By Ryan Gernand
Yahweh had gone silent for so long. Countless generations had tended these fields and flocks throughout the ages. And, for centuries, no one had heard any new prophecy. We had waited in silence for so long.
My beloved Mary! I just don’t know if I am to believe this – or if I should run? My sweet, beautiful Mary saying she is impossibly with child; a child that she claims, is the fulfillment of prophecy. The triumph of The Lord Who Saves?!?
But, how can this be? I replay her words over and over trying to grasp the enormity of it all; a vessel chosen by the divine. The weight of this, all pressing upon my chest, exhausting my mind. If the heavens have chosen her, who am I to argue?
The heavens have chosen her.
What an astounding thought; and with it, such gravity, responsibility, and expectation.
As she sleeps, I feel her peace, a peace which I cannot find and yet, only hope to glimpse considering the journey that will lie ahead. We will be fraught with turmoil through stories of scandal and disgrace. Danger will lie ahead for us and the child.
But, if the heavens have chosen her, then through her, they have also chosen me. Am I supposed to prepare the way for My Lord through her? It seems that to turn away from her now would be to refuse Yahweh directly.
This child is to be everything that we have been waiting for. He is to be Immanuel, God is with us.
