Over the course of a lifetime, we experience many disruptions. To disrupt is to cause disorder, turmoil, or interruption. Routines shift in unexpected ways. Medical diagnoses catch us off-guard. Employment opportunities come and go. Pandemics take over.
Mary, the mother of Jesus, had a close relationship with disruption. From early on in her life, she knew what it meant to experience a major change of plans. She was engaged. And then an angel showed up with an invitation into disruption. Mary was told she’d have a child, and that child would be God’s son. As Jesus grew up, the turmoil for Mary continued all the way to the cross.
Mary’s openness to God’s invitation is revealed in her words upon hearing the angel’s news in Luke, chapter 1. Mary says, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.”
Disruptions are a part of life. We can’t predict them or avoid them. But we can trust in a God who draws near to us in the midst of the realities we don’t anticipate.
This message is an excerpt from “Advent: the season of illumination” by Emily Anne Carson in Café’s December 2019 faith reflection.
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