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| Dome of the Church of the Annunciation |
And
Mary said, "My soul magnifies the Lord,
and
my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
for
he has looked on the humble estate of his servant.
For
behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed;
for
he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name.
Luke 1:46-49
Lord,
in my mind I’m back in The Land, and I’m reminded of Nazareth; of the
unexpected and the unexplained. Mary shares her thoughts with the angel when
told she will be the mother of God:
“How
is this to be since I am a virgin?
Besides the fact that
this young girl even had the courage to engage in a one on one conversation
with a celestial being, to me there is no question as to Mary’s personal
concern:
“I’m
a small town girl, how am I going to explain my pregnancy to my family and
community?”
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| Stained Glass in Church of the Annunciation |
Your answer to her was to detail only what other plans
You had in store – amazing things including her giving birth to a messiah for the
world. You never addressed her worries. You simply asked for obedience. After
all, You are God, You provide all that is necessary to accomplish Your desires.
And Mary responded in a remarkable way. “I am your handmaiden (your servant)
Lord, do with me as You will.”
The
unexpected is Your expertise Adonai – as Mary witnessed, as I have witnessed. To
the unexpected, we typically respond in very expected ways – How can this be?
How can I possibly do what You’re asking me to do? Why are You asking me to do
something so difficult, so different, so…unexpected?
And
now, once again You are asking me to serve You in an unexpected way – one I
would not have predicted. You know how Patti and I hunger to lead a group to
Israel. You know our excitement regarding The Land and Your people. You have
heard our prayers and seen our action. Now You reply:
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| Entrance to Church of the Annunciation |
“I
have other plans for you.”
What
are You saying? Are we not obedient enough, not prepared enough, not…qualified
or good enough? And suddenly I realize I have phrased my response in the
negative. Instead of seeking out Your greater purpose, my temptation is to
suggest You are trying to tell me, “no”, when in fact, You are saying, “There
is more to this than You can possibly imagine.”
Mary
comprehended this. She understood that You are a big God. I read of her
understanding – even after being ostracized by her betrothed husband Joseph, she
exclaimed to Elizabeth, “My soul magnifies the Lord and my spirit cries out
within me.” In other words, I’ve found joy in the midst of chaos.
Mary
didn’t ask for the position she received. She received the position You asked
her to fulfill. Can I, Lord, look beyond my selfishness to Your purpose? Can I
stop trying to justify my desires because I think they are in Your best
interest, and instead offer myself for whatever You request? As the angel said
to Mary, “All things are possible with God.”
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| Door inside Church of the Annunciation depicting the Gospel |
El
Shaddai, once I shared with others, our realization that our planned trip to
Israel would have to be postponed; two fascinating things occurred:
First,
a number of people exclaimed, “Good, because we’d like to join your journey,
but it’s just not possible this year – next year looks much better.”
Second,
my son called and stated he and his fiancé plan to come home from Korea to marry during the time we
were to be in Israel.
Were people saying the timing was not good, just to make
us feel better? Is the timing of my son’s wedding coincidence? I believe not.
You’ve known all along what plans You have for us and now that we’ve gotten out
of the way, You will show us how great those plans are.
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| Sunrise in Bethlehem |
At
the time Mary sang her Magnificat, she was still condemned by her culture for
her behavior and she had yet to understand or see the full extent of Your
intentions. Yet she was overcome with joy. By her example I anticipate great
things and now also recognize my joy in obedience.
And
so we thank You, Messiah – You have once again reveled how vast and yet personal
You are; how all encompassing, yet intimate. The unexpected joy at such a time
as this causes our souls to magnify You and our spirits cries out – “I am loved and
ready to obey!”
