The 1st Christmas Sunday, 2021: Colossians 3:12-17; Luke 2:41-52
There was a period of time when studying wasn’t appealing to me at all. That was during my first year of middle school. Previewing or reviewing subjects for the next day's class was not on my to do list. What always puzzled me was: why did teachers like to call on students who did not have their hand raised? That teaching philosophy did not motivate me at all but made me more rebellious. After receiving my midterm grades, my mom decided to transfer me to another middle school where my ballet teacher was so that I could be watched. That did not work for me either until I met my new classroom teacher in my second year.
When you are surrounded with social changes or dealing with life transitions, have you ever felt emotionally imbalanced? Who is the one sustaining calmness and mindfulness in your life? When things didn't go well in my early 20s, I often called up my friends and dumped all my uncertainty and frustration onto them. Poor of them! One of the benefits of getting older is realizing that no one should be my garbage can, and that I know myself better than anyone else. Then I began to wonder what I should do to feel grounded. Would adjusting my own attitude and behaviors be a way to keep my sanity whenever I face changes or transitions in my life?
Then I remember my second year classroom teacher who turned me around. Each weekend, she would call up the students whose grades were not ideal and invite them over to her house. Students were asked to sit at her dining table and study together. The best part was the dessert and the finger food she prepared each week. I was one of those students for several weeks. After my grades improved, she often patted my shoulder in class and said to me with a big smile, “Keep it up!” Somehow I wished I could have been in that group forever. At the same time, I enjoyed seeing her smile. She was the best teacher I ever had, who could bring the best out of all her students by seeing their potential and taking time to nurture it.
It says In Luke 2:42 that Mary treasured all these things in her heart after the incident of looking for Jesus. It seemed that Mary could sense the calmness and mindfulness of this young Jesus who increased in wisdom, matured in years, and was blessed by God and people. Without knowing what to expect or foresee how God’s redemption plan would unfold before her eyes, she observed and treasured the life of Jesus and played her role faithfully as a child of God, as an earthly mom of the son of God, and as a disciple of Jesus Christ.
Mary was well grounded in her faith, so she did not need to know every detail of God’s plan for her life. She simply let God guide her and lead her. God saw potential in Mary and called her to be the bearer of His only son.
May our lives be grounded in our faith. Sometimes, we might feel like Mary, not knowing what our lives will be like. Our call is to play our roles faithfully in our own contexts, notice people’s potential and nurture it, bring the best in others, and trust God who is living and active in the midst of our lives together in both good times and challenging times. Indeed, God calls us to be a bearer of the good news of great joy for all people. The good news of great joy for all people is a life-giving gift from God, Jesus Christ. It’s my prayer that we all may trust God enough to let God guide us and lead us. Amen.
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