December is usually a month in which we ‘pause’ our regular routines, adapting instead to festive celebrations with friends, family, and even some strangers. The common expectations of this month are many depending upon the culture to which we belong. December brings with it decorating trees, lighting Chanukah candles, buying gifts, baking, choosing a restaurant for a memorable time with friends, reformatting meetings to include “good cheer” to all, thinking of next year coming, and helping a friend in a time of crisis. The Christmas “To Do List” fills up fast.
In December we remember Christ’s birth, which carries with it a “warmth,” as many remember the One who came to restore humanity and all of creation. Our thankfulness not only takes us into a personal quiet space, but also into a more grand joyous space of opening our arms to all those around us. He was born for all humankind!!
FOR A MOMENT LET’S GO BACK ABOUT 2000 YEARS TO ISRAEL.
The East was filled with political and religious tensions. Injustice was vibrating through the streets touching the earth with its venom, through tyranny and death. Demanded by Rome, taxes were of illegal measure, being paid for by the labor of children and adults alike. Those who revolted were hung on trees lining the highways of the promised land. In addition, the “church” of the day implemented laws which proudly drew the people to the leader and not to God. Yet among it all, God had a remnant who earnestly waited for the Messiah’s coming. In the midst of darkness, God’s plan was at work. To see through His lens brought hope to all who would dare take a glance. Remember Anna, Simeon, and Nathanial? Yes, there were more.
Let’s go back farther, all the way to the Garden of Eden.
The incredible thought I would like to remind us of today is of His eternal plan, which involved women. God chose women who would embrace the path birthed in the heart of the Maker of Heaven and Earth. Within the garden He chose a woman taken from the man, formed in such splendor as to emulate the Spirit of the Living God. She was to partner with God and man; and in so doing, both man and woman would walk together in full authority. Both were formed in His image. Both were a multiplication of God’s likeness. Both were equal and both so unique.
Without the beauty of His daughters, there would not have been human life reproduced on the earth. Adam and Eve were chosen to begin the generations…to “Be fruitful and multiply.” She who came from man was given stewardship over the safest place on the earth—her womb. For within her womb the woman would carry the creation process of humankind.
2,000 years ago through Mary, God was about to reproduce again….
……to multiply His Life. Yes, through the womb of woman, God’s heart (His life) would be seen and heard on the earth. Mary’s womb was the safe place for the conceived seed to bring God’s plan to full gestation.
From the Bible, we know that Elizabeth and Mary were cousins. When Mary visited Elizabeth in the Judean hills, she was in her first trimester and Elizabeth was already in her sixth month. December may have been the time of conception for Mary, when her overshadowing by the Spirit occurred. September/October would then have been the time of Christ’s birth, near the Feast of Tabernacles, for it is at the time of His birth God was revealed to man in His earthly tabernacle – His flesh suit. This would place Mary and Elizabeth’s visit somewhere between December and February.
Let’s return to the thought of the darkness of the day in which Mary and Elizabeth lived. Christmas trees were not lining the streets at this time, but instead crucifixes. Stars were not hanging from synagogue roofs, but instead despondency and questions were hung on every heart. The aroma of fresh baked cookies was not wafting through neighborhood homes; instead, food was scarce on dinner tables.
Even with all this darkness in the nation, God was still at work. Can you imagine the moments after the angel came to Mary? The mental gentle whiplash or better said “awakening” Mary went through? Did hope fill the air? What followed as she processed? Mary’s mind went through an intense transition as she realized prophesies of old were coming to pass THROUGH HER. She had to adapt to truth in order for her to press through the threshold of “what was” to “what is.” His words changed everything. She was caught in the “dimension of the in-between” for just a moment.
Remaining in the old paradigm would have disqualified her.
Doubt, fear, embitterment because of the current political and religious environment would have shut her out of partnering with God.
She heard,
she perceived truth,
she believed,
she yielded,
she accepted change,
she adapted,
she acted,
she decreed,
she became.
I’m not so sure she knew she was creating a formula for reformation, but it is one which I’d like to present as an important rhythm to consider, as we also move into a season of birthing within the New Day. Yes, we have reached the gates of the Last Day Bride.
Mary and Elizabeth became mothers in impossible situations: One to the Announcer of the Messiah; the other, to Messiah – Eternal King.
We know that Elizabeth carried within her Christ’s earthly cousin. He exemplified for us the paradigm shift of what an evangelist, prophet, and priest would be. He would be the first among men, one filled with awe, love, and servitude for the Bridegroom of nations. He would be one who groaned for the conversion of the tribes of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and would announce the coming of ‘The Way’ for Israel and for the nations. Through John the Baptizer’s life message from the desert floors to the roads of civilization, he would trumpet the invitation for all nations to come and be transformed by the King.
Can you see Jesus and John in Israel together? Priest and King alive in the East together, exemplifying these heavenly identities of holiness? Known to God and Father, the evangelist announced the coming of the One who would baptize with fire.
Can you imagine Elizabeth’s and Mary’s daily activities and responsibilities as mothers of these two?
Such courage and strength was found within them. They were women of authority because they believed, crossing through the time machine from waiting to becoming.
What does this mean for us? We are in the month of conception. If you haven’t already done so, take time alone with God. He desires to infuse us with His Living Word. Our “tents” are being stretched and our “boundaries” are being enlarged. He’s got this, we just need to yield, act, and become.
Let us remember that earth’s perspective, the news and all that is going on around us, does not influence God, and is not the lens from which we live. His Book, filled with the Word and blueprints for individuals and nations, is living and breathing with delight and love. The vibrations of this living invitation are available to anyone who has said “Yes,” yielding to His Divinity and to His ways. Let’s say “Yes,” allowing the SEED of His Word to find a resting place within our womb, in sync for the fullness of time. “Be it unto us according to His Word.”
Happy Chanukah and Merry Christmas to all. Happy Conception time!
Briskilla Zananiri is a daughter of God, a lover of the Word and of His nations. She has been married to Emil for 29 years, and they are blessed with three children (Tori-Joy, Jonathan-Blake, and Malakey-Wells). Together they have many more Kingdom children and friends around the world. More at visualeast.org.
