Unpacking the Crib

 
As I watch Sister Mary Brigeen unpacking the crib it brings back memories of previous Christmases. I am reminded of people I have shared this special season with. But going further back I reflect on the Christmas story and the events which led to this great God Intervention in time. I think of that young woman Mary who said ‘yes’ to an invitation to be the Mother of God while not fully understanding the mystery of the journey God was inviting her to take (Luke 1.26 -38). The statue Sister is unpacking reminds me not of a lifeless statue but of that real person who was Mary, a living flesh and blood woman. She lived in a very oppressive country. When only weeks away from giving birth she had to go on a long journey to fulfil her and Joseph’s civil duties. It would take about a week to travel over that rough terrain. She did not travel by helicopter or in a first class carriage in an express train but probably went on foot. It was all very real and very uncomfortable.

 I am reading a book that has greatly helped me in this reflection to consider Mary’s reality. It is a book by Dr Ruth Patterson. Ruth captures what Mary, the young woman, might have been like. She describes the statue she saw while on pilgrimage in the Holy Land. ’Here is a young girl hair loose, striding forward as if to meet the future and all that it may hold, her face eager and alight, embodying the ‘yes’ that is given after the questions, the wonder and awe, the struggle. She steps ‘into an unknown future, leaving herself open to being impregnated by a love that changes and continues to transform the world.’ In Ruth’s understanding of Mary we see another human person who faced pain, suffering, struggle and mystery.

 Looking again at our crib statue I see how all of this and how Mary can identify with our world. She is there for us and with us. We are not alone.

I conclude this reflection with a poem. I write during the days while the snow is falling and there is a heavy snow fog which makes travelling very difficult or almost impossible. But there are always some guiding lights to help us take the next step on the journey as reflected in the following poem.

Advent 

by Joyce Rupp

 It is time for the pilgrim in me

to travel in the dark,

To learn to read the stars

That shine in my soul.

I will walk deeper

Into the dark of my night.

I will wait for the stars,

Trust their guidance,

And let their light be enough for me.    

https://whatwasithinking.blog/2020