Advent
Meditation
December
12th
20.
Ponder This
Luke
2:16-19 So
they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying
in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning
what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were
amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all
these things and pondered them in her heart
It's
nice when stories end happily isn't it. Here are the shepherds who have
an angelic experience out in the fields, and who have come running down
to Bethlehem,
found the Inn
with its stable and there, just as predicted by the angel, they find
the baby. Story over. Not quite. It may be for the shepherds but it's
only the start for others.
The
shepherds make their way back to their sheep after telling everyone
they could find, what had happened. The word went out that something
amazing had happened that night. The only signs left were a baby in
a stable and a bunch of happy shepherds. Oh yes, and the memory of the
night in Mary and Joseph's minds. The account says that Mary treasured
up all these things and pondered them in her heart. We mustn't
forget that.
On
the earth at that moment there were various groups of people. First
there was the vast majority of the planet who had no idea that anything
had happened. Then there were residents that night in Bethlehem
who had heard the shepherds' accounts and
so knew something had occurred. Then there were the shepherds
who KNEW something special had occurred. Finally there were
Mary and Joseph and they know something special IS occurring. They are
in the midst of it. Mary has just had a baby after an angelic visitation
and she knows there was no human father. Joseph has had a less tangible
angelic visitation which has left him sure that something strange is
going on and he's called to be a part of it, even if it seems he's on
the edge of it, so to speak. Their minds must have been full of what
was going on. For them this is just the start.
What
goes on in people's minds is important. It's what governs our behaviour,
how we act in the next few seconds or minutes. Much of it is based upon
what has happened in the past and our understanding of it. Ah yes, that's
the difficult bit, our understanding of it. Mary and Joseph know certain
things definitely happened and, in Joseph's case he thinks certain things
happened (in the dream). The end result, up to this moment, is that
they now have a baby – and shepherds have just come and reiterated things
they had both been told about this baby. The shepherds have acted as
agents of confirmation, reassuring Mary and Joseph that what they had
been told was true. (Check that out again by looking up Mt 1:21 and
Lk 1:31-33, now added to by the shepherds' information – Lk 2:11). It
wasn't much but it was sufficient. The baby was to be called Jesus –
which means deliverer – because he will save people from their sins,
he will be the long-awaited Messiah, that the Jewish people had been
waiting for throughout the centuries.
Joseph
just seems to accept all this (typical male response – “Right fine!”)
for there's no mention of his response, but Mary (typical mother) held
onto all this and mulled it over and over. Isn't that just how women
work: she keeps on looking back on what has happened and keeps on chewing
it over; her mind is full of it. Many of us are like Joseph (or least
like the way I've pictured him) and when we hear the story say, “Yes,
fine. OK.” and that's it. If only more of us would copy Mary and chew
it over we would realise far more the wonder of what was going on there.
These events are incredible! They are God appearing on earth, and we
say, “Yes, right.”!!!! They deserve more! Ponder these things!
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