"Mary treasured and pondered these things in her heart." -Luke 1

“God marked the horizon when they separated the waters and set the boundary between day and night.” -Job 26:10

“It is not possible to keep it from coming, because it will. That’s just how Advent works. What is possible is not to see it, to miss it, to turn just as it brushes past you. And you begin to grasp what it was you missed, like Moses in the cleft of the rock watching God’s hindquarters fade into the distance. So stay. Sit. Linger, Tarry, Ponder. Wait, Behold. Wonder. There will be time enough for running. For rushing. For worrying. For pushing. For now. Stay, Wait. Something is on the horizon.” -Jan Richardson

We will continue our series about overlooked women in scripture during Advent through the lens of Mary's wisdom and memory. Luke tells us multiple times she "pondered" things in her heart as they unfolded. The Greek word translated ponder is sumballó:συμβάλλω and with it, according to Strong's, there is a sense of tossing things together in one's mind and heart and stirring them around- somewhat like tossing a salad.

Sumballó/pondering is not a linear process. It's a winding journey from present, to past, and back to present. It involves remembering, feeling, thinking things through, tossing them together, and listening for the voice of the Holy- all while cultivating hope for the future. What did Mary toss together in her heart and mind? What did she ponder as things unfolded? Who and what did she remember? What did she struggle with or hold close?

My suspicion is that one of the things Mary remembered and pondered was the wisdom of the women who were formative in her life, who prepared her with their love, stories, and strength to give birth to the light of Christ that was now appearing on her life's horizon.

We often wish we had information than the stories in our biblical Canon provide. There are actually many stories outside the Canon that can widen our horizons and cause us to ask more questions about Mary's ponderings in our canon of scripture - especially as they pertain to the formative women in her life. So in addition to the traditional Advent stories in Luke and Matthew this year (and a visit with Hannah in I Samuel), we will be visiting stories in the Qur'an, and The Infancy Gospel of James.

December 7, 2nd Sunday of Advent: The Infancy Gospel of James and Quaran. We will drop into Mary's story as she is taking on a major sewing project for the temple. As she gets down to work, things start to get weird. I look forward to exploring this story of preparation, and finding God in extraordinary and very ordinary things that Mary must have been remembering as she pondered and prepared for her calling to give birth to Emmanuel, "God with us."

December 14, 3rd Sunday of Advent: Luke 1 and I Samuel. We will explore the more familiar canonical story of Elizabeth and Mary in Luke 1 and ponder their connection with their Israelite spiritual ancestor and matriarch Hannah in I Samuel. Ancestors have lots of ways of showing up in our ponderings. And Hannah makes herself known in a way that shows she was very much on the hearts, ponderings, and well known songs of Mary and Elizabeth recorded by Luke.

December 21, 4th Sunday of Advent: Infancy Gospel of James and the Gospel of Matthew. Join us as we explore more of James' midrash on Mary's life as she meets and builds relationship with a rather strange older gentleman named Joseph. We will also look at Matthew's (rather scant) record of events around Mary's relationship with Joseph and their instructions to name Jesus, "Emmanuel." (One of my favorite God names that means "God with us") Join us this Sunday as we continue our ponderings with Mary and get closer to the big day.

December 24, Christmas Eve: Luke 2. We will ponder with and learn from Mary, as we accompany her on this holy night, in the fully divine, fully human task of being a God-Bearer (Theotokos) and giving birth to the light of Christ in the world. May our soul "feel its worth" in this calling.

I look forward to pondering these things with you during this 2025 Advent season. Join me as we stay. And as we wait. Because indeed: Something is on the horizon. -Rev. Jeanne