When Joe and I were engaged, we were gifted a cooking class at a pretty fancy cooking school. We attended the class with about six other couples. Upon arrival we were shown a finished product of what we would be preparing that evening. The one thing that stood out the most was a potato with a small hole cut in its end, standing vertically, with mashed potatoes pumped perfectly inside to form a soft ice cream like swirl into a point. There was also a beef tenderloin wrapped in bacon and a vegetable side. Dessert was a perfectly molded chocolate lava cake which looked like a picture, complete with berries, mint leaves and a dab of whipped cream. The benefit of a good molding baking dish is you come out with an evenly baked cake with a really cool design or shape. It’s how we should think of Jesus. He is the mold into which we should pour our life to produce a well-ordered, loving life. If Jesus is the mold, then Mary is that model for the class. She is the one God is holding up as the example of how to be perfectly molded after Jesus, no flaws, her whole life in His hands.
In the class we set to work on our dishes, occasionally getting a pointer or two from the overseeing chef, but largely left to our own devices. Our version of the meal looked pretty good but not an exact replica of the model. Our piped into the potato skin mashed potatoes were not exactly professional and the potato kept rolling onto its side. At one point, I had not read the directions carefully and did some of the vegetable preparation out of order and simply prayed it would all be OK. The lava cake in particular was a little lopsided with a slight indent at the edge where part of the cake had stuck to its baking dish. How did the chef get his out so perfectly? It was like he had some secret to pop the mold off the cake so it was shaped exactly like the geometric dish, perfectly curved at the top. It’s a perfect metaphor of life.
God the Father is the chef, making everything to perfection, overseeing our work with whatever directions He’s given us. The Son is our mold; we want our life formed perfectly after His. We have a perfect model of what things should look like if molded flawlessly to Jesus. Let’s say the Holy Spirit is the oven, hoping to cook to perfection, whatever we’ve managed to put together and pop in the oven. However, sometimes we don’t follow the recipes correctly. Sometimes we know a better way. Sometimes we pop a cake out of its dish too early. Make a hasty decision. Take an easy way out. In the end, if we are still trying to fit the mold and be like the model, we should see a close enough resemblance to feel ok with how life turned out. Thankfully, God is always nearby giving us pointers, sometimes guiding us by the hand, teaching us better ways to mold our lives to Jesus and learn from the model of Mary.
I find myself spending more and more time thinking about how Mary is the model for us. She carried God, but she was not God like Jesus was. I find myself saying to her, help me have a humble heart or help me yield to God’s will. As we approach Pentecost, I think of what it must have been for the apostles to have her there in the Upper Room with them. This perfect human who knew the Holy Spirit intimately, having been overshadowed by the Spirit once before. I imagine it helped them feel safe as they waited and prayed with her. I imagine John remembering Jesus’ words from the cross—behold your mother. Watch her. She has things she will show you. And Mary I’m sure was very aware that they would be looking to their mother as they awaited the promised Advocate from Jesus.
When I pray, I look to Mary as my mother to help me when I am unsure, afraid, or discouraged as I navigate life. I know I can tell Jesus what’s on my heart, but in the same prayer, I am saying Mother Mary, I know you hear me too, pray for me. You did this life perfectly. Help me walk more closely to how you did it because I know I am making mistakes left and right. I say to her: Talk to Jesus for me. Come up with a plan to help me work it out. Yes, I understand it might not be like I am thinking in my head. Like Jesus, we should embrace her as mother. Jesus wasn’t like, thanks Mary for giving birth to me, but I am God, so I will take it from here. She was there with Him and if she was there, it was for a purpose. It is to model for us what it is to give your life to Jesus through it all. There is no better model from His mold. Let her be a model for you. Let her be a mother.
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