WEEK FIVE
Dec 28 – Jan 3
CHRISTMAS IS:
Day 29—Sunday, December 28

And His father and mother were amazed at the things which were being said about Him. And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary His mother, “Behold, this Child is appointed for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and for a sign to be opposed— and a sword will pierce even your own soul—to the end that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.”
Luke 2:33-35

DEEP REFLECTION

I’ve always loved the days right after Christmas. There seems to be a special peace about the time after the pageantry and presents that often accompany Christmas day. The house still smells like pine, and ornaments still shine in the mid-morning light, but somehow there’s nothing left to “do” even as life slowly returns to “normal.” Lingering over a cup of hot cocoa is still a legitimate seasonal occupation though articles now have to be read and rooms have to be cleaned.

 

On the surface, the feeling of peace might be simply contentment after celebration and gratitude at the yearly reminder of Christ’s birth. But, for me, it has an element of gentle, almost unconscious, anticipation. Like a present unwrapped and placed in its new home, how will this joy follow me into another year? What will it open up? The delight is still keen enough that these questions about the future don’t feel as ponderous as they can at other times.

Simeon’s words to Joseph and Mary are the last amazing thing to happen in a long line of amazing things surrounding Jesus’s birth in Luke’s narrative. They had become used to holding him and feeding him. These words were spoken to them when they presented Jesus at the temple, as was customary 40 days after his birth. How might Mary have felt when she was told her son would be great but that he and she would both suffer “to the end that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed”?

In Marianne Stokes’s painting Madonna and Child, Mary is depicted realistically as a young woman whose beautiful face seems to be smiling and sad at the same time.  The young woman who responded with “May your word to me be fulfilled” when told that she would be the virgin mother of God bears the same attitude after hearing Simeon’s words.

She looks straight at the viewer but with her head slightly tilted to the left, evoking a sense of gentle strength and compassion. It may be this expression more than anything else that gives the viewer the impression of Mary’s simplicity and accessibility. But she is marked as otherworldly by her halo and a decorative element that looks like a golden breastplate showing through her imposing robes. The artist has achieved an image of both the tenderness and strength that would have been needed for the mother of Jesus. The contrast is mirrored in the background motif of the flowers and thorns.

The baby Jesus, on the other hand, has almost none of the recognizable markings of divinity.  His halo is cropped by the left edge of the frame and obscured against the red cloth of Mary’s robe. His covering is gauze, not gold. The viewer recognizes the sweet baby as the Christ-child mostly because he is in Mary’s arms. The full expression of who he is waits to be revealed. Until then, he is known by those who “hold” him.

We who worship Jesus as God made flesh are called to the same tenderness and strength of Mary. As in the lyrics to the song “While You Were Sleeping” by Casting Crowns, our awareness makes us see the everyday differently and calls us to act differently. Its bittersweet melody has a driving line. The joy that we feel at Christmas is intrinsically linked to holiness and love, both of which require action and sacrifice. While we can’t always anticipate what that sacrifice will look like, we need to stay connected to the source of our joy and trustingly accept whatever he brings.

God, we thank you for the gift of your Son. We give our hearts fully to you, whatever may come, to care about what you care about. Help us to remain centered in what you have done for us and to participate in what you are doing. May we be known by Jesus’s love, both by those near and far from you, and filled with your power through the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Monica Cure, Torrey Honors Institute