Pastor’s Pen | January 2023
“But Mary treasured all these words and
pondered them in her heart.” Luke 2:19
Merry Christmas, people of New Journey!
While many of my neighbors have begun removing Christmas lights from the exterior of their homes and the inflatable Christmas characters are slowly disappearing from lawns, the western church continues to celebrate the joy and the mystery of God come down in the person of Jesus. For Christians in the West, Christmas is not a day, but a season. A season of marveling in the wonder of a God who draws near. A season of treasuring all these words and pondering them in our hearts.
The Greek word “ponder” is defined in many ways, but the first definition listed in my dictionary defines ponder as “to throw together”. The word “ponder” carries a sense that things that don’t seemingly belong together, are being thrown together. This pondering moment for Mary is not a scene of a meek and mild virgin mother. Mary is pondering how divine promise is being thrown together with her body. She is pondering how the good news of God’s favor is being thrown together with a dark field and shepherds keeping their sheep. She is pondering how salvation is being thrown together in this tiny, fragile baby asleep in her arms. These things that don’t seemingly belong together, somehow, come together.
What are you pondering this Christmas season, favored ones? What things have been thrown together that don’t seemingly belong together?
Perhaps you are pondering what it means that our perfect, holy God would choose to enter into a fragile, human body.
Perhaps you are pondering how good news comes from unlikely and even disreputable people.
Perhaps you pondering how to hang onto the joy and mystery of love come down in a world engrossed in violence and greed.
Thanks be to God that Christmas is a season and not a day. Thanks be to God that we have time to ponder the mystery of God enfleshed. Thanks be to God we get to treasure the ways Jesus continues to be born into this world gifting us and the world hope and joy, peace and love.
Merry Christmas!
With love for each of you,
Pastor Beth