Readings for the Day:
Sermon:
Original Manuscript:
My discernment process one that involved a lot of waiting. I was told by my church to wait a couple of years. And then midway through my time in City Year, I was told to wait one more year too.
So January of 2012 came around, and I realized I needed to look for another position for my last year before starting seminary.
And something miraculous happened. As I was beginning to work on applications to Episcopal Service Corps and some positions overseas, I got a call from my mentor, Heidi. It was the end of one of my service days, and my program manager was giving me a ride to DuPont Metro Station. Heidi had just moved that fall to Helena, Montana to be the dean at the cathedral out there. And she wanted my help.
At this point I'm frantically trying to type out everything she's telling me in my phone's notes app. I'd get to help lead classes, preach, and be involved in other ministries. There was a great ministry with the Native American population as well as with a regional ministry of 4 churches yoked together, sharing the same priest. I'd get to learn and practice the vocation I had been gravitating towards for the past decade. And I'd get to explore a completely new and different part of the country.
When I had first been told to wait one more year, I'd been sad. But when Heidi called, it all seemed to click. That extra year gave me the chance to do something I would never have gotten to do otherwise. It gave me the chance to have a life changing experience.
We often don't see where God has been leading us all this time until we get there. These are the moments we need to pause and ponder these things that God has done in our hearts.
This is what Mary is doing in our Gospel reading this morning. She takes the visit and words of the shepherds and "treasures" them and "ponders them in her heart."
This had not been an easy journey for Mary. Her life had been in danger the moment she was pregnant with Jesus. She was uprooted from her home, while pregnant, to journey to the other side of the country for the census. She had given birth in a cave of all places, probably filled with other people, and certain other animals too. She had to wonder if all this was worth it.
And then, as if to answer that question, the shepherds came. They came with a message, that an angel had told them that this was where the Messiah, the Savior had been born.
In one moment it all clicked together. In one moment, Mary knew what it was all for.
We don't ever know where God is leading us until we've gotten there. That is why we, like Mary, need to take the time to ponder. We need to hold onto these moments to remember what God has done for us. We need to treasure them in our hearts.