Not Even a Knock at the Door

I wonder how Mary felt about visitors?

You know, the unexpected kind,

a stranger who bursts theatrically

into the house, without knocking,

uninvited, uncaring, unconcerned that

he might be interrupting something…

that Mary might have things to do,

like plan a wedding.

Terrified, she is addressed as

Highly Favored and told

“The Lord is with you.”

(Where is the Lord when I need Him?

I see only this formidable man,

Mary must be thinking.)

Then, “Do not be afraid, Mary”,

said every man, everywhere who has

just broken into a house and

been discovered by the resident.

Mary, confused and frightened,

hears then the words “pregnant,

“birth”, “Jesus”, “Most High”,

“Throne of His father David’s”.

Mary quietly asks this stranger,

who knows her name and her family,

“How can this be, since I am a virgin?”

And the response: “The Power

of the Lord will overshadow you,

so your son will be the Son of God.”

Does Mary think about Joseph,

her family, her future, the neighbors-

or does she think Messiah,

before answering, “I am the Lord’s servant”?

Mary accepts, agrees to the

unknown, the mystery.

And then it’s Mary’s turn to visit,

to discover that her elderly relative

really is pregnant with a baby who

leaped for joy at Mary’s presence.

Nothing is impossible with God.

And Mary sings in jubilation.

— cmshingle