We have started the Advent season, the countdown to Christmas. The ever-present question asked each year, how do you make an old story fresh? Not new but fresh. Ask questions.
There’s a Christmas song that came out several years ago that asked something very fresh, “Mary, did you know?” Did she know that she kissed the face of God? Really? Did she? The church answer is yes. She may have; however, she may not have understood totally until the end.
Mary. A teenage girl about to marry the man her family picked. He was the man of her dreams. And then God stepped in. Her plans and dreams changed instantly. Fear & panic would be a normal response. However, Mary was not your average teenager. Mary’s response was simple, “I am your humble servant.” Would you have responded in that way? My response would have been, take this blessing and give it to someone else. I did not want to be humiliated or stoned. I would have also probably thought I had lost my mind, especially in my teenage years. "An angel, yeah right."
Mary’s song is found in Luke 1:46-55. The setting is such: Having been visited by an angel, she finds herself pregnant. She visits her cousin, Elizabeth, who is also pregnant. Think of it, two miracles sitting in a room together for a visit. Two women who had incredible faith in God. Two women who found favor in God’s eyes. God heard Elizabeth’s prayers and gave her her heart’s desire in her old age. God knew Mary and what a servant’s heart she had. After her visit, Mary breaks out into song (more or less).
Her response to finding out she is carrying the Savior of the world? “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant. For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed; for he who is mighty had done great things for me, and holy is his name.” (Luke 1:46-49, ESV). I am thankful for her response. Why? Because it is not my response. It is a response that shows me how I should respond to the Lord.
Mary. Teenage wonder woman! Woman of incredible faith and yet so humble. Her response is even more incredible when you think what she was actually facing. Publicly humiliated, dragged to the city gates or square, the entire city would know that she had been unfaithful to her betrothed, and then she would be stoned. Her family would have disowned her. Joseph would have divorced her. And yet, her response was one of gratitude, humbly accepting what God had given her.
How do you respond when your plans change? Do you grumble? Or do you rejoice? I can now say; my prayer is to respond like Mary. Humbly praise my God for the blessing he bestowed. I hope you find the story of Christmas fresh this year…fresh, renewed and exciting.
Merry Christmas! Love, Crystal