As I reflect on the tragedy in Newtown yesterday, Mary’s words in Luke 1:26-38 are staying with me.
After receiving a shocking angelic visit and news that she would conceive and bear one who would be called Son of the Most High, her first words are, “How can this be?” She was understandably confused how this miracle could happen since she was still a virgin, but by questioning the angel, she gives us a model of how we can also question, ponder, and express confusion. Her words can be our words today. We should not allow simple (and, I would contend, harmful) explanations that yesterday is somehow part of God’s plan or that this is what happens when we exclude God from the schools be the final word. Instead, we engage with God and ask, How can this be?
But questioning isn’t her final response. She gets to the point where she can say, “Here am I.” She offers herself. We can and should do this, too. At Urban Village, we are teaming up with Community Renewal Society to do things like advocate for Illinois House Bill 5831, which aims to stem gun violence in our state. Or you may feel moved to restore mental-health funding in our state. Between 2009-11, Illinois cut mental health spending by $114 million, the 4th most in our country during those years. Or maybe you want to reach out to a particular person in your life who is lonely or discouraged. We can create a more peaceful world by offering ourselves to God and saying, “Here am I” and listening and watching what the Spirit might do with our lives.
We hope you will join us for worship tomorrow and also note that our Blue Christmas service is tomorrow night at our Andersonville location at 6:30 p.m. We are always available if you need or desire a listening ear. We, too, are asking, how can this be? but we are committed to saying, as well, here we are.