Advent Meditation on Mary

Today my church, which is off-lectionary, will be exploring Mary.  Beyond Advent, Protestants traditionally don't spend much time thinking about Mary, which is a shame, because she has much to teach us.

I think of Mary and her need to wait.  She's not Moses, called to leading people out of slavery.  She waits through pregnancy and then through the childhood of Jesus. 

Her role is vital, but it's often a background role.  It's only later that we realize that it's really a starring role.

I think of Mary, who occupied one of the lowest rungs in her society:  a woman who lived in a distant outpost of the Roman empire. 

Only a slave might have been lower.  Two things leap out at me:  one is that God can use any of us, from the highest to the most powerless.

And from this place of displacement, Mary gains understanding.  Perhaps that is why so many feel comfortable praying to her.