At a recent Clergy and Wives Retreat I began by asking the ladies the question, "Did Mary confront the culture of her day and if so, how?" As we looked at her life, we were in awe of how powerfully she not only had impacted her own culture, but every culture throughout two thousand years of history. I want to share some of the insights we were given because they are important for every Christian whether his ministry is in public leadership, or in the quiet, seemingly mundane activities of private life.
   Confrontation is not always as the media portrays it. We see news reports of violent and heated confrontations: wars, riots, demonstrations, and picket lines. Christ calls us to be salt and light, and the methods He desires us to use are not the same as those of the world. Often the deepest and greatest confrontation is silent, as when the Light of God penetrates the darkness of evil and sin without fanfare, and frequently without spoken words.
    Mary was Called by God to confront the darkness around her by carrying the Light of the World within her womb. She went about her Holy Task quietly and unnoticed, except by those who had eyes to see: her faithful husband Joseph and her cousin Elizabeth. The world mocked her; it considered her to be just one more immoral woman, someone trying to protect her reputation with an absurd fantasy. However, no amount of taunting could extinguish the Light she carried, the Light that in due time would shatter every vestige of darkness and evil forever. She quietly carried the Light within her each morning as she drew water from the well in Nazareth, day by day as she visited the market, kneaded her bread, or mended Joseph's cloak. The Light, which was soon to be revealed to the world, continued to grow.
   The couple made their way unobtrusively along the crowded roadways to the place appointed for the Savior's birth. Then, in a humble stable, under difficult circumstances, Mary gave birth to the Light of the World she had carried beneath her heart for nine months. After His birth others by revelation of God recognized the Savior - simple shepherds, Simeon and Anna at the Temple, and later the Wise Men. As Jesus grew, more and more people became aware of the impact of the Son of God in their midst, the teachers in the Temple when He was but twelve years old, the crowd that witnessed His Baptism, His hand-picked disciples, those who were fed with bread, fish, and the Words of Life, as well as those who were healed, raised from the dead, forgiven, and set free. The increasing intensity of the Light moving upon the earth revealed, as light always does, the depth of darkness and evil surrounding it. The battle lines were drawn.
   The fierce struggle between Light and darkness raged until the darkness rose up in an attempt to extinguish the Light through the Crucifixion, but the Light of Christ can never be blotted out. It burst forth from the tomb brighter than ever, having penetrated the depths of Hell itself!
   Not only that, but through the gift of Baptism and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, the Light of Christ has been ignited in billions of Christians throughout the ages up to this present time. No matter how mighty any earthly kingdoms have been, they all have eventually fallen, but the powerful, Eternal Light of Jesus Christ, once contained in the Virgin's womb, still confronts and penetrates this fallen world and will continue to do so throughout all succeeding generations.
   Every Christian bears within him the very Presence of Christ. We carry about in our frail earthen vessels a Treasure of unsurpassable worth. (II Corinthians 4:7). St. Paul speaks of this mystery which has been revealed to His Saints saying, "Christ in you, the hope of glory" (Colossians 1:27). Jesus Christ, God Incarnate, indwells all believers. The never-to-be-extinguished Light of the World once again comes and lives within us, not in human form as with Mary, but through His Holy Presence. Jesus tells us, "You are the light of the world." (Matthew 5:14) How is this possible except through Jesus, the Light of the World, who dwells within us? In John 14 and 15, Jesus reveals more about His indwelling Presence saying, "I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you." (John 14:20) In teaching about Himself as the true Vine and His Father as the Vinedresser, He says, "Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me." (John 15:4)
   The incredible fact is that in some mysterious way, Jesus Christ, the Light of the World, the hope of glory and salvation for all the world, actually indwells every believer. There is Another Who dwells in us, in the very core of our being, giving life, depth, hope, and meaning to our lives. As we walk in obedience and submission to Him, we are used to draw others to His Light.
   How do we confront the evil of the culture in which we live? We simply carry the Presence of Christ within us as Mary did, walking moment by moment in humble obedience to Him. As we grow in learning to hear His still, small Voice and submit ourselves to His promptings, we effect change wherever we go. The world around us comes face to face with the Presence of God and most of the time we are unaware it is happening.
