December 12

My dad is equal parts serious and silly. My mom is equal parts tough and tender. What that meant for my sister and me is that, while we had firm discipline, it was in the context of an affectionate and fun home. The first time I went away for a two night camp, I made myself sick missing their hugs. It’s no wonder, then, that I felt safest when I was with them. On nights when I had bad dreams or woke up and couldn’t go back to sleep, it never crossed my mind to stay in my own bed. Why would I when there was a 6-inch space between my parents that I could squeeze myself into like a squid? To this day, the mere memory of how I felt in that place is enough to cause a serotonin and endorphin release. Being squished between my parents had a way of settling my spirit like nothing else could.

Read:

In the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man named Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. And the angel came to her and said, “Greetings, favored woman! The Lord is with you.” But she was deeply troubled by this statement, wondering what kind of greeting this could be. Then the angel told her: “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. Now listen: You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of his father David. He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and his kingdom will have no end.”
Mary asked the angel, “How can this be, since I have not had sexual relations with a man?”
The angel replied to her: “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore, the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. And consider your relative Elizabeth—even she has conceived a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month for her who was called childless. For nothing will be impossible with God.”
“I am the Lord’s servant,” said Mary. “May it be done to me according to your word.” Then the angel left her.
Luke 1:26-38

How could Mary be so calm and resolute at news like this? Her life just took a sharp turn!

As we continue our meditations on waiting this Advent season, Mary’s response to the announcement she received is a graphic illustration of what Jeremiah had in mind when he penned Lamentations 3:25-26.

The LORD is good to those who wait for him,
to the person who seeks him.
It is good to wait quietly
for salvation from the LORD.
(emphasis mine)

The message the angel delivered to Mary was crazy, life-upturning stuff. Her response to it was quiet, yet she wasn’t literally silent. You or I might have been. You and I would have been confounded with open-mouthed disbelief, unable to respond with little more than rapid blinking as our minds wrapped around the news. Outwardly, our physical response would appear quiet, but inwardly, our minds would be churning. Mary’s response, however, demonstrates the full meaning of “waiting quietly”. In her response, she was inwardly tranquil. She was, in a word, settled.

The idea of quiet waiting doesn’t mean wordless silence (although, sometimes it does). More fully, it refers to the confident, calm security a little girl has when nestled between her parents in the middle of the night. It’s the way a fussy baby instantly soothes when placed in his parent’s arms and his ear is pressed against a chest with a familiar heartbeat. It’s the way an elderly woman suffering with dementia is at peace only when her husband is holding her hand.

Quietness in waiting is not born of strength and determined courage. It’s confidence is the one who holds you.

Mary was settled in her response because she was already settled in her spirit. The ability to wait quietly for the Lord comes from firm confidence in God’s goodness and ability to save those who wait for him.

As a community, we have had some hard news. The lives of many among us have taken sharp turns into territory we would not have chosen. The road ahead for many of us looks fraught with pain and grief. Even so, we are held by God. While we wait, we remind ourselves of this: He is good, and he is our Salvation.

May it be done to us according to your word, O God.

Pray: Jesus, as I press myself against you, let me hear your familiar heartbeat of goodness and salvation. Fortify my confidence in you, the One who holds me, so that I can wait for my future which you alone hold.