Today is the Feast of St. Mary. At the end of September, I will join in ministry with the people of St. Mary's by the Sea as their Rector. I began my journey to the priesthood at St. Mary's in Arlington. My heart is full. Or, as Mary said, "My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior."
Mary said "yes" to God's invitation to bear God's very self into the world. Even though it was scary. Even though it was hard. Even though it was heartbreaking.
If you look carefully of this picture of St. Mary's by the Sea, you will see that the stained glass window depicts the annunciation - the moment of invitation when the angel came to Mary and said, "Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you. Do not be afraid." The figures are not in Nazareth, though, but on the shore of Monterey Bay. God enters the world not as an abstraction, but as flesh and blood and in concrete actions in real places. God comes to each of us, inviting us who are made in God's image to bear something of God's own self into the world. Love. Light. Healing. Reconciliation. Peace.
It is not always easy to respond eagerly to God's invitation. It can be scary, and hard, and even heartbreaking. But the invitation is to be part of something bigger than ourselves. It is to be part of God's ongoing work of creation, of bringing all things together in God's heart of love. Once we know that love, it is impossible to resist. When we hear God say to us, "I am with you, you are my beloved," we can respond, as Mary did, "let it be with me according to your word." And when the journey is scary and hard, and when our hearts break, we need to hear again those words of love that strengthen us. The promise that God makes to be with us always. The promise that love wins. That the light shines in the darkness.
If you need those words today, may you hear them and know them to be true. And if someone else needs those words today, may you have strength to speak them boldly. "My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior." God looks at us with favor and seeks to bless us. Say yes.