Okehampton Mothers Union Christmas Message, 14th December 2011;
Bratton Clovelly, 18th December 2011
How did Mary feel when the angel told her that she was pregnant?
It’s a good question to pose at Christmastime when we recall the very human stories through which God revealed his character to the world. It’s a particularly good question to pose to a meeting of the Mothers Union, because I think it’s safe to assume that a large proportion of those of you present have had moments just like Mary’s moment: moment when you were told that you were pregnant. And for those of us who haven’t had that experience, it’s still a fascinating question on which to reflect, for what it might reveal to us about how God meets with people, today as in the time of Mary.
How did Mary feel when the angel told her that she was pregnant?
I spent some time mulling this question over some years ago when I first had this gospel passage from Luke to reflect on. Clearly I needed the help and insight of those who had first-hand experience of being told they were pregnant. So I met with a group of young mothers who shared their stories, and the stories of other people who they knew, and reflected on the connections they could make between those stories and the story of Mary.
One thing that quickly became clear to us was that it isn’t always immediately received as good news, being told that you’re going to have a baby. It’s not just the goings-on in TV soap operas which demonstrate this; it’s the ordinary fears of everyday people, which Mary must have shared and probably some of them were magnified many times over in her experience.
The group of young mothers who met with me helped me to put together a short, simple dialogue, to help us to consider the question, How did Mary feel when the angel told her that she was pregnant? In the light of their experiences. I’d like to share it with you now, for your own reflection and contemplation. It is in two parts. So I invite you now to listen, carefully, prayerfully, to part one.
When he told me I was pregnant - Part One
[A]: When he told me I was pregnant I couldn't believe it at first. It was the best thing that could ever happen to me.
[B]: When he told me I was pregnant I sort of went numb. I couldn't believe it. I didn't want to believe it. It was just a terrible shock.
[C]: When he told me I was pregnant it was like my world lit up. I couldn't believe it. What wonderful news.
[A]: After the shock wore off I was just so happy. I was really excited.
[B]: It took a long, long time for the shock to wear off.
[C]: After the shock wore off I was full of joy. Hard to describe it really, just a real deep-down feeling of satisfaction, contentment.
[A]: And then I got a bit frightened.
[B]: And then I got so terribly frightened.
[C]: And then I felt really scared.
[A]: It was like - what if something goes wrong?
[B]: It was like - they'll kill me when they find out. I'm in deep, deep trouble now.
[C]: It was like - just how much our lives are going to change now the baby's coming.
[A]: I was sure it was real because I had a real strong feeling inside that it was.
[B]: I knew it was true because the tests were positive, and then the doctor confirmed it.
[C]: I knew it was true because - well, the angel, the angel, the angel told me.
Unbelief, shock, numbness; joy, satisfaction, contentment. Fear, anxiety, anticipation of change. We can be fairly sure that the young Mary, in the presence of the angel Gabriel, experienced each of these emotions, probably in rapid succession or all mixed-up together.
But a feeling of certainty too; certainty based for Mary, on the word of an angel. Mary was a young woman but a great believer. When an angel appeared to her, Mary had no doubt what was happening; when the angel told her she was going to conceive in her womb the son of the most high God Mary hesitated, but soon believed and accepted that too. Mary, like any woman who has ever been told she is pregnant, in that moment of receiving the news, had to deal with simultaneous feelings of belief and unbelief, come to a point of acceptance; and today women in that situation can draw strength and inspiration from Mary.
And then there was the question of what she would do with the news she had been given. Easier for those whose partners are the father, than for others with more complicated stories to tell, and especially Joseph’s intended, the virgin mother of God........
When he told me I was pregnant - Part Two
[A]: I had to tell him - I couldn't wait to tell him.
[B]: I couldn't tell him. I was too shocked, too scared to tell him.
[C]: I had to tell him. But would he believe my story?
[A]: I wanted to keep it secret, so I could feel in control of things.
[B]: I wanted to keep it secret. I think I thought that if I kept it secret, it might never happen.
