Within Despair, Divine Hope (Luke 1:36)

Within Despair, Divine Hope

Advent Week One, December 01. 2024

Luke 1:36

Good morning:

I would like to thank you all for your warm welcome this Advent Season as we lean in together as a community in waiting…until the arrival and celebration of Christmas.

As some of you have heard, have seen, and have witnessed the following weeks may tend to look a little different than the per usual celebrations of connection, due to the extended help and resources of some wonderful women stepping into sharing their journey and messages of truth along with all of us throughout this advent season… as well as all of you… for your warmth, love, and consideration into welcoming us as a part of our journey. Thank you!

Within the passage of Luke, the angel answered “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of The Most High will overshadow you” . . . Overshadow… this word has always struck such a chord within me… The Greek definition to overshadow means to envelop … to cast shadow upon. But here within this context it is often used to convey divine presence, suggesting a sense of intimacy and or closeness. Sometimes … at times for me within my own journey.. The vulnerability of closeness and change can feel both overshadowing and unimaginable.

Mary’s questioning response in reply to the Angel, when she was met in a life altering shadow of a monumental moment that I can only assume/ imagine… possibly felt deeply overwhelming… unimaginable to say the least and quite overshadowing… her only reply was… within this passage is… “How can this be?” How can this be that I am going to become pregnant… and bare a child…when I haven't strayed, from what I have been taught… have been told… known to be true? How can this be… that such an overwhelming life altering choice is being asked of. made.. for/ been consented for me? To me? “How can this be?!”

Such a narrative … for such a young woman on a path of something not only life altering … but also unimaginable.

Narratives of the unknown. Often, even subconsciously run rampant at times within my own depths and shadow of my soul.

A questioning and response to my own over looming shadows has often arisen and has also impacted me in many ways that have brought solace, peace, and growth when I have allowed myself to sit with…and acknowledge as well as discern and ultimately… loosen the grip of control …. Amongst the overshadowing…. enveloping …of. The unknown.

And. the capability of allowing it to occur. Holding space … within the questioning responses and narratives in overwhelming unknown momentous moments that often felt unimaginable and overshadowing. I too have wondered. “How can this be?” How can this be … that I am a …….

How can this be that I may be a burden to those I love? How can this be that I am now divorced… That I am a single mother … That I didn't finish my college degree… What are the stories… questions are you responding with. telling yourself? What are your narratives that may be feeling overwhelming trying to say to you? How can this be…. Because I am….?

The narratives that live within our beings…coincide with. Entertain. They can at times feel overshading Ing. enveloping … full of looming darkness. fear. …. quite unimaginable… but so often … it is easier to continue these narratives disqualifying ourselves…. disqualifying our actions. Our motives… and ultimately our truth. Just as Mary questioned the journey she was about to embark on. Overshadowing and yet unimaginable in a moment… in days. Within years… WE tend to at times feel fused to the shadowing in all sorts of ways. In questions. And navigating such depth with Self Sabotage. Addictions. Fearing Connections…and not allowing ourselves to be vulnerable and ultimately seen by those we love…

often stating we will start tomorrow. Just a few more minutes of distractions. and or deflecting away from our truth… Our actions/reactions however do hold some truth though.... Some facts. And shed light. For within the overshadowing and allowing. Rumination. And responses...Some sense of purpose. For in the mist of overwhelming shadowing. Unimaginable. Intangible voids.

Often within the solitude and quietness of loneliness …God tends to remind us just as he did Mary that we are not alone. Sometimes he does this quietly with a smile of a stranger. Passing us by… sometimes with the outstretched hand of a neighbor... or the greeting and passing of peace next to each other at church. God reminds us … when we are open to listening. Open to being seen. Open to being a witness to each other.

Luke 1 Verse 36

Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who is said to be barren. Is in her sixth month. For nothing is impossible with God.

For within the overshadowing of questions. fears. And unimaginable circumstances amidst the waiting. We can be met with the overshading of growth. Divine presence. the connection of intimacy. Closeness of navigating overshadowing darkness… with the reminder that we are not alone amongst overshadowing light and lamination when we are brave and conscious enough to release our grip of responses and questions when we simply respond by changing our narrative from… “How can this be?” “Let… it be!” Mary near the end of the passage then. surrendered. and answered I am the Lord's servant. and the Angel replied. Let it be as you have said… Mary’s song has often been a nuance … during this season of waiting. tied to beautiful moments of questioning and hope. So, within this space. With you. I would like to offer up to you all a song that has resonated deeply within me… for not only what may have been Mary’s narrative… but also my own.