before thanksgiving

In Matthew's gospel, Mary, who will do the rigorous work of child bearing is treated as a passive character in Jesus' birth story.
It's a clue to the perspective of our own tranformation into citizens of God's kingdom.

The Holy Spirit comes to us, the weaker vessels, jars of clay, and informs us of Jesus's impending birth in our lives. The life we knew and the one we had planned will be forever changed by this miraculous event.

It will cause us degrees of pain and expectation of suffering, ruin former reputations, divide us from alien loyalties, erase assumptions. The miracle turns death into a door and results in unimaginable joy and treasure beyond understanding.