Week 3 Advent Reading Plan Luke 2:19-20

Our reading for today on our Advent Reading Plan  is Luke 2:19-20.

READ:

"As for Mary, she treasured all these things and pondered them in her heart.  And the shepherds went back glorifying and praising  God for all they had heard and seen, just as they had been told."

 What are the words or phrases that stood out for you when you read these 2 verses?

Keywords for me were  '' she treasured all these things''',  pondered them in her heart, glorifying and praising God for all that they had heard and seen, just as they had been told.

PONDER

treasured all these things means to retain carefully in the mind or if we thing of the definition of treasure it includes to store up for the future.  Why did Mary treasure all these things? She was a young mum and she knew from the moment of annunciation that her child was not any child, but Son of God. The angel had told her.  She must have wondered what the child was to be during pregnancy but now, she has given birth in difficult circumstances- she had to give her child a manger's crib as there was no room in the inn. When the shepherds arrived and told her all that they had experienced with the angel and how they had hurried to find the child with Mary and Joseph, Mary would have treasured all these things- it was a start of a very big undertaking for her to be Mother of God- she probably needed fuel for her faith too. Not that she did not believe the angel but now she had given birth to this child. It would have been very real and possibly frightening for her as a young mum. She definitely needed to retain carefully in the mind and store up for the future.

The shepherds glorified and praised God for all that they had heard and seen.  Interesting that it is written in this order- heard and seen. Usually the phase is seen and heard.  So the shepherds glorified  and praised God for what they heard ( not only with their physical ears) but with their heart too and then their praise flowed over to what they had seen. Remember they heard the message first and then back it up by seeing.

I find this gratifying myself as I am an aural learner- I naturally learn by hearing rather than by seeing.  When I am at a lecture, I am not really focusing on what is on the screen/blackboard at first- it comes as a second to me.  I focus on the voice of the lecturer and the messages he/she is giving or not giving as is often the case.
Perhaps the shepherds were aural learners too.!!  

Just as they had been told: again in this verse we are reminded that what is recorded in scripture is not their account of what they heard and saw but what the angel told them and what they heard and what they saw.  This means then for us that we can rely on their account. It is telling us that their account is trustworthy- the message came from the angel- they repeated to Mary and Joseph what they had been told. They are repeating to us what they heard and saw. 

ACT:

In this lead up to Christmas, we need to take some time to ponder the message of Christmas- to think about Mary and Joseph and the shepherds and what they are telling us for our lives in 2018.
One simple way we can spread the true message of Christmas is to remind people politely that Jesus is the reason for the season.  You often hear people say'' Christmas is only one day'' . This happens of course when we are shopping or it may even be with relatives who no longer practice their faith regularly.

I always take the opportunity to inform, to educate and to correct. I am not ashamed to be a Catholic.  So I say when I hear this said to me " Actually Christmas is a season which lasts 50 days until February 2, so we have the opportunity to share the joy for this time or else I say '' Christmas is a season in the Catholic church so we celebrate it for 50 days-  why not start a tradition in your family and join in the celebration of this great feast with us.  It certainly gets them thinking.

I have to say I have had some interesting responses to these conversations over the years.

We have the opportunity to be like the shepherds who relayed the message they heard and saw exactly as they had it told to them.  We can share the message of Christmas  too and relay its truth for our lives with those we meet. If we have pondered what Christmas means to me personally then we need to share it with others. Be a shepherd this Christmastide and share the message of Christmas.

When we hear the comment that Christmas is for children, we can agree with it and let them know that Christ was a baby/child. Usually this comment relates to children receiving presents.  So we can go on to ask what present will they be giving the Christ child this year? After all it is the birthday of Christ.  

There are many ways we can spread the truth and be a shepherd this Christmas. Hear and see your opportunities and act upon them wisely.