It is sometimes said that vision is more important than sight. In other words, although we see things we lack “vision” to see the real possibility. Sometimes we busy ourselves calculating the outside of things, never bothering to truly measure or imagine what might be below the surface if only we could ponder longer or scratch a little deeper. Today’s poem by Malcolm Guite reflects upon the biblical story of the angel Gabriel announcing to Mary that she will bear the son of God. On the surface we see wonder and amazement, yet underneath there is a lot going on which is beyond measurement or even knowing, yet full of possibility. Pay particular attention to those last few lines which invite you and me into this story if we would allow ourselves to go below the surface and leave behind all our calculations! Guite describes this biblical scene as one in which eternity touches time. Today, I encourage you to “stop and see” and make a choice. Notice the patience of Gabriel – “not a feather stirred” an inkling of God’s patience with us.
A Sonnet for the Annunciation.
We see so little, stayed on surfaces,
We calculate the outsides of all things,
Preoccupied with our own purposes
We miss the shimmer of the angels’ wings,
They coruscate around us in their joy
A swirl of wheels and eyes and wings unfurled,
They guard the good we purpose to destroy,
A hidden blaze of glory in God’s world.
But on this day a young girl stopped to see
With open eyes and heart. She heard the voice;
The promise of His glory yet to be,
As time stood still for her to make a choice;
Gabriel knelt and not a feather stirred,
The Word himself was waiting on her word. Malcolm Guite
Prayer:
Holy God, your mystery
and certainty surrounds me.
Help me to forgo all my
calculations that I might catch a vision
beyond the surface of time.
Holy God, thank you for
your patience as my response is
often slow and measured.
Amidst all the stirring of our chaotic
world allow me to pause and ponder
the many possibilities of grace and goodness,
the many needy places where forgiveness needs
to go and where hope needs to be born.
Holy God, hear this my prayer, spoken and silent. Amen.
Prayers, Poems, and Christian Ponderings 
I like the poem. It brings to mind an advent chapel service over 20 years ago but I’ve never forgotten it. The topic was Anticipation, and the subject was Mary. We listened to a song by Art Garfunkel, Mary Was An Only Child. Many of the children seemed particularly interested in the lyric, “all of them watched her, none of them saw, that she shone like a gem in a five and dime store.” Now reading Guite’s poem, I think back to that lesson and realize that the children could sense that vision was perhaps stronger than sight, and that listening was perhaps stronger than hearing. When asked what the young Mary must have felt like at Gabriel’s visit, as is so often the case, there was a long silence until one child said, “curious”, followed by other children who began to name the fruits of the spirit, and another said that Mary probably thought, “Did I hear that right?!” I liked those responses and they suggested that the children perhaps had given some thought to the lesson.
Your prayer is beautiful with its important reminder. Thank you.
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