Mother and Child
Artist: J Kirk Richards
(USA, contemporary)
Interpreter: Mona Bagasao-Cave
There he is — God’s miracle, the baby born to be the Savior of humankind. Ah, yes, of course, the mother is there, too – rendered in the textured neutral hues that allow us to feel the coarse homespun that the girl Mary, wife of a carpenter, would have worn. The mother must be there. How easy it is, with the focus of eternity on the babe himself, to see the mother as a prop, a piece of the background, to forget that she too is a miracle — a miracle because her people have lasted generations waiting for the promise. A miracle that they survived slavery, oppression, the hatred of conquering nations, and their own uncertainty and doubt. A miracle that the Creator of the universe would love a stubborn people enough not to forget them, enough to remind them through prophets and signs, enough to continue to send them shepherds and leaders, enough to be
present to their community in worship.
But she is a miracle not only in being a part of the people set aside to bring the Light to the nations. Mary is a miracle because she said, “Yes!” When confusion and the threat of ostracism could have convinced a more logical and mature heart to say, “Wait a minute . . . ,” this young girl’s faith instead led her to say, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.” Mary the mother — a miracle. May her obedience be an example to us. May her words echo in our prayers.
From The Upper Room daily devotional guide, November/December 2009. Copyright © 2009 The Upper Room. All Rights Reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
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