From the Sunday Note, with additional thoughts–
The shepherds went in haste to Bethlehem and found Mary and Joseph,
and the infant lying in the manger.
When they saw this,
they made known the message
that had been told them about this child.
All who heard it were amazed
by what had been told them by the shepherds.
And Mary kept all these things,
reflecting on them in her heart.
Then the shepherds returned,
glorifying and praising God
for all they had heard and seen,
just as it had been told to them.
When eight days were completed for his circumcision,
he was named Jesus, the name given him by the angel
before he was conceived in the womb.
Luke 2:16-21 Gospel for the Octave of Christmas/Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God
Those “nobodies” the shepherds receive the Good News and spread the word. Mary keeps all this in her heart, pondering the mysterious ways of God. And what follows? Normal life. A week later the baby is circumcised and named by his father, and they begin decades of pedestrian family living.
Yes, they will vacate to Egypt for a while, much as people in our day flee war zones for a time, then return and settle in an obscure village. Those message-receiving shepherds continue to work in the fields, night after night, living their version of normal life for their times, dying unremarked in the world until Luke’s Gospel is written decades later.
Humdrum life for the most part for everyone involved—but this is how God usually works. In small, half-hidden ways he calls us, invites us, warns us—ways of shaping us and reshaping us into the holy people he knows we need to become. A small challenge here and there—to be more patient with a neighbor, with an aged or ill parent, with a stranger at our door, or with a person waiting for their plane. A call to recognize a truth about ourselves and how lenient we are in our own case—or about a relative or neighbor or co-worker we may have judged too quickly, or too harshly.
God is as patient (and repetitive) as a dad reminding his children to wash up before supper. He’s as tender (and repetitive) as a mother helping her little one zipping up her jacket on the way out to play. He’s as clear (and repetitive) as a coach instructing a ball player on how to position himself at second with a lefty at the plate. Christ-life grows slowly within us. We should expect it to involve many changes in every aspect of our lives.
In all things, all day, all night, God is active all around us and within us in thoughts, reflections, actions. Every hour of every day of humdrum life is when the Spirit makes the Gospel available to bring us a little closer to our loving Creator.
God has a very high idea of what you and I are to become in his sight. Let us do as Mary and reflect on all these things in our hearts.
For further reflection:
Time for an inventory as the new year begins: 1. Where do I seem to encounter Christ most strongly? When I pray? When I read Scripture and ponder it? When I gather for worship with others? When I receive the Eucharist? 2. Can I make any of these things more regular parts of my day or my week? 3. How might I improve the quality of one or more of them?
Choose one or two things to commit yourself to this year. And when (not if!) you fail to follow through consistently, take that as a sign that, like a child learning to walk, you should dust yourself off and try again. And again. And again. Use God’s method on yourself.