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Last Sunday we talked about Mary's story - when the angel Gabriel appeared to the young Mary and told her she would have a child in a miraculous way. (Luke 1:26-38) This child would be Jesus -- the Son of God sent to save the world. When the angel says this, there seems to be an implied pause, because it is only afterwards that Mary agrees to this. Apparently, she had a choice - a real choice.
Kathleen Norris writes about this and the other choices we face in life. She describes them as doors we can choose to walk through . . . or not. She also quotes a poem by Denise Levertov called "Annunciation" which describes these choices in life as roads we may or may not take, or gates we can walk through -- but if we choose not to enter in, "the pathway vanishes." All of this makes it even more amazing that Mary chose to go through with God's plan and give birth to this child. Because of her faith and courage, Jesus was born to save us and all of creation. Here is a part of the poem "Annunciation" by Denise Levertov:
Aren't there annunciations
of one sort or another
in most lives?
Some unwillingly
undertake great destinies,
enact them in sullen pride,
uncomprehending.
More often
those moments
when roads of light and storm
open from darkness in a man or woman,
are turned away from
in dread, in a wave of weakness, in despair
and with relief.
Ordinary lives continue.
God does not smite them.
But the gates close, the pathway vanishes.
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