Speechless Surprise

As the parents of the child Jesus brought him in to carry out the rituals of the Law, Simeon took him into his arms and blessed God:

God, you can now release your servant;
    release me in peace as you promised.
With my own eyes I’ve seen your salvation;
    it’s now out in the open for everyone to see:
A God-revealing light to the non-Jewish nations,
    and of glory for your people Israel.

Jesus’ father and mother were speechless with surprise at these words. Simeon went on to bless them, and said to Mary his mother,

This child marks both the failure and
    the recovery of many in Israel,
A figure misunderstood and contradicted—
    the pain of a sword-thrust through you—
But the rejection will force honesty,
    as God reveals who they really are. (Luke 2:25-35)

~~~~~

Imagine you are Mary, or Joseph. Take your pick. You’ve had a cast of characters, most of whom you haven’t known, appear to you one by one and tell you that Mary is going to have a baby—and that news lands with the surprising word that this will take place apart from the ‘normal means’; what?!—and this baby is not just special, but the long-awaited Messiah of Israel. How big an understatement is it to say that it’s hard to get our heads around all this?

We think of Gabriel who appeared to Mary with pregnancy news for the young virgin, and then later appeared to Joseph with instructions regarding exile to Egypt, because King Herod wanted to kill the baby boy. We think of the star-scholars after their who-knows-how-far journey, arriving with certainty that a king had been born. Shepherds appearing at night, overwhelmed at the shock and awe of what they had seen and heard. But like the star-scholars, they were filled with certainty. Even the encounter with her cousin Elizabeth, and the baby John leaping in her womb, left a deep impression. And now, a “good man, Simeon by name”, just happens to intersect with them. If you were Mary or Joseph, wouldn’t a reasonable response be, “Goodness! Who’s next?”

No doubt that would leave you and me speechless, which is the description in our text when Simeon announced to Mary what was happening. I remember looking at the face of a lady whose parents had told her, that “just because they wanted to”, they were writing her a significant check from their life savings. Her brain was trying to process this information, but wasn’t doing very well. The brain couldn’t keep up. While her brain was trying to manage, her mouth instinctively dropped open. She was unaware of this physical reaction. Her surprise went hand-in-hand with speechlessness.

Of course, there are many scenarios that bring this speechlessness into play. Such as news of a couple announcing a pregnancy, after many years of what is called “trying.” A wonderful job promotion that no one saw coming, or a much-needed and desired job offer out of the blue. News of the sudden death of a loved one. Speechless-inducing acts comprise a long list.

With good news, such as the lady with the financial gift that I mentioned, we fumble mentally, thinking that we should say something. We start to stumble verbally, but the muffled content comes out as “I don’t know what to say.” And the news is thus absorbed, deep into the person’s being, rather than commented on at that time. Speechless, perhaps with a shake of the head, and some kind of non-verbal grunt. That’s the first step towards moving on with the news. The news leads to the shock of the new reality, and as we often hear, “I need to get used to the new normal.” Mary and Joseph’s new normal was that they were parents of God in the flesh. Uh, say that again?!  (I started this meditation with “imagine you are them.” And then try to get your head around your new ‘normal’ world. Is there any adequate description other than ‘completely overwhelmed’?)

They didn’t go to parenting classes for that: “Hurry and sign up, folks, classes are filling up fast for how to parent your new Messiah Baby! You won’t want to undertake that journey without what we will teach you, especially in our very popular ‘Top Ten Essentials class.’ It’s only $49.99! Step right up!”

Of course, it didn’t work that way. God chose them—out of the blue, it seems, an unexpecting and unprepared couple—for reasons that only God knew. And he kept repeating the message over and over: Mary, you are the one who will bear the Christ Child. Joseph, you have done the right thing in marrying Mary. You are the couple that will raise the child who will change the world. Forever. How many more witnesses to this truth did God need to send?

My prayer for this Advent, Christmas season? That someone reading this will respond with speechless surprise. Like the mother of Jesus, they will be stunned to learn how God put this all together. It fits into place in a story that only God can write. In a dramatic presentation that only He can produce. He does it in such a way that none of us can predict.

Those who are reading this are on their life’s journey, some happily, and others not so much. God wants to break through! Let us all give God space to do that. And when we try to absorb the depth of what God has done for us, we are left without words. When we realize the full weight of his intervention into our lives, the extraordinary advent of the Messiah Baby then becomes clear to us, and our response of speechless surprise is not unexpected.

God saw all this coming. It did not take him by surprise. Did not leave him speechless. As God makes Himself known to us—whether loudly or softly, with a soft knock on our door or a loud banging—let us not shrug off his presence and undeniable wooing of us. God has made the first move towards us. What is our response?

His invitation to follow him, embrace him, and be counted among his people remains firmly in place for all who would come. I can reach no other conclusion than that the coming of the Messiah truly happened. When some absorb this news, there is speechless surprise. For others, a jump-up-and-down joy! There’s not one standard response. But there is just one way to life, and that’s on the path revealed by Jesus of Nazareth, the Eternal Son of the Living God. The one who was born of the virgin Mary, wife of the simple carpenter, Joseph, a descendant of King David.

Let us rejoice in what God has done. And worship the King of Kings together!

“Father, thank you for breaking into our world! We can’t take it in. We don’t have the words to adequately say thank you. Or even to describe what you’ve done! I guess we can sum this up by saying that your action on our behalf leaves us speechless. We know that it’s marvelous, and that you care for your people—even when we can’t see you do it, understand what you are doing, or predict what’s next. Thank you for Jesus. And for the story of his birth, the launch of the greatest story ever told.”