December 2004
Mary

All who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them. But Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart. --Luke 2:18-19

Serving Contentedly

Surely there was peace beyond all human understanding when this unassuming young woman sat in the stillness of the evening amid dimly burning wicks, cradling the Child, soft and small. The baby's breath must have passed like incense over Mary's ponderings and prayers. Here was an oasis of light, a harbor of tranquility. A Child was born, and humankind need fear no longer. A peace was won. A joy had come. And God was at home with us.

To possess a secret joy and to hold a marvelous mystery in mind and heart is to rise above the grind of daily life. Centering the self on the things that are most precious opens a space of serenity where one can truly be at rest. In that sacred space we can meditate on God's surprises; there we can dare to know the heart of God and feel goodness and grace.

But often God comes not in those serene moments, but wrapped in the swaddling clothes of the struggles and sorrows of this world. Our listening for God is challenged by clatter and clamor. At times like these a leader will be the least anxious person in the room-the one who can offer stillness in the chaos and who can ponder the possibilities that everyone else struggles to comprehend. She is the one to whom others look for wisdom, for she sees things in a way that others do not. She sees the arrival of the Kingdom of God in the weak and the ordinary. She feels warmth in the midst of the cold.

So may we all step into the stillness, cradle a child in hands and heart, let our senses be consumed by its softness and smallness, look deeply into the mystery of its being-and see God.

Prayer: Bring us, O God, to encounters of your goodness and grace. Help us find peace in your presence and joy in your surprises. May contentment and compassion radiate from us for the sake of the world you love. Amen.