Today’s Advent Reflection is from Mary Impey
‘Can a woman forget her nursing-child, or show no compassion for the child of her womb?’
Isaiah 49:8-23
8 Thus says the Lord: In a time of favour I have answered you,
on a day of salvation I have helped you; I have kept you and given you
as a covenant to the people, to establish the land, to apportion the desolate heritages;
9 saying to the prisoners, ‘Come out’, to those who are in darkness, ‘Show yourselves.’
They shall feed along the ways, on all the bare heights shall be their pasture;
10 they shall not hunger or thirst, neither scorching wind nor sun shall strike them down,
for he who has pity on them will lead them, and by springs of water will guide them.
11 And I will turn all my mountains into a road, and my highways shall be raised up.
12 Lo, these shall come from far away, and lo, these from the north and from the west,
and these from the land of Syene.
13 Sing for joy, O heavens, and exult, O earth; break forth, O mountains, into singing!
For the Lord has comforted his people, and will have compassion on his suffering ones.
14 But Zion said, ‘The Lord has forsaken me, my Lord has forgotten me.’
15 Can a woman forget her nursing-child, or show no compassion for the child of her womb?
Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you.
16 See, I have inscribed you on the palms of my hands; your walls are continually before me.
17 Your builders outdo your destroyers, and those who laid you waste go away from you.
18 Lift up your eyes all around and see; they all gather, they come to you.
As I live, says the Lord, you shall put all of them on like an ornament,
and like a bride you shall bind them on.
19 Surely your waste and your desolate places and your devastated land—
surely now you will be too crowded for your inhabitants,
and those who swallowed you up will be far away.
20 The children born in the time of your bereavement will yet say in your hearing:
‘The place is too crowded for me; make room for me to settle.’
21 Then you will say in your heart, ‘Who has borne me these?
I was bereaved and barren, exiled and put away— so who has reared these?
I was left all alone— where then have these come from?’
22 Thus says the Lord God: I will soon lift up my hand to the nations,
and raise my signal to the peoples; and they shall bring your sons in their bosom,
and your daughters shall be carried on their shoulders.
23 Kings shall be your foster-fathers, and their queens your nursing-mothers.
With their faces to the ground they shall bow down to you,
and lick the dust of your feet.
Then you will know that I am the Lord; those who wait for me shall not be put to shame.
Reflection
I have always loved to read and honestly cannot remember quite when I made the transition from learning my alphabet to actually putting words together and then finally constructing sentences. Books were not quite so available to most children as they are today. However, it was wonderful when I was old enough to have a Library ticket but at the time you were only allowed one book and it could only be changed once a fortnight ! I have always encouraged my children and grandchildren to read as it opens a new world, whether the book is fiction to indulge and dream in, or facts about new subjects or places to absorb or inspire them to visit.
Can I share with you two books concerning two girls with the name of Mary? The first is “The Secret Garden” which was one that was read to us by our Junior School teacher for the last half hour of Friday afternoons before the bell was rung for “home-time.” Originally intended as a book for children, it has sold in millions, and I am sure has been re-read by many adults. It concerns Mary Lennox, sadly an orphan who was born and brought up in India until her parents die when she is brought to England to live with an Uncle and his son who is called Colin. Mary is overwhelmed initially by the large bleak house set on the Yorkshire Moors and is very unhappy and very lonely. Colin is an invalid, seldom leaves his bed room and is very spoilt. Mary’s Uncle is a desperately sad man who travels a great deal - his wife died when Colin was born and he feels his father blames him for her death.
Mary spends a great deal of time in the grounds of the estate, and rummaging through overgrown bushes and shrubs finds a way into a walled garden. Mary keeps this a secret but finds great joy in beginning to clear away and tidy parts of the garden. She has help eventually in the garden from Ben the old gardener, and Dickon, a young local boy whose sister helps in the big house. Mary finds great happiness in bringing new life to the secret garden and wants to share this with her cousin, Colin. How can this be achieved? ............. Well, that is something you could find out by reading “The Secret Garden.” It has a surprising ending!
Let me introduce you to my second Mary who is only a little older than Mary Lennox. This second Mary would have been about fourteen or fifteen years old at the beginning of this amazing story, which can be found in the New Testament of the Bible, in Luke Chapter 1 starting at verse 26.
It tells us that this Mary is engaged to be married to a man called Joseph who was a descendant of King David. One day Mary is startled to find an angel in her room and wonders what he wants. The angel tells her “Peace be with you! The Lord is with you and has greatly blessed you!” She is completely flummoxed by this and very worried wondering what on earth the angel means. The angel then tries to assure her that she has no need to be afraid and that God has chosen her to give birth to a son who will be called Jesus. The angel amazes Mary by adding that her son will achieve great things and will be called the Son of the Most High God. He will be a king like his ancestor David was, and will be the king of the descendants of Jacob for ever .... his kingdom will never end.
Can we try and imagine how Mary is feeling by this news and she says to the angel “I am a virgin so this can’t be possible.” She is probably already wondering how she will tell such news to Joseph. The angel tells her that the Holy Spirit will be with her and God’s power will protect her. She also learns that her relative, Elizabeth, is already pregnant despite the fact that she has been barren during her married life. Mary then tells the angel that as a servant of God, she accepts this amazing news. She visits Elizabeth who tells her how blessed she is to be chosen to be the mother of Jesus and Elizabeth is humbled by her visit. It is at this point we read Mary’s Song of Praise, which we know as The Magnificat, and you can sense her wonder and joy as she absorbs what is to happen. Hopefully we will all experience this sense of wonder as we journey through Advent.