I'm Pregnant

This Sunday we’ll hear the famous story of the Angel Gabriel appearing to the Virgin Mary, telling her that she will bear God’s Son, Jesus. There are SO MANY interesting elements to the story, any number of which convey some of the meaning of Christmas. One of the biggest ones that I want to focus on has to do with Mary saying “Yes” to the Angel’s Word, saying “Yes” to God’s will. Sometimes I wonder if she was the first one the Angel went to! How many other virgins did Gabriel go to before one of them said, “Yes”? 100? 1,000? In medieval tradition Mary gets pregnant through her ears; I remember seeing a painting years ago that depicted her with a lily sprouting out of her ear. The lily symbolizing the promise of life and salvation through Jesus’ resurrection.

Pregnant through her ears?! Well, yes! The Word came to her and it literally “grew within her.” She bore in her body God’s Word—the Word become flesh (God’s Word becoming flesh in Jesus was the topic of my sermon last week). So, how are you “pregnant with God’s word”? St. Paul said, “Faith comes through hearing” (Romans 10:17), specifically God’s promises of forgiveness, life, mercy, and salvation through Christ’s death and resurrection. Faith is simply taking hold of those promises—trusting them. And we carry those words within us and they “bear fruit,” or in other words, “come to birth” within us. And like most pregnancies, it shows. We might feel funny in our bellies (where the ancients believed emotions like compassion came out of), we might have new cravings, new desires. The world looks different when you’re pregnant and are going to give birth—and not just with joy but also some fear. So… how does “being pregnant” with the Word feel? How is your faith “kicking” and wanting to come to birth? God comes (Advent!) when we incarnate God’s presence through our faith.

Peace, Pr. Christian