And Mary said to the angel,  “How can this be … ?”   Luke 2:34

As we prepare for the Incarnation of God into our daily life Mary asks the ultimate question, “How can this be?”  For many of us the question is abstract and theological in nature.  But it was not for Mary.  The question was very real.  It was physical.  It was earthy, for the angel’s announcement about God’s intention had real and palpable consequences.  This teenage girl asks, “How can I have a baby when I have never been intimate with a boy?”  The angel tells her the facts of life and she agrees.  She clearly says yes.

The Incarnation of God into the world, the birth of Jesus, changes Mary’s life.  She gets sick.  She gets big.  She leaves town and live with cousins for awhile.  Her betrothed is not happy with her.  Her eating and sleeping patterns change.  Her body hurts.  Having God enter into her life has serious consequences.

Months later, in a stable, probably with a dirt floor, on a dry pile of prickly animal fodder, she gives birth.  It was a totally ‘natural’ childbirth.  Those of us who have given birth or who have been present at a birthing know the terror and the joy of the event.  One thing it is not, however, is abstract and theoretical.  It is very real and very messy.

As a teenager Mary said yes to God, and look what happened to her.  It is that real and messy entry of God into Mary’s life that we prepare to celebrate.

As I sit in the comfort of my centrally-heated house on a cold and rainy morning, looking out the window (and the storm window to really protect me from the elements), I see North Avenue, people in climate-controlled cars and trucks and busses, on a smooth driving surface, going about their business.  Many are preparing for Christmas.  I am struck by the disparity of our preparing for the Incarnation and Mary’s.

Mary’s God is not theoretical or abstract.  Saying yes to God changes Mary’s life forever.  And it has little to do with getting up to go join in community worship on her day off.  Its impact is greater than deciding how much money, as a token of thanks, to put in the coffers of her house of worship.  When Mary says yes to God, she is marked as God’s own for her.  Her very being is changed.

It is my prayer that this Christmas each of us has the courage of Mary to say yes to God, knowing that the Incarnation will change us forever.

       Faithfully,  Craig +

And Mary said,  “You see before you the Lord’s servant, let it happen to me as you have said.”   Luke 2:38

...   ...   ...

(From another side perhaps ... )

Carl Sagan said ...

The Cosmos is all that is or ever was or ever will be.  Our feeblest contemplations of the Cosmos stir us - there is a tingling in the spine, a catch in the voice, a faint sensation, as if a distant memory, of falling from a height.  We know we are approaching the greatest of mysteries.
 

Whether we believe in God depends very much on what we mean by God.

My deeply held belief is that if a god of anything like the traditional sort exists, our curiosity and intelligence are provided by such a god.  We would be unappreciative of those gifts … if we suppressed our passion to explore the universe and ourselves.  On the other hand, if such a traditional god does not exist, our curiosity and our intelligence are the essential tools for managing our survival.  In either case, the enterprise of knowledge is consistent with both science and religion, and is essential for the welfare of the human species.
 

An atheist is someone who is certain that God does not exist, someone who has compelling evidence against the existence of God.  I know of no such compelling evidence…  To be certain of the existence of God and to be certain of the nonexistence of God seem to me to be the confident extremes in a subject so riddled with doubt and uncertainty as to inspire very little confidence indeed.
 

And the first words of the apostle John [1:1 NRSV] ...

 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

He was in the beginning with God.  All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being.

What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people.

The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.
 

... i see lots of similarities ... merry christmas !