Mary and the Sword

The angel appeared to Mary with good news – a baby boy, he will be great, a king, his kingdom shall never end. All that joy and hope contained in that tiny human packet, a gift of love, nurtured by love and the grown man giving himself in love.

And yet, and yet….. What did the priest say to Mary and Joseph as they later held that little baby in their arms in the temple? A sword…. A sword shall pierce your heart… This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too.”

Is there then to be no love without the sword, piercing the heart? Is there no joy without suffering and loss? Why then do we choose to give ourselves in love? We all know it – the sword is waiting for us too, in various ways, revealing itself as the years turn into decades and the final moments of our lives come.

Would we turn away from love if we could see ahead and sense that sword penetrating our hearts, whilst still in the first flush of love? 

And what about the thoughts of our hearts being revealed? Why those uncomfortable ideas of the baby Jesus actually being someone who reveals our hearts and can see into our inmost being?  Perhaps Jesus seeing our hearts for what they are and what is contained in them, the good, the bad and the ugly, isn’t something scary or shameful, but simply the first step out of the gloom into light, truth, beauty and order.

But back to the sword – the final word has not yet been spoken… Death has been swallowed up in victory. Where, O grave, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?

And so, we love. We choose to give ourselves in love and to be loved by others. Come what may and despite the sorrow that comes to all those who love. 

In the big scheme of things and in ways we cannot always see or understand, love always endures, love always wins. And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love – greater also than the grave, greater than the sword.