The late humorist Sam Levinson liked to tell the story of the birth of his first child.
The first night home the baby would not stop crying. His wife frantically flipped through Dr. Spock’s advice book for young mothers to see what to do about it. Since the book was long, the baby kept on crying and crying.
Grandma was in the house, but since she had not read the book by Dr. Spock on child-rearing, she was not consulted. The baby continued to cry until grandma could stand it no longer. She shouted downstairs: “For heaven’s sake, put down the book and pick up the baby!”
In today’s Gospel for the Feast of Mary’s Immaculate Conception (Luke 1:26-38), the Angel Gabriel appears to Mary and asks if she would like to be the Mother of the Savior. Would Mary put her own life on hold and pick up the baby? And not just any baby, but God’s own Son, the Savior of the world.
All of creation was holding its breath. If Mary said FIAT, YES, then the Savior would be born and God could reveal himself as one of us. God could come and make a home in our midst. Mary said, “May it be done to me according to your Word.” In effect, what Mary was saying was, “Jesus, come and live in me!”
You and I worry about what the future holds. But when we pray, “Jesus, come and live in me!”, we can relax about what the future holds for us – because WE KNOW WHO HOLDS THE FUTURE!
Put down YOUR book, YOUR remote control, YOUR smart phone and YOUR mouse and PICK UP THE BABY! Give it a try! YOU will discover just how much Jesus truly loves YOU!
BABIES ARE BITS OF STARDUST, BLOWN FROM THE HAND OF GOD!
