Men of Intergrity [Mary]

I know. The character of this work is not a “man” and seems to go at odds with the title “Men of Integrity”. Like I mentioned in the last note, I use the term “Men of Integrity” in a sensationalized way. It has resonated with me and I have been pregnant with the thought for some years now as I had said—almost four years. When I started this, I had thought that some of my female friends would be upset with the use of the term “Men” implying some chauvinism on my part. I am glad that such has not been the case [at least not openly so]. As I try to put this piece together I know I run the risk of offending someone because clearly Mary is not a man. But risking the tendency to be misunderstood, I do admit that with each passing birthday, I worry less about offending someone. I sincerely hope I am not misunderstood but sometimes I think such is inevitable.

Nevertheless, as I was thinking some more of this series, I thought it would be worthwhile to consider possibly the most famous woman of Scripture—Mary, the mother of Jesus. I was walking in contemplative thought today. Honestly, it’s a blessed exercise to walk and meditate on glorious thoughts. Seriously, how else can I get the thought of how cold it is from my fragile mind? But anyway, in the spirit of Christmas just past, I was thinking of this female character and again she taught me several lessons as revealed in Scripture.

A little side note about Mary. I am in no way Catholic by denomination. As a matter of fact, I am willing to accept the term “Protestant” to indicate that I am not Catholic. Outside of the term “Christian”, I can think of only two other labels I choose to identify myself as—Evangelical and Protestant—and lately, the former is becoming a label I am getting less fond of. I share this to emphasize that I am in no way Catholic by denomination [or as some might call the denominations in Christendom—abomination]. But I think that we Protestants sometimes lose sight of the truth that the Catholics have seemingly heightened i.e. that this Mary is a blessed figure. I think every Christian needs to read the whole chapters of Luke 1 & 2 on Christmas [I know that if blessed with a family, this is my intention]. Clearly Elizabeth *by the Holy Spirit* [and this is significant because we are sure that her words are a truth from God directly] says “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear”—Luke 1: 42. Then Mary herself presumably filled with the Holy Spirit confesses: “From now on all generations will call me blessed”—Luke 1: 48. You know the irony of all this? The phrase “all generations shall call me blessed” is similar to that used in the Old Testament as a Messianic prophecy of Jesus in earthly glory where the Psalmist tells us: “His name shall endure for ever…all nations shall call him blessed”—Psalm 72: 17. I am in no way elevating Mary to the level of our Lord but the recognition given her by the Scriptures is quite unique is my point. But why is this so? Let’s back track to back six months before this pronouncement where I learned lesson # 1.

Nine months before Christmas when the Annunciation to Mary occurred by the Angel [which is more than likely about December 25, but I will not go into why I believe this to be so here—contact me if you wish to know], the humble virgin is visited by a Divine messenger. You know the story but let me go to lesson #1 found in Mary’s response: “And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word”—Luke 1: 38. It is that same ideal that was exemplified by John the Baptist—“He must increase and I must decrease”; by the Lord of Life himself: “not my will but yours be done”. Here is found the significant lesson of a humble girl—Be it unto me, according to thy word. I suppose, then, that Surrender precedes Success.

Fast forward to twelve years later for lesson number two. Jesus is missing and alas where else would he be but in the Temple. It is highly significant to me that in the whole episode as recorded by Luke, the Evangelist, Joseph remains the dormant character. Mary seems to be the one at the forefront. The last verse of this chapter records the significance of Jesus but the penultimate verse is where I find lesson # 2: “but his mother kept all these sayings in her heart”—Luke 2: 51. Here, the sayings are the sayings of Jesus that she treasured and kept in her heart. May I suggest that we treasure up the words of the Lord in our hearts and learn in the humility of Mary that truth can be found even in the lessons from children?

G.K. Chesterton said that he learned more about God from children than from some of the great thinking philosophers. He said “the power of God’s infinity is manifested in his power to exalt in the monotonous”. What does the child say when you tickle him? “Do it again”; when you throw her up in the air and catch her? “Do it again”; what do you think God says to the sun every morning? That’s right—Do it again!

As I interact with children, I see this more and more. On New Year’s Eve while at a friend’s place, I witnessed the innocence and purity of a child; last year I obtained lessons from a 7 year old. You know we adults sometimes can be very selfish and self-absorbed. The child at the New Years Eve event wanted to play with me and joke with me and all I could think about was how I wanted to spend time with the more meaningful adults. Yet in his actions, I could see a peace and joy; a contentment and pleasure that I am not sure was evident in some of the adults present nor in myself. Can I suggest to you that you be willing to learn about God from even little children?

So there you have it. Two poignant lessons from the woman that birth the Son of God. Lesson # 1: Surrender is temporarily prior to Success. Lesson # 2: some of the lessons of God come from children and we should be willing to humble ourselves to see that. Keep these two lessons in mind as the year goes and be blessed by the mother through whom out blessed Lord chose to enter this world.