Tidings of Comfort and Joy?

Once again, we hear the story of the Annunciation as we draw close to Christmas day, and once again we get to ponder Mary's "yes." To me, this "yes" says so much to us whose lives don't make sense to people who wonder about faith. "After all you have been through," they ask, "how can you have faith?" Somehow we associate faith with a "good" life, one free of pain and filled with "blessings" and "goodness." Ever notice how we equate blessing with comfort and "good" things? Mary was not saying "yes" to that. Neither was Christ. Neither are we, really.

Mary's "yes" makes our "yes" possible. Mary's "yes" was yes to carrying the Son of God and mothering the incarnate Son. "Yes" to making her life his. Our "yes" is so much like that, though far less perfect. Our "yes" is inviting Christ to be in our lives, with all their muck and mire. Come, Lord, join me in my mess and guide me through it.