ZEC 2:14-17
RV 11:19A; 12:1-6A, 10AB
JUDITH 13:18BCDE, 19
LK 1:26-38
I am a pessimist.
I’m not proud of it.
I don’t condone it. But I just am a pessimist. It’s how my brain works.
And it’s why I’m good at my job. When an optimist comes to me with a brilliant
plan to revolutionize campus, I am the down-to-Earth voice of reason that
reminds them of the time, the talent and the treasure it will cost to bring
their vision to life.
·
Brilliant optimist with a PhD: “I want to launch
a research consortium comprised of an interdisciplinary team of grant-funded
advocates to end child hunger through increased access to healthy foods.”
·
Me (less educated pessimist): “There’s only 10
minutes left in this meeting. You’ll
need to schedule a 90-minute meeting with the appropriate university
decision-makers and community advocates who demonstrate buy-in, and provide a
full grant proposal, budget, timeline and FTE requirements.”
·
Brilliant optimist: …K…. “OK, sure.”
I get things done.
But I feel like the best thinkers of our species are
optimists. The ones who see the
possibilities. The dreamers. The artists.
The people who cannot help but CREATE
something, despite the obstacles and constraints.
Today’s reading – and I’m talking about Luke 1:26-38 here
[http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/121218.cfm] – is about Mary, who was
perhaps the most amazing optimist the planet has ever seen. The Angel Gabriel approached her with a nutty
idea, and it went something like this…. (I’m paraphrasing, ok?)
·
Gabriel: “Hey, you’re a small-town girl from
Galilee, and I get that I’m an immortal, ethereal being, but I thought I’d come
ask you to parent the Savior of the World.
Does that work for you?”
·
Mary: “Wait, what?”
·
Gabriel [very slowly]: “Would… you... like… to
be the mother… of the Christ child?”
·
Mary: “What’s a Christ child? And what was your
name again?”
·
Gabriel [slowly again]: “OK, so it’s Gabriel the Archangel. I’m God’s
messenger, I guess. We are trying to
give birth to the Son of Man, which the world needs right now, and we need human
mom involved. So are you in?”
·
Mary: “Uh, you know that I’m 14, right?”
·
Gabriel: “Yeah.
We know that. We know pretty much
everything.”
·
Mary: “And you know that I’m a Virgin, with a
capital “V,” and that I’m totally scheduled to get married to this guy name
Joseph, right?”
·
Gabriel: “Yup, we know all that.”
·
Mary: “And you know that tradition will call for
the people to stone me to death if I’m somehow pregnant before I get married?”
·
Gabriel: “Yeah.
We got some people on it, and we think Joseph’s going to fall in with
you, but, I mean, in the end you sort of have to trust us on this one.”
·
Mary: “…K...”
·
Gabriel: “So...???”
·
Mary [pensive]: “……Okay, sure.”
·
Gabriel [incredulous]: “Wait, what did you say?”
·
Mary [confident]: “I said ‘sure.’”
·
Gabriel [freaking out]: “OH MY GOD! I mean, actually, my GOD is gonna LOSE IT
when He hears this!! I can’t believe you
said yes.”
·
Mary: “Yeah well, you better go tell Him about it
before I change my mind, messenger.”
·
Gabriel [animated]: “Ok, I’m going. But this is going to be AMAZING!! By the way, uh, I’m going to get the Holy
Spirit involved. When the Kid is born –
it’s gonna be a boy – just call him Jesus.
The Lord’s going to give him the throne of David and he’ll rule over the
House of Jacob forever. We good?”
·
Mary [non-plussed]: “Yeah. Sure.
We good.”
·
Gabriel: “Ok great!” [Gabriel starts to leave but them comes back
to Mary.] “Oh, I forgot to tell you this.
You know your elderly cousin, Elizabeth?
She’s also having a baby. [J]
This is, sort of, proof that we’re not messing around, here. You know, A
SIGN.”
·
Mary: “Elizabeth is, like, 55 years old.”
·
Gabriel: “I know. But she’s about 6 months pregnant!”
·
Mary: “Ok, thanks. I’ll look into it.”
Mary was the ultimate optimist. How can we ever approximate that kind of
faith? Thank GOD I wasn’t born into that
time as Mary’s friend, because I promise, I would have talked her out of it,
and we’d be Saviorless to this day.
If you are an optimist, today’s readings fortify
humanity’s need for people like you.
People who are believers.
Creators. Dreamers. People of faith.
If you are a pessimist, like me, today’s reading serves
as a reminder to say “yes” to life, now and again. Let the divine in. Give way to the Spirit, when it calls. (And do it without requiring a full proposal
and timetable.) Even better, facilitate
your favorite optimist in their most recent hare-brained idea, because they
have no idea how to execute their vision.
Maggie Callon is a
staff member in the College for Public Health and Social Justice, and works as
a Program Coordinator for undergraduate programs in Biostatistics, Health
Management, and Public Health.
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