Mary, Not Always Merry
I enjoy Christmas with all the tinsel and lights, the shops full of people looking for a loved-one’s gift, the church and family gatherings as we feast on whatever food delights us, enjoying the company of other people. Christmas trees and small-town decorations, candlelight services, with nativity scenes in the churchyard. It’s all part of an environment that in truth, is more European and American than biblical. A season of the year when we seek to be merry. After all, it’s called Merry Christmas, right?
So, it might beg the question: as we consider the story of God’s advent through Mary, was Mary merry on Christmas? Yeah, I know, that’s a strange way to put it. You get the idea. As we seek to be merry at this time of year, how does that relate to those who were part of the story we celebrate?
We have this typical picture of Mary in our mind, of this young girl who God chooses to give birth to his embodiment on earth, the Messiah, Jesus. What a privilege! Indeed, it was, but as you might expect, Mary was caught off guard. When the angel Gabriel comes to inform her that she will have the Holy Spirit come over her and she will become pregnant with one who “will be called the Son of the Most High” (Luke 1:32), at first, we are told that Mary “was greatly troubled at his words” (1:29), and she asks the obvious question, “How will this be…since I am a virgin” (1:34). Can you imagine, putting yourself in her position? There is no precedence for this. No experience from the past to use as an example, to say, “I remember how this happened to…”. This has never happened before!
She will respond, “I am the Lord’s servant, may your word to me be fulfilled” (1:38). She was a good woman, a faithful servant of the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. But she had to be scared. You know how it is; you go to church on Sunday, and you are inspired by a great sermon from the preacher, leaving services on a high, but then comes Monday and Tuesday and Wednesday, and life can throw a lot at you, with the words from Sunday fading into the background. It could have been like that for Mary also, struggling at times to hold onto the words of Gabriel. Her pregnancy would have caused all kinds of rumors (she could have been stoned). She is engaged to Joseph, who considers “divorcing her quietly.” He was a good man, not wanting to put her to shame, but certainly struggling with the news of her being with child. An angel appears to him to reassure it is from God (Matt. 1:18-21). They bear the shame together from an uninformed culture who would have been confused at best. It is probably why Mary got away for a while to visit her cousin Elizabeth, who is pregnant with John the Baptist.
When the time comes to give birth, Mary and Joseph must travel to Bethlehem due to a census. This would be a long hard journey by foot, or on a donkey possibly, from Nazareth in northern Israel to Bethlehem in southern Israel, below Jerusalem. Why all this discomfort for the mother of Jesus just as she’s about to give birth? It was because the Messiah was foretold to be born in Bethlehem, the home of David, Israel’s greatest king. Jesus would introduce a kingdom that will never end! And Mary must undergo hardship for this cause. There will be good times, no doubt, as Jesus grows up, but the times of heartache for Mary will be far from over. During Jesus’ ministry, she is concerned for him and the wear and tear as he endures much and is persecuted (Mark 3), and she will be there when he goes to the cross, witnessing it first-hand (John 19:25-27). Life is not easy, just because she is the mother of Jesus.
Mary’s life was not always merry. Neither is yours. But just as she “treasured all these things in her heart” (Luke 2) about Jesus, so can you. He may not always make you merry, but he will make you holy!
Cross Point: “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant” (Luke 1:46-48). FYI, I wrote this before knowing Walker’s Dec series was on Mary.
So, it might beg the question: as we consider the story of God’s advent through Mary, was Mary merry on Christmas? Yeah, I know, that’s a strange way to put it. You get the idea. As we seek to be merry at this time of year, how does that relate to those who were part of the story we celebrate?
We have this typical picture of Mary in our mind, of this young girl who God chooses to give birth to his embodiment on earth, the Messiah, Jesus. What a privilege! Indeed, it was, but as you might expect, Mary was caught off guard. When the angel Gabriel comes to inform her that she will have the Holy Spirit come over her and she will become pregnant with one who “will be called the Son of the Most High” (Luke 1:32), at first, we are told that Mary “was greatly troubled at his words” (1:29), and she asks the obvious question, “How will this be…since I am a virgin” (1:34). Can you imagine, putting yourself in her position? There is no precedence for this. No experience from the past to use as an example, to say, “I remember how this happened to…”. This has never happened before!
She will respond, “I am the Lord’s servant, may your word to me be fulfilled” (1:38). She was a good woman, a faithful servant of the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. But she had to be scared. You know how it is; you go to church on Sunday, and you are inspired by a great sermon from the preacher, leaving services on a high, but then comes Monday and Tuesday and Wednesday, and life can throw a lot at you, with the words from Sunday fading into the background. It could have been like that for Mary also, struggling at times to hold onto the words of Gabriel. Her pregnancy would have caused all kinds of rumors (she could have been stoned). She is engaged to Joseph, who considers “divorcing her quietly.” He was a good man, not wanting to put her to shame, but certainly struggling with the news of her being with child. An angel appears to him to reassure it is from God (Matt. 1:18-21). They bear the shame together from an uninformed culture who would have been confused at best. It is probably why Mary got away for a while to visit her cousin Elizabeth, who is pregnant with John the Baptist.
When the time comes to give birth, Mary and Joseph must travel to Bethlehem due to a census. This would be a long hard journey by foot, or on a donkey possibly, from Nazareth in northern Israel to Bethlehem in southern Israel, below Jerusalem. Why all this discomfort for the mother of Jesus just as she’s about to give birth? It was because the Messiah was foretold to be born in Bethlehem, the home of David, Israel’s greatest king. Jesus would introduce a kingdom that will never end! And Mary must undergo hardship for this cause. There will be good times, no doubt, as Jesus grows up, but the times of heartache for Mary will be far from over. During Jesus’ ministry, she is concerned for him and the wear and tear as he endures much and is persecuted (Mark 3), and she will be there when he goes to the cross, witnessing it first-hand (John 19:25-27). Life is not easy, just because she is the mother of Jesus.
Mary’s life was not always merry. Neither is yours. But just as she “treasured all these things in her heart” (Luke 2) about Jesus, so can you. He may not always make you merry, but he will make you holy!
Cross Point: “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant” (Luke 1:46-48). FYI, I wrote this before knowing Walker’s Dec series was on Mary.
Posted in Cross Points