The Jesse Tree: Mary – How a Strong Woman Reshapes Faithfulness
Advent 2021 – The Jesse Tree
This is a series of reflections on daily readings designed for families during the season of Advent.
Author, thought leader, and minister Cole Arthur Riley, recently tweeted about Advent, “I take so much delight in the silence of the men in the Christmas story. Zechariah can't speak. Joseph doesn't speak. While the words and emotions of Mary and Elizabeth are unapologetically centered. The sound of Advent is the voice of women.”
Her words, not unlike Mary’s in Luke 1:46-55, were provocative, calling for a radical re-orientation, invoking God’s initiative in, “casting down the mighty… and lifting up the lowly.”
To be honest, Cole Arthur Riley’s words stung. As an author recently committed to share a series of Advent devotions, I had to wrestle afresh with my social location and the impact it has on what I write. As someone who longs for connection and value and fears rejection, it’s tempting to recoil, to feel categorically dismissed, and to stew in self-pity.
Perhaps, that’s why I need to pay attention to Mary.
Day Twenty-two – Mary
Even though a Protestant, I have a deep affection for Mary the mother of Jesus. She is a model of the church and an example of courage, contemplation, and faith. Here is a woman who can sing a revolutionary hymn while scandalously pregnant. Here is a woman who’s costly, “yes” to the call of God changes history. Here is a woman with iron in her bones, who leveraged her strong will to point others to Jesus.
The implications of Mary’s decisions are far more radical than can be captured in a tweet. In a church anxious about sex and sexuality, Mary enters into the vulnerabilities of feminine sexuality, in the midst of a patriarchal culture, and transforms them. Consider for a moment how radical it is to have a woman exposed to sexual scandal at the absolute center of the Christian story. (This ought to mean that the one place a woman exposed to sexual scandal should feel the most welcome, cared for, seen and supported is the church.).
Another aspect to contemplate in Mary is her incredible freedom. She responds with an unreserved and wholehearted, "yes" to God's call despite the risks and vulnerabilities. In the heroes of faith lineup this is way more unique than you'd think. Abraham gets impatient, Moses begs God to send someone else, Jacob bargains and wrestles, Saul presumes, David acts rashly, Isaiah is undone by a vision. Mary is different. She receives the strange and wonderful news and goes all in. How is she able to do what prophets, patriarchs, and kings do not?
Cole Arthur Riley’s provocative words are a gift, pointing us to contemplate and learn from women. I need this invitation. It stirs longing for the kind of freedom I need to fully and freely partner with God in pointing others to Jesus and his radical way.
How does contemplating Mary inspire you?