[C]: I couldn't keep it secret. My heart would have burst if I had.
[A]: But when it came to the time to tell the news, I went speechless. I was so full of feelings, words failed me.
[B]: When it came to the time to tell the news, I crumbled.
[C]: When it came to the time to tell the news, the words just spilled out, the spirit just took off from deep inside me.
[A]: I wanted to celebrate.
[B]: I wanted to curl up and die.
[C]: I wanted to sing praises like never before.
[A]: I was full of my hopes.
[B]: I was full of my fears.
[C]: I was full of my God.
Now we know what Mary did with the news she was given. She found the Spirit helping her to share it - with Joseph, with Elizabeth, with their community - knowing that their initial reactions would be shock, unbelief, even maybe anger. But trusting God to do the work in them, to help them accept the news and play a part in the glorious gestation of God which followed.
The question for us is: what do we do with with the news we are given by God at Christmas? We are ordinary believers. But then - so was Mary. The truly great thing about the Christmas gospels is that they tell a story of ordinary people, and how their lives were touched by God, in the birth of his son Jesus. We Christians believe that these gospel records show us where to find God in our own stories; these scriptures can throw light into the hidden corners of our everyday lives.
Mary, the girl that God made pregnant, gives us some of the best insights of all. And her story connects with the stories of each and every woman who today, is told she is pregnant. The ones who with their partners have been trying for years unsuccessfully for a child, and today will hear that at last their hopes have been fulfilled. The ones who are happy to be becoming parents but whose own health causes them and their carers concern about how they will cope. The ones whose pregnancy is unexpected and might be unwelcome. The poor ones who know that they will struggle to bring up a family, hoping for help to ease their situation.
Today hold each and every one of them in our prayers, and hope that whatever their circumstances, they might embrace and make their own, the prayer which Mary prayed from her heart:
And Mary said,
‘My soul magnifies the Lord,
and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour,
for he has looked with favour on the lowliness of his servant.
Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed;
for the Mighty One has done great things for me,
and holy is his name.
His mercy is for those who fear him
from generation to generation.
He has shown strength with his arm;
he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts.
He has brought down the powerful from their thrones,
and lifted up the lowly;
he has filled the hungry with good things,
and sent the rich away empty.
He has helped his servant Israel,
in remembrance of his mercy,
according to the promise he made to our ancestors,
to Abraham and to his descendants for ever.’ [Luke 1.46-55]
Now I conclude with a suggestion which might surprise you and maybe excite you or unsettle you, in the same sort of way that Mary was surprised and unsettled. Here today, I propose, I am in the role of the angel Gabriel - the messenger, bringing God’s news - and you are Mary, receiving it. The news is this, if you will believe it: that you are pregnant with God.
For the experience of Mary is the experience of all believers - when we open ourselves to God, receive God in our lives, then the Holy Spirit comes to us, and the power of the Most High overshadows us, and we find ourselves carrying the life of God in our lives, holding the heart of God in our hearts.
The message of Christmas is this: if you are a believer then into those areas of your life where there has been barrenness, God brings new life. His Holy Spirit is here with us, making things new in our hearts, souls, bodies, spirits.
And the message of Christmas is this: if you are a believer then God trusts you to nurture his life and bring it to birth in the world. How can our neighbours know about Jesus today? Only by us telling them his story. How can the world see the power of God at work today? Only by believers living lives which show God’s love to the people around, especially those most in need.
So, what do we do with with the news we are given by God at Christmas? First of all let us accept it warmly, keenly, openly. And then let us celebrate and give thanks. Let us cast our fears and concerns onto him and share that good news with others, by telling the story of how our God has come to us and woven his story together with ours. We are people of the Spirit. We are pregnant with the possibilities of God.
Note
When he told me I was pregnant is a modified form of a piece written with a group of women at Ridley Hall, 2000, for a Cafe Emmaus Service. Used here to provoke discussion about Mary, our 'pregnant' selves and the Marys of today. See also my talk from December 2005, here.
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