A Mary Christmas
Stream, December 8, 2023
About nine months before that first Christmas, the angel Gabriel visited a young woman named Mary. Upon seeing her, God’s messenger called Mary “highly favored” by heaven. Elizabeth described Mary as “blessed among women.”
Mary, to put it mildly, is a special character in the story God has been writing from the beginning. Some traditions may take this too far, elevating Mary beyond the words of scripture. But other traditions overcorrect and don’t take Mary’s story far enough. Christmas—the celebration of the Incarnation, of the Word taking on flesh, of Immanuel, of “God with us”—is the ideal time to stop and ponder Mary’s story, to study Mary’s life, to see Mary the way scripture sees her. If we do that, we will learn much about what it means to accept Jesus, to share Jesus and to live for Jesus.
Accepting
“The Lord Himself will give you a sign,” Isaiah wrote. “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.”
Devout and observant, Mary no doubt had heard those words hundreds of times. She likely had committed them to memory. What’s unlikely is that she ever entertained the thought that Isaiah was writing about her, but he was. And so, some 700 years after the promise was made through Isaiah, the promise would be fulfilled through Mary.
Gabriel would deliver the message to the one who would deliver Immanuel. “Greetings, you who are highly favored!” the archangel begins. “The Lord is with you.” The NIV Study Bible says that Mary was “greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be.” Other translations use words like “startled,” “disturbed” and “thoroughly shaken” to describe Mary’s reaction. Gabriel himself senses—recognizes—that she is afraid. Perhaps God’s messenger had forgotten, for a fleeting moment, that he had flung open the doorway separating the celestial from the terrestrial; that his appearance, like lightning, can cause soldiers to collapse and armies to crumble; that he has the strength and authority to execute kings and destroy nations and trigger earthquakes; that he stands in the very presence of the Most High; and that Mary was just a simple girl from a forgotten, friendless place. And so, Gabriel reassures Mary: “Do not be afraid...you have found favor with God. You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call Him Jesus…His kingdom will never end.”
Catching her breath and trying to gather herself, Mary asks, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?” Gabriel explains, as best he can, the unexplainable—punctuating his words with an exclamation from heaven: “Nothing is impossible for God!”
The exchange serves as a reminder that it’s okay to ask questions of heaven. But perhaps it’s not okay to ask them in the wrong manner. It pays to recall that Zechariah—the husband of Elizabeth and father of John the Baptist—asks the very same question Mary asks. But the angel’s response is very different—surely a function of Mary’s posture and pure motives.
Mary accepts Gabriel’s explanation. Mary accepts her life-changing calling. And Mary accepts Jesus.
Like every mom, Mary knew about her child before anyone else knew—before her husband, before her parents, before her friends, before the local midwife. Mary knew Jesus first. Mary accepted Jesus first.
After the angel explained all that God would give her—and one day take from her—Mary said yes. She didn’t have to, but she did. In doing so, Mary opened her heart to the Holy Spirit, her life to the Son, her future to the Father.
“I am the Lord’s servant,” she tells Gabriel. “May it be to me as you have said.”
She defers to heaven and welcomes the Messiah with joy. “My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.”
From that moment, Mary understood that she was never alone. Christ was with her, and she was with Christ. Indeed, New Testament writers often mention Mary as being with Jesus—at celebrations, during religious ceremonies and festivals, at the cross, in prayer and praise after the resurrection.
The Lord also gave Mary a partner for the journey. His name was Joseph. Like all good dads, like all good husbands, Joseph put his family first. He sacrificed for them in big and small ways. Joseph was able to do this because he was in tune with God. He listened for God. And just as important, like Mary, he accepted God’s answers. For Joseph, those answers often came in the form of dreams. When Joseph awoke from one dream, “He did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife.” That’s no small matter. After the angel explained all that God was putting on his shoulders, Joseph accepted Mary’s explanation, accepted his role and accepted Jesus. It takes a special man to stand by the woman he loves when her life is turned upside down. But that’s what Joseph did. That’s what good men do. When a husband stands by his wife, when she knows he’s on her side no matter what, when she feels loved and supported, he shows her a powerful expression of God’s faithfulness. That’s what Joseph did for Mary.
