Mothers have a very special role. The connection that exists between mother and child is deeply profound. It is the way God has designed the order of things. Of course, there are exceptions to this — there are damaged women who lack the natural bond—but I think most women have the innate ability to observe and ponder the nuances of their child’s developing personality.
This isn’t to say that fathers don’t experience these deep bonds but I think their observations tend to focus on different things. Mothers tend to be nurturers, comforters, the ones who soften the various aches of life. As a result, their emotional intimacy has its own framework.
Reading in the Gospel of Luke this morning, there was something that really struck me. In several passages Luke points out certain key moments in Jesus’ life that were profound and divine moments. His mother Mary, when observing these moments, “kept all these things and pondered them in her heart“ (Luke 2:19,51). I couldn’t help but notice how these moments seemed like “reminders“ for her—divine intrusions, if you will. She was told before her pregnancy that she was to bear the son of God, the coming Messiah, yet every day life was just that —normal and routine. He was a kid growing up in a family. He was fully human. And then there were these moments, these divine intrusions reminding her that he was the Son of God. It’s hard to comprehend being in that singular, unique role of such great import. The responsibility, the privilege, the seminal weight of it all. Yet, she was an ordinary woman in the every day ordinary world.
The question that comes to mind for me is, as a believer in whom the Holy Spirit dwells, what weight and privilege do I bear in my every day ordinary life? As I go about my daily routine, is the life of the Son of God noticeably evident? Far too often, I need these divine intrusions to remind me who he is, that this life is not just about me and the mundane temporal moments of my days. There is a far greater picture here. Beyond what the eye can see, there is a world that bears the weight of eternal glory. The reality is rather that these every day ordinary moments are the intrusions that interfere with our intended purpose here. And yet the beauty of this mystery is how God chooses to use the every day ordinary moments to bring his life-changing power into individual lives.
Mary and Joseph were common people in a common city. And yet they were chosen to raise the Son of God, the Savior of the world. His message was and is, “Come, all you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.” (Matt. 11:28)
“I tell you the truth, unless you are born again you cannot see the kingdom of God…I assure you, no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the spirit. Humans could reproduce only human life, but the Holy Spirit gives birth to spiritual life.“ (Matt. 11:5-6)
It’s an open invitation, an out-reaching Hand from the timeless eternal unseen world into the every day world which we see.
Have you ever experienced a divine intrusion from God? Have you pondered it in your heart? Are you watching to see the glory of God displayed in the everyday? If your answer is yes —be prepared for joy!