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Today's Scripture
18 This is how Jesus the Messiah was born. His mother, Mary, was engaged to be married to Joseph. But before the marriage took place, while she was still a virgin, she became pregnant through the power of the Holy Spirit. 19 Joseph, her fiancé, was a good man and did not want to disgrace her publicly, so he decided to break the engagement quietly.
20 As he considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. “Joseph, son of David,” the angel said, “do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. For the child within her was conceived by the Holy Spirit. 21 And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”
22 All of this occurred to fulfill the Lord’s message through his prophet:
23 “Look! The virgin will conceive a child!
She will give birth to a son,
and they will call him Immanuel,
which means ‘God is with us.’”
24 When Joseph woke up, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded and took Mary as his wife. 25 But he did not have sexual relations with her until her son was born. And Joseph named him Jesus.
*Matthew 1.18-25 (NLT)
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A dear friend of many years, and a clergy friend, wrote to me during a dark time in my life. Her words could have been written to you, likely, many times in your life:
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So very sad. These dark nights seem so long. And hope takes on a different light - not at all what we 'hoped' for. You are in my prayers, ...
Those words "hope takes on a different light - not at all what we 'hoped' for" spoke to me. I had never heard such a way of presenting what appeared to me a hopeful paradox. Hope still, but not anything like I had hoped for - "You mean the loss of what we hoped for, and maybe God hoped for us, too, can be lost; but the loss can be not a loss of hope, but hope in a new light? Can be a reforming of the same dream into a new dream, even better dream?" Yes, still hope, hope in a new light, a dream, even better dream - a light better than the best of the best old light, a dream more splendorous than the most splendorous splendor you anticipated in the first dream. Nightmares are sometimes only a brief interlude to an epiphany you never dared your eyes could see,or would see - "No, not in this life, not my life. Too good to be true, at least for me." Hum... Yea?
Can losses happen like that? Can hope be that way. Yes, by Grace, they can. What is dead can be dressed in Buried, only for you to turn away and find the same dressed in a different suit: Cloud Nine and Rising. What is in a coma can get off the bed and dance, singing, “I'm alive! I'm alive! I'm alive!” What is on life support can suddenly, and to your surprise, and that of everyone else, let out a big exhale with eyes wide open and a smile that can take in the Mississippi.
Let us take one example, and it is a pattern that could fit many others. So, here we go...
Continued... |
