Meditating with Mary

¹⁵ When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go now to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us.” ¹⁶ So they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph and the child lying in the manger. ¹⁷ When they saw this, they made known what had been told them about this child, ¹⁸ and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them, ¹⁹ and Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart. ²⁰ The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, just as it had been told them.

Luke 2:15-20

“Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart.”

We all know the Christmas story. From hearing it read in worship, to seeing it acted out in Christmas pageants and overhearing Linus recount it to Charlie Brown, the story is familiar to all of us – maybe too familiar. When you have heard it so many times, it becomes easy to just skim over the details.

I am guilty of doing just that with this passage. I cannot tell you how many times I have either read it or listened to it read.  Hundreds, probably. And in all of those readings I missed something important; I missed the word “pondered.”

I don’t know if you’ve given much thought to Mary, but the more I think about her, the more I meditate on her life, the more amazing I find her.

Scholars speculate that Mary would have been somewhere around the age of 14 when she married Joseph and gave birth to Jesus.  Do you remember what you were like at 14? I do. I couldn’t be trusted with getting to school on time, much less raising the Savior of the world.

But, that is the responsibility to which Mary was called.  The most amazing thing to me is that she said yes. I’m afraid my response would have been “umm, I’m flattered, thank you, but no.”

But, Mary said yes. And not only yes, but an emphatic yes.

And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.”

Luke 1:38

Why?  Why did Mary say yes? I believe it was because God’s call touched her deepest desire: to do God’s will.

What created this desire in her? I suspect that Mary was a young woman of very deep faith. And, I suspect, it was a contemplative faith.

On the night of Jesus’ birth, the shepherds came to see the new born mother and child. They couldn’t wait to share with them the message of the angels. And then they left – noisily – glorifying and praising God.  I imagine they caused quite a stir in the quiet little town.

But, what was Mary’s response? “She pondered these words in her heart.” She quietly meditated on them. I would wager that this was a common practice for her, and this practice allowed her to take in this astonishing news without being thrown completely off balance.

While none of us have been called to give birth to the Messiah, we do face situations that can disrupt our life; illness, unexpected emergencies – there are just a whole host of things that can shake our life to its core. In those situations, it can be hard to maintain equilibrium. Sometimes, it is even hard to maintain our faith.

This is where Mary comes to our aid. Her response to disruptive news was to sit in quiet prayer and contemplation. She set an example for us.

Perhaps the best way to follow her example is through the practice of Centering Prayer.

Like most spiritual practices, it is ancient.  We can trace it to Jesus who told his followers: “when you pray, go to your inner room, close the door and pray to your Father in secret.” (Matthew 6:6). He was talking to people who did not have inner rooms, much less doors.  He was talking about going inside yourself. He was talking about contemplative prayer. And where do you suppose he learned that? (His mother Mary maybe?)

So, I am going to invite to invite you to give it a try.  It is very simple to explain, but honestly, it takes some practice to quiet your thoughts.

The first step is to choose a sacred word. One or two syllable words are best – such as God, Jesus, Abba, love, peace, etc.

The second step is to sit comfortably with your eyes closed.  Then silently repeat your sacred word. This enables you to clear your mind of other thoughts, so that you can focus on the Divine Presence.

If you get distracted, don’t worry – it is normal.  Just keep returning to your sacred word. The more you practice, the less distractions you will have. It is possible that at some point you won’t even need to repeat the sacred word anymore.

Start by praying for five minutes each day and try to work your way up to 20 minutes.

Mary “treasured” and “pondered” the words that she heard.  God speaks to us in many and various ways.  But, our world is so noisy and we are so busy, it can be challenging to listen. Take Mary as your guide and quiet your heart as we come ever nearer to this miraculous birth. The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.