Beyond the Yes

The season of Advent begins with Mary and her “yes” to God. Given the emotional and theological sediment that has built up over two thousand years, it’s hard to grasp the magnitude of what was being asked of her. You’re going to bring God into the world, the angel said in whatever way an angel coveys such news.  I have no doubt Mary was stunned, shocked, and scared in ways the Bible account does not come close to capturing, but it does contain the most important fact: Mary said “yes.” Because of her yes, the world has never been the same.

For years, I’ve focused my attention and gratitude on Mary’s courageous yes, but now I see that what followed it was equally, if not more, remarkable. There’s the yes, then there’s life beyond the yes. Mary is to be venerated not only for agreeing to go along with God’s plan, but all she did after. If only we could follow her example.

I happen to believe we are visited by angels often and they always seem to be asking each of us to bring God into the world in some way. It may be through an act of service, the creation of a work of art, the giving of a gift, or some other incarnational act, but the invitations abound. Many of us say yes in our own way, but saying yes is nothing to what follows. The hard part is life beyond the yes.

I’ve always had a thing for yeses. They’re fun and exciting, particularly for people with my personality. All the newness and infinite possibilities fill my soul like nothing else. My struggle always comes after the yes, and, I suspect I’m not unique. Suddenly, we find ourselves as uncomfortable as Mary riding on a donkey, as surprised by our surroundings as Mary giving birth in a stable, and as challenged as she must have been at the foot of the cross. Life on the other side of yes is never easy, never what we expect, but that’s life beyond the yes, I suppose. 

Like God, life beyond the yes surpasses all human understanding, but, if we’re willing to go along and do our part, we might end up bringing God into the world, and that’s something that makes angels sing.

1. Think of a time when you were invited to bring God into the world. Did you say yes, or make an excuse to say no?

2. For those times when you said yes, what was life like beyond the yes?

An Advent Point of View

It felt like he was in a Hollywood production, like the camera of his heart was pulling back from the table where the people he loved most were devouring the meal surrounded by endless banter. He was there at the head of the table, close enough to smell his aging mother’s perfume, but removed enough to watch and listen as if floating above.

Pulling the camera closer, he could see the sadness in his son’s eyes. It had been a long year and he was still thinking of the girl who left him last summer. His daughter and husband look happy, now, but there was a time this year he wondered if they were going to make it. His mother’s shaking hand and loose grasp of memories reminds him that they are all heading into difficult waters.

But, pulling the camera back he sees a collage of his life that is an overflowing stream of blessings. How blessed he is to have his mother at the table at all. Watching his wife reach over and gently touch their son’s hand, as if to awaken him from his trance, he never tires of watching the mystery of a mother’s instinct. From this angle, he can see not only those at the table but his father’s portrait on the wall as if waiting for a seat at the table. 

It is this further angle of life I seek this Advent, the one that sees beyond the details to the theme, the ordinary to the mystical. I want to see beyond someone’s late arrival to hear the joyful greeting. I want to turn off the TV that tears at the fabric of my soul to the music that mends. I want to look not to the gift a person may or may not like but to the abundant love within me that caused me to go beyond my Christmas budget, again. 

It is a camera angle I control. This Advent, may I direct it beyond the here and now, to the there and not yet. May I use the camera to see and hear what truly matters.

If music helps you change your camera angle, check out my mix “A Meditative Christmas” on Spotify. Recommended with coffee (or wine).

Gathering Together

Although there is no substitution for the original, I still wanted to play my way into this beloved hymn.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4G21kGfuYjQ

We gather together to ask the Lord's blessing

He chases, embraces, His arms to make known

When we are despairing, God lifts us to repairing

Sing praises to His Name, He forgets not His own.

Beside us to guide us, our God with us joining

Sustaining, maintaining, for you we do pine 

So, from the beginning, forgive us all our sinning 

Thou, Lord, sit at our side, all glory be Thine!

We sit at the table, and bid that you join us,

Our hands intertwined, and our hearts opened wide

Remove tribulations, your peace our true libation 

Your name be ever praised! O Lord, please abide!