So, I happen to be sitting here next to my Christmas tree, listening to beautiful Christmas music, pondering some deep theological questions.
If you aren’t living under a rock, at some point this Advent season, whether from the choir at church or in the elevator at a department store, you’ve heard the Christmas query, “Mary did you know?”
I don’t know if Mark Lowry wrote the words in a rhetorical manner, but, I’d like to answer the question for you now.
Yes.
Yes, Mary knew. Re-reading Luke 1 to be sure I’m not missing something, I found the answer. Gabriel told her. Mary sang a song of thanksgiving which is a well-known passage from Scripture called, “the Magnificat.,” and then Zechariah gave a prophecy about it.
Okay – maybe she didn’t know all of the exact gruesome details, but there were prophecies from Isaiah which the Jewish people knew well and rehearsed often. Those passages clearly told that the Messiah would take the punishment of sin for all people. He would receive all of the chastisement in order that we could receive peace.
I like it better this way, that she knew. In her song, she rejoices. She’s not sad. Her words don’t sound troubled and weary. She has strong belief and hope that God is going to do something big, and that He is going to use her! I look at her joy with absolute astonishment, how she embraces what God Almighty’s will for her life. I wonder if I can be like her.
from Luke 1 Mary says,
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 has done great things for me,
and holy is his name.
And his mercy is for those who fear him
from generation to generation.
He has shown strength with his arm;
he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts;
he has brought down the mighty from their thrones
and exalted those of humble estate;
he has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich he has sent away empty.
He has helped his servant Israel,
in remembrance of his mercy,
as he spoke to our fathers,
to Abraham and to his offspring forever.”
When I read her words, I realize just how much she is acknowledging the Big Picture. This isn’t just about whether she will be happy or comfortable or personally fulfilled. It is about the promise-keeping God of Israel bringing redemption to the world. She is willing, even joyful to be a part.
Most of my life is spent in concern for my own well-being, my own prosperity. Regularly, I forget that His Will for me revolves around keeping His promises and carrying out a Much Bigger Story on this Earth.
As I stare God’s Will in the face for the coming year, I beg Him to make me more like Mary. Are there trials and struggles to come? Yes. But, is there much more hope to be found in Him? Oh yes.
Heavenly Father, May my heart find ways to rejoice in surrender as your servant, the tiniest part of Your redemption story. amen.
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