Let’s pause to think about Mary for a moment.
Her story, her courage, her quiet yes. We see her in nativity scenes, stoic and serene, cradling the Christ-child.
But do we really understand the magnitude of her yes?
It wasn’t just a yes to God’s plan—it was a yes to uncertainty, to societal judgment, to unimaginable responsibility.
Mary’s yes wasn’t passive; it was a bold, recollected, defiant act of trust.
And what does that mean for us?
For us to give God a “yes” is not a recipe for exhaustion. That isn’t what it is about.
God isn’t asking for our burnout, our busyness, or even the best of our abilities. No, it’s deeper than that.
The gift of greatest efficacy is our very presence—our willingness to be a sanctuary where God can dwell.
When all our human gifts reach their limits, it is the soul in love with God, the recollected heart, that delivers Christ to the world.
Mary didn’t just give birth to Jesus; she gave birth to a vision of what it means to be human—a human fully united with the divine.
And when she said yes, she became a mother not just to Christ, but to all of us who dare to say yes, too.
Yes to hope.
Yes to healing.
Yes to becoming vessels of God’s peace and justice.
But let’s not confuse this peace with the sentimental scenes we see on holiday cards or the polished perfection of Christmas pageants. The peace of Christmas is gritty. It’s peace that confronts the seeds of violence within us and around us. It’s peace that demands justice—not a justice fueled by power or self-righteousness, but justice born of compassion and enacted for the vulnerable. Mary’s yes was a yes to this kind of peace—a peace that disrupts and transforms.
And so, Christmas becomes about more than a baby in a manger. It’s about the soul’s yes to God.
Mary mirrors our own capacity to say yes to the vital presence of God within us—a presence that pulses with hope, with the possibility of a new future.
Her yes is an invitation to be mothers of that same presence, to carry within us the dream of a world made whole.
On this silent and holy night, imagine yourself in Mary’s place.
Hear the angel’s call. Feel the weight of the question: will you carry Christ into the world?
Will you offer your heart, your life, as a sanctuary for God’s love?
And can you say yes—not because it’s easy or certain, but because, like Mary, you believe in the possibility of something greater?
Let’s pause in this season of busyness and gift-giving to return to the heart of Christmas.
To the soul’s yes.
To the gritty peace and radical justice that Christ brings. Let us remember that the God who initiated Mary as the mother of Christ also initiates us as mothers of hope, of healing, of a new creation.
This Christmas, let our yes echo hers.
Reflection Questions:
- What does it mean to you to be a sanctuary for God’s presence?
- How can you embody peace and justice in a way that disrupts the status quo?
- What is one area of your life where you feel God asking you to say yes?
Prayer:
God of Mary, God of peace, God of radical love—teach us to say yes. Make us wombs for your presence, dwellings for your justice, and vessels of your peace. On this silent night, we offer our hearts to you. Amen.
Grace and Peace,
Andrea