Pondering in Our Hearts

A Reflection for Christmas Day                                 All Saints Church, Southern Shores, NC December 25, 2015                                                            Thomas E Wilson, Rector

Isaiah 52:7-10                         Luke 2:8-20

Pondering in Our Hearts

Isaiah sings “How beautiful on the Mountains are the feet of the messenger bringing Good News!  There is a painting by 17th Century Michelangelo Caravaggio Death of the Virgin that was meant for an Chapel in Rome and is now in the Louvre in Paris; it was rejected by the clergy of the chapel because the Virgin's feet were depicted as swollen and dirty. Chaucer in The Canterbury Tales has the Wife of Bath’s Tale where one of the themes is that Beauty is as beauty does. I am always embarrassed by my feet when we do a foot washing on Maundy Thursdays; I don’t have beautiful feet and I bet you the shepherds hearing the angels didn’t either but what we do with our feet is beautiful. 

From Luke’s Gospel passage for today; “The Shepherds said to one another, ‘Let us go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place which the Lord has made know to us.’  . . .  Mary treasured all these words in her heart and pondered them.”

The shepherds pondered in their hearts what they had seen and heard and then, placing one non-beautiful foot in front of another, they made a pilgrimage to see what God had done. When they arrived they told Mary all that they had seen and heard, and Mary listened and took all the words into her very self. Did you ever wonder what Joseph pondered in his heart?

This story is the archetype of how the early church connected with each other; people had spiritual experiences and shared them with each other.. It is a four part process of ponderings of the heart;

(            1)    Be open to experience God’s presence

(            2)    Move out of comfort zone

(            3)    Share that experience

(           4 )    Listen and reflect in order to live into a changed life..

That four part process we have seen in the Advent lessons leading up to this visit of the shepherds It begins with the story of the vision given to Zechariah. He is a Priest in the Temple and is used to doing all sorts of religious work but he can’t be open to an experience of talking with an Angel. He can talk to God but he does not feel open enough to hear God’s messages outside of the tradition. Therefore, he does not share the Good News he has received. He ponders them in his heart and only when the birth of John becomes fully evident does he have the courage to go outside his comfort zone and sing the Song of Zechariah and raises his son John the Baptizer in a different way to prepare him to be open to experience God’s presence in the Wilderness 

The Story of Mary’s visit from the Angel Gabriel is a bit different from the Zechariah’s encounter with Gabriel because Mary is open and says “Here I am, the servant of the Lord, let it be to me according to your word.” Mary then moves out of her comfort zone to visit her cousin Elizabeth, the wife of Zechariah. There the two women share their experiences and they become the church; people sharing spiritual experiences. Notice there is no checking out of theology; only two or more coming together to share their experience. They are called to listen to each other and begin leading a new life.

In the Hebrew Testament lesson from Isaiah, the Prophet is singing a song starting with the ponderings of his heart about the time when the exiles in Babylonia have just received the good news that they will be free to return to Jerusalem after decades of waiting to return. He sings that they will follow that four part process; to be open enough to hear the good news, move out of the old way of being, sharing it with others and to reflect on how life is to change for them.

I would suggest that today is a day of Good News; Are we open to hear it? This last week I have heard a lot of both Good and bad news and that is the way of life and I take them into my heart and ponder them and I keep making a decision that I will search for something over which to give thanks. I’m lucky in that today is Christmas and all I have to do is look at faces of people and I see their Good News.

 Thank you for coming here, coming out of your comfort zone, putting one beautiful or non-beautiful foot in front of another, to share your Good News, pondering them in your heart and announcing that all Our God Reigns.

Joseph’s Ponderings

“Unlovely your feet, but love you anyway”,

she says in half laugh. But I will take one

half laugh rather than no laugh as I may

for when all of the love words are done

and said it is “Beauty is as beauty does.”

The feet walk on pilgrimage proclaiming

that peace that passes understanding twas

found in moments when love is claiming

all of me, not just one or two parts but all

of the depth to march through all nights

of dark and days of light. These poor feet

will walk one step at time until last rites

are said, treading not again on earth street

with you but holding you in a soul’s heart

which never ending Divine’s work of art.