Submitted into Evidence for Us

~~~ Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary ~~~

~~~ Micah 5:1-4A or Romans 8:28-30 ~~~ Psalm 13 ~~~
~~~Matthew 1:1-16, 18-23 ~~~

Behold, the virgin shall be with child and bear a son,
and they shall name him Emmanuel,
which means “God is with us.”

Mathew begins his Gospel with
the genealogy of both Mary and Joseph.
The prophets proclaimed that the Messiah would
come from the house of David.
The lengthy descendant list is the written
 confirmation of the prophecy message.
Jesus does indeed come from the house of David.
Now we can get on with the important business
 of the salvation of human kind.

Once the lineage is officially recorded
 there will be no doubt...no questions.
Jesus is indeed a descendant from the proper household.

Even today royal families all over the world record
and preserve their descendant line.
The site Ancestry dot com prides themselves in having access
 to the lineage of more people than any other site.
They claim to be the world's largest online family history resource.
Matthew had access to no such resource
he had to rely on the oral history.

Having had some experience in doing such research
for my own family, it can be very frustrating and time consuming.

 ...all things work for good for those who love God,

who are called according to his purpose. 

The fact that Mary and Joseph came from the house of David
did not make their personal situations any less unusual.

Mary became pregnant while she remained a virgin...
She and Joseph had only promised to marry.
The casual observer of their situation would not have given
 them much hope for a good marriage.

That is mostly because we think like short sighted humans.
It is impossible for us to think like God.
We cannot see how all things work for good,
when it comes to ourselves or to others.

For this to be true in your life
you must first love God
secondly we must be called according
 to God's purpose.

If you are acting in defiance or against God's will for your
life then things may not turn out for the good.

Those who go about spreading evil and hatred cannot expect
their actions to turn out for the good.

God does not respond to our spoiled child attitude.
God does not give in to our self centered ways.
God promises that if you are doing good in your life
even those things which do not appear to be good really are good.

Joseph and especially Mary faced a situation that
even today would not be seen as a good. 

Pregnancy out of wedlock
is a challenge for all persons involved.

God chose for Mary to remain a virgin.
God chose for this virgin to bear and give birth to a son...
not just any child, but the messiah.
God chose Joseph to stand with her...to protect her
and yes to love her. I believe that Joseph did love Mary.

God will go to extreme circumstances
 to use his people for his good purpose.

I invite you to question God's purpose
 the next time you
 find yourself in a situation
 that does not seem to be good.

Is this sliver of time to become
 a significant part of something bigger?

Sometimes God does reveal his purpose for situations in our life.
but often he does not.
What are we to do? Trust in him. Wait on him.
Be ready to accept never knowing his purpose.

God wants to make all things good

in your life.
He will give you the grace and blessings
 not to question his decisions for your life.

While Mary and Joseph
 had their doubts they did walk the path God created for them.

You too can walk the path God lays out before you.
Are you willing? Do you trust him enough?
Today's food for thought.
~~~Peace~~~

Mary...Born to Love

~~~ Micah 5: 1--4a or Rom 8: 28-30 ~~~ Psalm 13 ~~~ Matt 1: 1-16, 18-23 ~~~

Today we celebrate the Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

It is rare that the church commemorates a birth, Mary is the exception.

" her soul was the space from which God was able

to gain access into humanity"

(Pope Benedict XVI)

God prepared in advance just the right person

to bring forth the humanity of the Trinity.

He prepared Mary.

She came from humble beginnings.

She was living a normal, simple life.

She was a young girl who grew up in a loving prayerful family.

Her parents had no knowledge of who their beautiful daughter would become.

They taught her to be open to hearing the voice of God.

They modeled for her their love and obedience to God.

They were devout Jews.

They too were waiting in anticipation for the Messiah.

In Paul's letter to the Romans he writes
one of the most valuable verses in scripture...

"...We know that all things work for good for those who love God,
who are called according to his purpose."

Mary exemplifies this each word of this verse.
Because she loves God her whole life was infused with love and goodness.
She was called by God according to his purpose.
She accepted his call even though she had doubts.
God does not say we won't have doubts.
What he does say is trust me I will make all things work for good.

Mary's heart was conditioned to able to freely give her consent
in spite of the many doubts she had.
When Mary trusted God he did not only take care of her doubts
he also took care of the doubts Joseph held in his heart.

She believed that all things were possible for and with God.
It was her cooperation with the grace of God that she found
the strength to be the mother of Jesus.

Her life would have never been described as easy or simple.
She endured tremendous hard ships.
She experienced great sadness in her life.

She was the closest person to Jesus. She bore him in her womb.
What I think is good for us to remember is this...
if Mary had to endure disappointments and sadness in her life;
why we expect anything different?

Sometimes we get confused and think that if
we have this awesome relationship with God we will always be happy.
We tend to think that our love of God will prevent sadness
and serious illness from affecting us.

These thoughts may not be ones we are consciously aware of,
but I believe they are there just below the surface.
Somehow we believe we should be spared these hard life hardships.

Next time you find yourself thinking 'why me'?
Stop and remember Mary did not ask that question
when the angel came to her or
when she held the limp body of her son,
Jesus, at the foot of the cross.

Mary is here for us.
She will intercede for us as any loving mother would.
Join me in celebration of the birth of the Mother of Our Lord,
Jesus Christ.
Mary, mother of God, pray for us.