It may not come naturally. But Joseph shows how a husband puts his wife and family first. I love how the film “The Nativity Story” depicts this. In one scene, as Joseph, Mary and a donkey are limping their way to Bethlehem, Joseph pretends he has already eaten so that the very-pregnant Mary and the donkey have enough food. Good dads do this in literal and figurative ways—I know because mine did—skipping lunches so their kids can get new shoes, going without seconds at dinnertime so a growing family can get its fill, taking on an extra job to make sure there’s something under the Christmas tree, making do with bald tires so the family car can have new ones, putting away the golf clubs and putting the savings toward the college fund. Good dads, like Joseph, always sacrifice and never complain.
Scripture tells us that under Joseph’s care, Jesus “grew and became strong.” Sure, heaven kept a close eye on Jesus, but the Father and the Spirit were comfortable entrusting the Son to this “righteous” man. Mary and Joseph literally lived out one of the most beautiful passages in the Gospels. “Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me,” Jesus declared. “And whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the One who sent me.” Happy memories of Mary and Joseph surely came to Jesus’ mind as He said those words.
Sharing
After carrying Jesus, Mary delivered Jesus—and shared the Good News with the world.
Just hours after giving birth to her newborn child—in a barn, since the rest of the world couldn’t make room for Him—Mary shares Jesus first with the shepherds, who are keeping watch over their flocks. Filthy and unclean, marginalized by society, the shepherds see what the world overlooks: “the glory of the Lord,” “a great company of the heavenly host,” Gabriel and the other angels praising God.
The shepherds “hurried off” to Bethlehem “to see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.” And they “found” Jesus. They found Jesus—the fullness of the Creator somehow now wrapped in the fragile flesh of a baby—surrounded by the love of Mary and Joseph. Mary shares the Good Shepherd with the shepherds. And it is these very shepherds who begin to “spread the word” to the world. “All who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them.”
Later, Mary shares Jesus with dignitaries from faraway lands. Some traditions call them magi, others wisemen, still others kings. “On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary.” Again, Mary is there, connecting and introducing Jesus to the world. And as these kings meet the King of kings, they bow down and worship Him.
Mary then shares Jesus with fellow believers, at the temple. At that moment, priests and prophets see the promise fulfilled. Moved by the Spirit, one of them praises God and sees in Jesus “the redemption of Jerusalem.” Another cries out to God, “My eyes have seen your salvation…a light for revelation to the Gentiles and the glory of your people Israel.” And then he turns to Mary and braces her for what’s to come: “A sword will pierce your own soul too.”
Yet that certain sadness doesn’t stop Mary from sharing Jesus with the world. Years later, during the wedding celebration at Cana, it is Mary who points people toward Jesus—connecting them with the source of joy and provision and abundance.
Living
That brings us to how Mary lived for Christ. Her five-word instruction to the wedding host at Cana captures how we should live, encapsulates the Gospel, and is the answer to every problem we face: “Do whatever He tells you.” That’s what Mary strived for throughout her life—and so should we.
It begins with a recognition that, as Jesus grows inside us, we must become less. For Mary, this was a literal and indeed physical transformation. And so, she grasped this intuitively. That’s what a good mom does—I know because mine did—constantly helping her baby, her toddler, her child, her teen grow, all while sensing that she’s working herself out of a job, receding, becoming less, dying to self.
This is humility and sacrifice personified. This is Mary’s example for us.
After she accepted her calling—after she accepted Jesus—Mary declared, “My soul glorifies the Lord…my spirit rejoices in God my Savior…He has scattered those who are proud…but has lifted up the humble…the Mighty One has done great things for me!”
Whatever our station in life, that should be our attitude as we await Christ’s Second Coming: glorifying God at home and at work, rejoicing in Him, counting our blessings, choosing humility over pride, trusting God’s mighty hand rather than man’s.
If you think Mary sets an unfair standard, remember that Mary was only human. The only thing that set her apart from others in her neighborhood was a daily desire to do what’s right—and that caught heaven’s attention.
In a very real sense, to live for Christ is to follow Mary’s example—accepting Him, delivering Him to a dark and disinterested world, doing what He asks, and sharing Him with everyone we encounter.
May we all have a Mary Christmas.