23
Opening our Hearts
Caroline Brownlie
La Vierge au Lys, William-Adolphe Bouguereau, 1899
There is something about this naked Child, his direct look at us, and his Mother’s downward gaze which encourages me to ask about their unique relationship and how it affected what He was able to achieve, an aspect of ‘Emmanuel’ not much addressed ….. and yet we know nowadays what the essentials for ‘growing’ a human being are, thanks to the God-given insights of psychology and many of us have reflected on our own childhood in the light of those …..
Could we apply that understanding to the relationship we see here, the crux (or the cross-point) of the world’s salvation in its human outworking?
Mary’s first word was Yes, to the angel in Luke’s account; she said Yes to God’s purpose for her child, which meant accepting Him fully from the mysterious moment of conception; and we know from brief Gospel references that Mary had to continue to say I accept you, in the manner of his birth, his adolescence, his ministry and his death ….. Mary’s love sustained Jesus, from the intimacy of the breast, as he matured and his mission evolved and how he returned that love even on the Cross in providing for her care. This acceptance and sustenance led to his knowing his status as her child and as a son of his Father. And with this human and divine confidence he could achieve miracles and did, in the 100% trust he revealed in accepting death, shaped by Mary and fulfilling God’s revealed purpose.
It took centuries to crystallise Christian faith in what Jesus achieved, and understanding and ‘working out our own salvation’ takes eternity, lived in the now and in a fuller life with Him.
Could we do that if He had not become the Man he did, through Mary’s acceptance, sustenance, which led to the status and achievement which was uniquely His?
We wait this Advent; may this painting address us, opening our hearts to the acceptance, sustenance, our status as unique children of God, and able to achieve God’s purpose for our life, mysterious as that is.