When I open my kitchen cabinet in the morning, the coffee cups are vying for my selection: "take me," says one; "I am larger than all the rest." Another one says, "Yes, but my colors are brighter and more vivid than all the rest." Some of them point to their attractive shapes, to the artistry with which they have been fashioned, and others remind me of the places I have visited when I acquired them.
"Hey, hey!" I say to all of them. "I have chosen each one of you for a different reason, and I love each one of you for a different reason. What is most important to me is that you are waiting to be of service to me today. I need for you to be clean of dirt and debris, to be empty and waiting to be filled with the liquid of my choice. I need for you to be ready to be put into the hands of my guests, the ones I choose to hand you over to. I need for you to be quiet and satisfied in my hands, whether I choose you today or tomorrow, or not for awhile." And then I choose one of them for today's pleasure.
Mary's usefulness to the Most High was her emptiness, her purity of heart and mind. She was a chosen vessel to hold the fullness of divinity, to carry the outpouring of God's love, beauty, goodness, mercy to the world. Nothing of her own could stand in the way or pollute the radiance of God given to mankind. She wanted to hold something of Him for herself, but in the end, she let go of all that she had been given: They have no wine, she said to her son, knowing full well that she was handing him over to the world. After that, He would no longer be hers.
God had said to Abraham, "Give me your Isaac, your only son whom you love." As He said to Mary, "Give me your Jesus, your only son whom you love." And she let go of her most precious boy, the delight of her eyes and heart. She gave Him to us, the One who was everything to her, that He might become Everything to us also. From that point on, His family were those who heard the word of God and kept it. She had poured out all that God had given her, as drink for the world, just as He was later to do on Calvery.
Empty vessels, waiting to be filled, waiting to be poured out in obedience to the One who filled them.
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Thank you Gayle that was a beautiful reflection. I loved your explanation about your coffee cups. It was so you! And I know that was how our Mother must have felt.She sets such a beautiful example for us all.
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