Significant insignificances

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Scripture references

• Micah 5:2-5
• Hebrews 10:5-10
• Luke 1:39-45

Reflection

We are less than a week away from Christmas.  By now, school is out and anyone who has not yet completed their shopping or baking or decorating will be turning their attention to these details during these final few days so that all can be ready when that day dawns.

Even the young children among us know that Christmas day is about celebrating Jesus' birth, but during the days leading up to Christmas and the days immediately following, the Church asks us to focus on some of the other figures who were central to the life of the child born in Bethlehem.  They too can teach us a thing or two about living lives of faith.

Today, the scriptures take us to the town of Nazareth.  In our time it is a site of many pilgrimages, but then it was a rather insignificant place.  Travellers would most probably have passed right through it without paying much attention, and yet it is here that we find one of the most significant figures in the story of faith (cf Mi 5:2).  Based on outward appearances, Mary would have looked just like any other girl of her time, yet what appears to the visible eye can sometimes be deceiving, for it was her heart, protected from all sin, and so able to love, that was and is the reason for her special significance within the Church today.

There are some experiences in life that have profound effects on those who live them, so much so that they have the effect of changing who we are and the way we look at the world around us.  Often, such experiences are difficult to describe in words.  Can you even imagine what it must have been like for Mary to meet an angel?  Perhaps she tried to tell Elizabeth about it during their visit, but even before they could begin a conversation, Elizabeth knew that there was something different about Mary.

There is great joy in this meeting.  Perhaps they had not seen one another for quite some time, although they were obviously kindred spirits.  What's the lesson we need to learn from this scene that unfolded in the hill country of Galilee?  

Maybe there are some here in this church who have not spoken with friends and family members because of grudges or hard feelings.  Perhaps there differences that have driven us apart from those we love.  Like Mary, some of us may be travelling in the coming days, but is there a different kind of journey that we must make in order to be reconciled with those we love?  These can be very hard realities to face, and difficult conversations to have.  We can often get caught up in the what if's, and hesitate to break the ice because we're worried about how our words will be received.

Look for a moment at the example given to us today.  Notice that the conversation which takes place between Mary and Elizabeth begins with the recognition of blessings and favours (Lk 1:42-43).  Even the most difficult conversations can often be made that much easier if they begin with the acknowledgement of positive attributes.  In the case of these two women, their greetings are also recognitions of God's good work begun and being accomplished in their midst.  More than once, I've witnessed the power that prayer can have in melting away the walls of judgement.  Perhaps you too have witnessed this.

Christmas is a time when it is easy to surround ourselves with those we love the most, but let's pay particular attention this year to those who perhaps we find it most difficult to love: the ones we haven't spoken to, the ones we've been distanced from, the ones who perhaps call us most to be mindful of God's power to work miracles, the ones who challenge us to believe that what the Lord has said to us will be accomplished (cf Lk 1:45).