Mary Interruptable

I am not very interruptible. I want to be, but then someone or something comes into my day, and my contradictory reaction signals that I am not as interruptible as I want to be.

It seems so astonishing for a mother of nine not to have figured out how to roll with a life of interruptions. I have received a fair number of interruptions, as I am sure you have been, with diagnoses, declarations, and deliveries of dreadful and difficult news. And still, I resist interruptions.

Of course, I don’t mind disrupting my or other people’s plans. I always have a good outcome in mind, so I wondered what the difference is between an interruption and a disruption.

A dictionary search reveals that an interruption is a momentary pause in the action that will then resume on its original path. For example, My dinner prep was interrupted by my child’s cry for help in the bathroom to pull up his pants. The assumption was that I could get back to finishing the meal. A disruption has the effect of stopping the activity altogether with a possible change in outcome. Using the same example, my dinner prep was disrupted by my child’s non-stop vomiting. You get the picture.

So how about another approach from a different Mary to an interruption?

Luke 2:26-38 (with interruptions from me) The Message

In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to the Galilean village of Nazareth to a virgin engaged to be married to a man descended from David. His name was Joseph, and the virgin’s name, Mary. Upon entering, Gabriel greeted her:

Good morning!
You’re beautiful with God’s beauty,
Beautiful inside and out!
God be with you.

I would be very suspicious of a greeting like that! But for a moment, pause. Pause and imagine hearing this greeting from God. Good morning! You’re beautiful with God’s beauty, Beautiful inside and out! God be with you. Maybe even say this out loud, inserting your name. Or consider greeting a friend this way today. Let’s get back to the passage.

She was thoroughly shaken, wondering what was behind a greeting like that. But the angel assured her, “Mary, you have nothing to fear. God has a surprise for you: You will become pregnant and give birth to a son and call his name Jesus.

Mary is more than interrupted; she is disrupted. The way she thought life was headed has just dramatically changed. Can you think of news you have received that has done the same in your life? Stop and sit with that feeling of not knowing what will happen.

The messenger of God did not leave Mary in a place of fear. He provided more details – a promise connected to something she was already familiar with: the prophecies of a coming Savior. The angel told her that this was no ordinary child. This child was the long-awaited Savior, and she was chosen to be the mother of God.

He will be great,
    be called ‘Son of the Highest.’
The Lord God will give him
    the throne of his father David;
He will rule Jacob’s house forever—
    no end, ever, to his kingdom.”

³⁴ Mary said to the angel, “But how? I’ve never slept with a man.”

Mary would have heard the prophecies, but they wouldn’t have detailed the how question. I take this as her honest curiosity to understand the unthinkable as it pertained to her so personally. Can you imagine how she must have been flooded with many questions concerning all this would mean for her plans?

³⁵ The angel answered,

The Holy Spirit will come upon you,
    the power of the Highest hover over you;
Therefore, the child you bring to birth
    will be called Holy, Son of God.

^36-38 “And did you know that your cousin Elizabeth conceived a son, old as she is? Everyone called her barren, and here she is six months pregnant! Nothing, you see, is impossible with God.”

And Mary said,

Here – Here – she responds to this audacious news – this most historic of all interruptions.

Yes, I see it all now:
    I’m the Lord’s maid, ready to serve.
Let it be with me
    just as you say.

Yes, I can see it too. Here is the key to life’s daily interruptions and even large-scale disruptions – humility. Humility to believe that even if I don’t know how God can do the impossible. Honestly, he has already done the impossible in my life.

Here is another way to enter into the disruption space with Mary – Sit quietly, listen to the song below, and enter into Mary’s experience. Listen for the connections God is making to your life. Write down some reflections and ponder anew what the Almighty can do in your life. And may we all say with Mary:

Yes, I see it all now:
    I’m the Lord’s maid, ready to serve.
Let it be with me
    just as you say.