Skip to main content

I'm pretty sure Mary knew.

Every year, December rolls around and we start hearing Christmas songs on the radio, in stores, and in the hallways at school, and every year there are a few songs that stop me in my tracks and remind my soul that the creator of the cosmos shed his glory and honor, gave up his throne, and became an infant. Until this year, "Mary, did you know?" had been one of those songs.

But after years and years of listening to dozens of versions of that song sung by dozens of artists in dozens of stores on dozens of radio stations, the question that the song repeatedly asks finally raised my eyebrows. Why do we sing a song asking if Mary knew things that scripture states that she knew? Why don't we believe that she knew what she claimed to know?

As hard as I looked, I never found a verse in the Bible that said that Mary did not understand what was happening and felt confused and thought her baby boy was normal. Rather, Luke tells us that Mary marveled and treasured up moments and memories in her heart and believed what the angel said to her.
And Mary said, "Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word." And the angel departed from her. (Luke 1:38)
Mary was a pregnant virgin, and we wonder if she knew that her baby boy was special. Angels announced her pregnancy. God made flesh grew up in Mary's house. Mary taught the Lord of all creation how to walk. I think it is safe to say that she knew.
And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, and she exclaimed with a loud cry, "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord." (Luke 1:41-45)
It is hard for me to read veres 38 and 45 of the first chapter of Luke and continue to wonder if Mary knew the significance of the child in her womb. If she accepted what the angel told her and believed it would be fulfilled, then Mary knew that her baby boy would save our sons and daughters. Mary knew that her baby boy is the Lord of all creation and would one day rule the nations. In fact, chapters one and two of the book of Luke tell us what exactly Mary knew:
  • She knew that her baby boy was the Son of the Most High. (Luke 1:32)
  • She knew that her baby boy would rule forever. (Luke 1:32-33)
  • She knew that her baby boy was the long awaited Messiah. (Luke 1:32-33)
  • She knew that her baby boy was the fulfillment of God's promises made to his children generations ago. (Luke 1:32-33, Jeremiah 23:5-6, Psalm 89:35-36)
  • She knew that her baby boy was holy. (Luke 1:35)
  • She knew that her baby boy was the Son of God. (Luke 1:35)
  • She knew that her baby boy was the fulfillment of God's promises to Abraham. (Luke 1:55-56)
  • She knew that her baby boy was great joy for all people. (Luke 2:9-19)
  • She knew that her baby boy was the Savior. (Luke 2:9-19)
  • She knew that her baby boy was Christ the Lord. (Luke 2:9-19)
  • She knew that her baby boy was God's salvation for all people. (Luke 2:29-33)
  • She knew that her baby boy would face great opposition. (Luke 2:33-35)
  • She knew that her baby boy would turn society upside down and reveal the hearts of many people. (Luke 2:33-35)
  • She knew that her baby boy would grow up and that she would face sorrow and grief. (Luke 2:33-35)
The birth of Christ gives me so much to rejoice about. The birth of Christ means that the one who is and was and is to come actually came. The God who came as a baby is the God who died to rescue his enemies and make them his children forever.

And this God's arrival through a woman affirms to me that God sees women and values women and  includes women in his story. In a current age when women can sometimes be doubted and questioned and the misogony of the past seems to have not faded away as much as I thought it had, it is good to know that God has chosen women and listened to women and championed women from the start. Even over 2000 years ago, he draws women into his story, he reveals himself to women, and he entrusts women with good news to share.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

What does the Bible really say about that?

**Posted on Facebook on June 14, 2018. Lest any silence on my behalf be misinterpreted as actually agreeing with the Attorney General's use of the Bible to defend a policy , let's dig a little bit deeper into this. Last month, Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced a policy of criminally prosecuting people who illegally enter the United States. