Luke 2:1-7: God’s Yardstick – Anne
A Quiet Knowing
Monday, January 2, 2023
In these opening days of a new year, we look for ways to better see God’s yardstick in our lives, and for ways to leave the world’s yardstick behind.
Are we content to live in obscurity? Can we allow the world to both affirm and vilify the outcome of our lives? Can we patiently, carefully and kindly live out our days in such a way that we bring Christ’s peace into a physical, tangible force? Can we imagine the home that nurtured the woman who would bring light and life to the world? Are we willing to live in and reflect that world of truth and transformation?
There are no official scriptural references to the woman who bore and raised the mother of God. We rely on tradition and common sense to fill in the gaps and blanks in this part of the Nativity story, but it is not difficult to imagine the shame, fear and doubt that Mary’s news would have brought to her family and into her home. Yet, the well-loved story implies more than it tells us overtly. As we read these verses we consider this question: Where else but in a faith-filled, hopeful and loving home might a pregnant, unwed young woman in the first century C.E. find the courage to become the first apostle of Christ? Today we consider Anne’s yardstick that allowed her daughter’s amazing story to unfold, burgeon, and bring light into the darkness. Today we consider how we might pick up this measuring stick to see how well we nurture those around us in a world that asks for transformation.
To learn something about the tradition of Anne, Joachim and Mary, click on the image above or visit: https://slmedia.org/blog/the-feast-of-st-joachim-and-st-anne
Also visit the Encyclopedia Britannica at: http://www.britannica.com/biography/Saint
Use this scripture link to explore the Nativity Story and to imagine the home of Mary in Nazareth.
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