Sacrament of the present moment
The angel said, “Nothing will be impossible for God.” And Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done unto me according to your word.” – from Luke 1
The angel might have had to respond to me, “What part of ‘nothing impossible’ do you not understand?”
How difficult it is to say, “May it be done unto me.” In case you’d like to know how to say this beautiful response to God in Latin, the words are “Fiat mihi secundum verbum tuum.”
Perhaps unlike me, Mary was not so single-mindedly focused on her own goals. I’m an American; without goals I am half a man. But I give up something in exchange for this dogged self-determination. Here’s a thought from a 17th century French Jesuit, Jean-Pierre de Caussade:
For those who led a spiritual life, each moment brought some duty to be faithfully accomplished. Their whole attention was thus concentrated consecutively like a hand that marks the hours which, at each moment, traverses the space allotted to it … such were the hidden springs by which the conduct of Mary was actuated. Mary was the most simple of all creatures, and the most closely united to God. (Abandonment to Divine Providence, page 5).
Father James Martin is an American like me. Before becoming a priest, he was a successful GE businessman, complete with goals for himself and his company. He was looking for something more whole. He writes, “Those who have abandoned themselves to God always lead mysterious lives and receive from God exceptional and miraculous gifts by means of the most ordinary, natural and chance experiences” (Jesuit Guide to Almost Everything, Kindle location 4722)
Mary seems to trust God from deep within herself. She offers back her body and her life that she knows was given to her as gift. She continues quietly on about her life. I think I would have been afraid of the future, and perhaps she was too. But when she lives in what has been called the “sacrament of the present moment,” Mary finds peace.
This season, and especially this moment of this day, can be sacramental, precious and mysterious, even as it is “most ordinary.” God is in charge, and magic is afoot. And we, his children, get to play outside and make snow angels.
Lord, I sometimes think we’ve come a long way from the fall in the garden of Eden. And then again, maybe not so far after all. I get ahead of you and then I hide from you, ashamed. I am naked and don’t know how to live with that. Your eyes see through all my pretense, even when I am certain I’m not pretending. That even so, you are patient with me today, right now, in this wonderful moment I’ve been given, is all I have. And that is all I need.
http://www.davesandel.net/category/advent-and-christmas-devotions-2017/
http://www.christiancounselingservice.com/archived_devotions.php?article_id=1622
