Or, nine calendar months...
Today – 25th March, nine months before Christmas Day – is the Feast of the Annunciation, recalling the event when Mary was told that she had been chosen to be the mother of Jesus. You can read about it in Luke 1:26-56, The Bible.
God is moving into the neighbourhood.
And he chooses to do so through a human being:
How will it happen?
In the midst of the every-day, and the ordinary…
How will it be possible?
Through God’s Spirit, empowering flesh and blood…
How will the Christ-bearer respond?
With fear, and questioning, for sure; but by making themselves available to serve – despite the fear and questions – and by opening themselves to the impossible made possible…
How will the Christ-bearer be responded to?
With misunderstanding, mistrust, misrepresentation, rejection – each growing as the presence of Jesus becomes increasingly visible. But also with favour, extravagant welcome, blessing; and as an inspiration for those who will come after them…
How will the neighbourhood be transformed?
Mercy will be extended to those who have been denied mercy…Justice will be done for those who have been denied justice – and for those who have denied justice to others…Those who think they are something will be shown to be of little consequence; and those who think they are of little consequence will be given prominence and influence within the community…The hungry will have their hunger met; and those who have met their own hunger while others go hungry will be turned away – for those pushed to the margins will be the centre, and those at the centre will be marginalised…Position will be nothing; Celebrity will count for nothing; being one of the Beautiful People will be worth nothing; and the oppression these things exercise over the nation will be broken…But this Turning Society Upside Down will happen one person at a time…
The Feast of the Annunciation does not only commemorate a unique event in the past; it also opens us up to the possibility that Jesus will be made manifest today, in our neighbourhood, through us…
…How will you celebrate the Feast?
The Feast Of The Annunciation
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