A momma's heart

If you could know the future, would you want to? And if you knew how difficult it was going to be, would you look for an easier way? For all the supernatural events and effects of the Advent, there was also a very earthy element. Jesus would become fully human in order to save humanity, which meant He would arrive as a baby and grow through childhood before He accomplished His intended mission. And that meant He needed a momma.
 
“I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her.  –Luke 1:38 (NIV)
 
YHWH chooses to entrust His most precious gifts to the care and stewardship of people. Go figure. Thus, Paul is able to speak of the relationship between the gospel message and the Christians as “having this treasure in jars of clay”. Mary was neither the first nor the last to be entrusted with something sacred but, safe to say, her assignment was probably more critical than most.
 
Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother: “This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too.”  –Luke 2:34-35 (NIV)
 
God knew what He was doing in the ask. Not to deify Mary, but she had a heart that was both faithful and generous. She believed God and was willing to make untold sacrifices to love her Son and safeguard His mission. The life she and Joseph had planned was completely jettisoned to honor the commitment she made in the presence of the angel Gabriel.
 
But his mother treasured all these things in her heart.  –Luke 2:51b (NIV)
 
Mary’s posture and her follow-through stand in stark contrast to that of Eve, who “saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, so she took some and ate it.” Eve coveted god-likeness and believed the lie that there was a shortcut that would give her control of the process. She sought to take hold of it illegitimately, without the requisite investment and sacrifice.
 
His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.” – John 2:5 (NIV)
 
Mary was, in some ways, the anti-Eve, willing to yield herself fully to the will of God to become the vessel, the caretaker, the protector, the nurturer, the teacher of the Son of God. She was His momma. Imagine that relationship. The intimacy of humanity interacting with the divine, even while living under shadows few could understand: The early suspicions of family and friends. The clandestine movements to preserve the child’s life during those first years. The wonder of who this boy was and was to be. The heartbreak of coming to understand the full implications of that identity. Losing Him, first to the masses, then to the mob.
 
Now there stood by the cross of Jesus his mother….  –John 19:25a (KJV)
 
Mary knew what; she didn’t know how. But she trusted in God. And she trusted His plan as it worked itself out in her life. As she looked back, having played her part in the cosmic dance that is God’s redemption of the world, I reckon she smiled at that naïve young girl who said yes to the LORD. I think that’s the essence of faith, to choose the path of Mary over the path of Eve and be satisfied in that choice.