A few weeks ago, one of my Big Brothers in the LORD stood here and gave a communion meditation. I can’t remember which, so please forgive me, but he said something that has stuck with me this entire Christmas season. He mentioned that the shadow of the cross is cast across the manger. As with many spiritual things, I’ve known that to be a true statement on some level all of my Christian life, but it takes someone saying it out loud and in just the right way for it to crystalize from a theory into a reality.
That image of the shadow of the cross over the manger scene has haunted me through every Christmas card, every Christmas Carol, and many classic Christmas movies. It especially hit me upside the head when I saw a Facebook post regarding Mary and how the angel referred to her as “highly favored”.
It pointed out that Mary was Highly Favored of the LORD, but she was almost put away quietly by the man she loved. Highly favored, but when her pregnancy was revealed, how many people in Nazareth assumed certain things and gave her the stink eye, or talked about her behind her back.
Highly favored, but she had to either walk or ride a donkey for 90 miles to Bethlehem in her final weeks of pregnancy. Mary was Highly Favored of the LORD, but gave birth to God’s own Son on the dirt floor of a stable amid the smell of animal excrement. This woman God declared to be Highly Favored had to flee a homicidal monarch and move to Egypt, the land of her people’s slavery, in the middle of the night.
With the Cross casting its shadow…I couldn’t help but continue pulling on that thread…
That the Highly Favored of the LORD would watch her son be betrayed, falsely accused by the religious leaders, abandoned by His disciples, beaten, imprisoned, tortured, and murdered at the demand of the cheering and jeering crowds of her own people.
Clearly, whatever it means to be “highly favored” of the LORD is a lot different than what you and I think it means. His definitions are not our definitions. Similarly, God’s definition of “prosperity” is different than ours. His words through the prophet Jeremiah are very popular these days. “I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you.” These words hit differently when we realize they were declared just before the LORD sent Israel into the Babylonian exile. It’s common to see the hashtag “Blessed and Highly Favored” on social media posts. I wonder if people remember that the Apostles themselves might have used that hashtag as they rejoiced at being beaten, imprisoned, and falsely accused. They rejoiced because they had been counted worthy to suffer as Jesus suffered.
None of God’s definitions jive well with the standard of “favor” or “prosperity” we use today. I was reminded of the Beatitudes we find in Luke 6. Jesus declares that the poor, the hungry, those who weep, and those who are persecuted are blessed. To those who are rich, who are full of food, to those who laugh now, and to those spoken well of by the world, Jesus says a grieving, “Woe to you…”
An upside down kingdom indeed, except that, fundamentally, WE are the ones who have it upside down. I am actively struggling to wrap my mind around God’s definitions of things and how they should impact my life and my walk with Him…
…How Mary was Highly Favored but suffered throughout her life in a way that, if it was me, it would make me wonder if God actually meant it… How the Apostles actually rejoiced in their sufferings, their bruised backs, their broken bones, the public ridicule they endured, they counted these things as something to be joyful about… In all seriousness, if any of my Big Brothers here at Penn Forest feel they have a handle on this, please invite me out for a cup of coffee because I would love to dig into this with you and wrestle it out.
As we take the first step from the manger toward the celebration of Lent, and the Resurrection Sunday beyond it, I suspect this strange definition of “Highly Favored” might begin to be understood as the Facebook post regarding Mary went on to declare.
“Favor never looks like favor at first. Favor sometimes takes you through frustration, failure, and fear. You want to be favored of God? It may be in the darkest night or deepest valley. But there, in that place whisper to yourself, “This is only the beginning not the end. This will turn out for my good and His glory.”
On HIS darkest night and deepest valley, Jesus surrounded Himself with His disciples to celebrate the Passover and declared, “I have EARNESTLY DESIRED to eat this Passover with you before I suffer.”
“And He took bread, and when He had given thanks, He broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.” We drink in remembrance of Him who was born to suffer, born to die, so that we could have great joy in the results of His sacrifice and resurrection.
Please pray with me:
Heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ, and precious Holy Spirit,
Please enlarge our understanding. Please alter our definitions, our desires, and our drives to match Yours. Help us to see our times of darkness and struggle, and the temporal valleys that we might suffer through, the way You see them. Turn us into the men and women You have wanted us to become from the beginning by whatever means You deem best.
Please bless the offering, this portion of what You have blessed us with that we give back to You in order to bless others.
Make us ever more aware of Your presence and Your will.
Amen.
Finding Narnia 
I think maybe you now play the part of older brother, and someone near you is waiting to wrestle. Just a feeling. You are not so young as you think. Don’t be afraid to try. “If a thing is worth doing, it’s worth doing badly.” -G.K. Chesterton “What’s Wrong With the World”