When Mary hears the message that she has been chosen by God to be the mother of Jesus, Luke tells us she was “troubled.”
When King Herod hears from the three magi that Jesus has been born, Matthew tells us he was “troubled.”
The news that Jesus is coming disrupts both of their lives and their plans and their conceptions of themselves and their expectations.
Herod responds with denial and violence and sends his soldiers to kill the baby boys in Bethlehem.
Mary responds with surrender and acceptance and receptivity.
The news of God’s love entering our world disrupts our expectations. It challenges us. It proclaims our belovedness apart from our achievements or worth. It exposes injustice. It invites us to healing and freedom. It threatens us with radical acceptance and grace. God’s love is a holy disruption that might trouble us deeply.
How will we respond?
More with Amy Julia:
Season of Waiting and Impossibility
S7 E7 | How Advent Resists the Culture Wars with Tish Harrison Warren
Advent Devotional
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