   F.B. Meyer writes, “Notice that the saints do not generally realize that they have done anything directly for Christ: 'Lord, when saw we Thee?" The beauty of goodness is its modesty and unobtrusiveness, as the charm of childhood is to unconsciousness."1 Leanne Payne adds, "It's a pronounced 'practice of the Presence,' an acknowledgment of Jesus with and within them. It lays like a grid over their lives, strengthening the whole of their ministry to others."2
   Leanne Payne, commenting on Mother Theresa's response to a question asked in Malcolm Muggeridge's film Something Beautiful for God, said, "Mother Theresa drew a contrast between her vocation and that of a social worker. When ministering to the needy, she and her nuns 'do it to a Person.' She loved and served the Lord as she saw His Image in the face of the poor, the sick, and the downtrodden."3 We affect our culture by carrying the Presence of Christ within, growing in oneness in Him as we abide in Him, and by doing each daily task as unto Him alone. In this way our lives are hidden in Christ (Colossians 3:3). As St. Paul says, "I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me." (Galatians 2:20) Truly, there is Another who indwells us and, when we submit to Him, He lives His Life through us. In this way the Light of Christ penetrates the darkness around us.
   This concept is so simple and yet magnificently profound. We should never underestimate the Power and Presence of God emanating from a submitted life! When submitted Christians simply go about the task of daily living, allowing the Presence of Christ to shine through them, salvation is wrought in the hearts of non-believers and lives are forever changed.
   Another aspect of allowing the Presence of Christ to shine forth is through our God-created gender. The Holy Spirit of God came upon Mary, and Christ entered her womb, the very core of her femininity. She carried the Christ Child for nine months experiencing all of the physical and emotional factors present in pregnancy. She endured the pain and toil of labor and delivery (without the benefit of modern medicine), followed by the inevitable struggles, sorrows, and joys of rearing a child to manhood, often pondering the various words of prophecy spoken about Him and finally having that long-pondered sword pierce her heart as she witnessed His Crucifixion. Mary was truly feminine in every way and she ushered forth the Messiah into the world by living fully in her femininity.
   We live in a culture today that has confused our genders, and the Presence of Christ Who is Truth Incarnate cannot shine forth in the midst of our falsehood. When the genders of Christians are confused, the Image of Jesus Christ is distorted. We are called upon by God to confront our culture by walking in true masculinity and true femininity, in the beauty and strength of our genders as God created them. A piece written by Catherine Doherty points to this clearly with regard to femininity. Similar spiritual implications apply to masculinity.
" The nature of women is to be feminine and men instinctively react to that, and it helps them to come closer to God. For God demands that each living thing act according to its nature. A tree grows upward. A fish swims in the water. A woman is feminine. She never boasts about being 'like a man.' All she will get for such boasting is that men will feel letdown. They will not know how to react to her. In the depths of their being, they will feel unhappy and disturbed as though something beautiful has been desecrated."4
   In short, a woman who chooses not to walk in her femininity, and pushes her way into the masculine arena in order to prove herself, loses her God-given opportunity to reflect the Presence of Christ through the femininity He created within her. Instead of bringing light into a gender-confused culture, she deepens the darkness. The same is true of men who do not walk in their gift of masculinity. Jesus Christ, the Healer of every aspect of our being, desires to bring us into Truth and Wholeness in our gender identity so we can be instruments of bringing His Healing Light to others.
   Let us each seek to be obedient and submissive to Christ in every aspect of our lives, and let us rejoice in our creation as male and female and in the Call He has upon our life. In this way His Light and Presence within us can shine brightly on those who live in darkness around us whether we are in public ministry or in the simple walk of an "ordinary life."

1 As quoted in Leanne Payne's Spring 1998 Pastoral Care Ministries newsletter.
2 Ibid.
3 Ibid.
4 Dearly Beloved, Vol I, Madonna House Publications, Combermere, Ontario, Canada, 1988, p.69