Editor's note: "An uncommon Advent: the arrival of a Savior in our lives" is a sampling of biblical meditations composed by members of the Concordia University Wisconsin community. It is our prayer that you will take time during the Advent season to read and reflect upon God's Word and await the coming of Jesus with newfound anticipation and zeal through the Holy Spirit.
December 15 – An uncommon mother?
Isaiah 30:27-31:9 and Revelation 3:1-22
My daughter started preschool this year. As I tearfully left her with a wonderful teacher, I drove to work and wondered if she would be okay. Would she make new friends? Be happy? Behave? What if she likes her teachers more than me? I had a busy day ahead of me: it was freshman move-in day at Concordia University Wisconsin. As I greeted students moving into their dorm rooms, I noticed a parallel to my morning. I saw moms and dads holding back tears as they said goodbye to their own babies, who were a bit more fully grown.
Watching these families confirmed that my feelings were fairly common. It seems that most parents felt as I had earlier that very morning. Yet what about Mary? Jesus was born of a woman, and a mother- just like me? It doesn’t seem possible. How could she be okay knowing her son was born to become a sacrifice for others? She couldn’t possibly understand how others would grow to love her baby just as she had when he was an infant asleep in her arms. She MUST be an uncommon mother, right?
She was not. She worried about her child just as any other parent does. We see this clearly when Jesus, as a twelve year old, stayed behind in the Temple during the Passover. Mary was in “great distress” wondering where he had gone. (Luke 2:41-52) The truth is, not even Mary was exempt from the need of a Savior. We all have a common need to repent. Revelation 3:3 tells us to, “Remember, then, what you received and heard. Keep it, and repent.”
It is easy to dismiss and rationalize away God’s anger over our sin, but his voice is clear, “So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth.” (Rev 3:16) What IS truly remarkable is the uncommon grace we receive through Jesus. God promises to “protect and deliver us” and “spare and rescue us.” (Isaiah 31:5) I am thankful that as common as I am in my sin, God sees me as worthy. No matter the amount of worry that I might feel on the first day of preschool or any other day, I find comfort in knowing that God’s grace is greater. May you also experience that Divine comfort during this Advent season.
-Naomi Tiefel is the CRM Administrator and has served at Concordia since May, 2018. View a full schedule of “An uncommon Advent” readings here.
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