by alone once Joseph ends our engagement? Will my family disown me in disgrace, or believe my incredible story? If they disown me, how will I raise this child who is so needed by my people? The angel said this simple small-town child of mine will come to rule our people; but we are governed by Herod, and really ultimately by Caesar in Rome. So exactly how will this happen? Are there even worse days of fighting and violence ahead of us? And what will my life be like through all of this?
For us, we know the story. And Christmas will be marked, at least nominally, whether we struggle with its meaning or not. But Mary does not know the story. She struggles with its meaning. She doesn’t know everything about her part in it yet, or how it will affect her. She doesn’t know how it will unfold.
And genuine Christmas – the birth of love and hope, peace and joy in our world – is similar. When it comes to that, we wonder about the future, exactly how such things can happen, and about our role. But we join Mary in the spirit of that first Christmas when we pray these inner wonderings, accept our role as we understand it in God’s unfolding story, and sing songs of strength and promise as we enter it. In this way, Mary is our guide. And in the meantime, we have the same words with which Gabriel comes to her in all of her wondering: Do not be afraid.
-Jeff