brush

I recently had the opportunity to enter a 53 word story contest using one word. That word is both a noun and a verb; has many connotations, elements of physicality, but also alludes to an advent scenario.

To quote Dr. Martin Shaw, “you can have a sacred experience out in the bush, but the second vulnerability is quite what to do with it on the return… the wild’s not the problem, it’s the return.”

During this Advent Season, I couldn’t but help think of Mary. Yes, Jesus’ mother - that Mary. She was a virgin who had a brush with the angel, Gabriel who told her she would become pregnant - the a brief encounter with someone or something unpleasant or notable - and that she would give birth to the Son of God. Reading in Luke 1:26-38, Mary was startled, but she believed and it came to pass.

Maybe many of us have have that sacred experience, but we fail to do anything with it. We pass it off. We leave it sitting out there where it happened. But some of us have mulled over our encounter and reflected, questioned and wondered - what does or could it mean?

When the birth of Jesus was announced by the chorus of angels, “all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, which was just as the angel had told them…” Luke 2: 18-20

After that night and as the new day dawned, smearing colors into the sky and a new hope for mankind, baby Jesus, like strokes on the canvas of the world, meshed hope and love. Every choice we make is the bristle, shaping the artistry of our lives. We are all portraits left unfinished, but God’s hand is the artist of our souls when we give Him our lives to paint. This season, may you have a brush with the Divine. Merry Christmas.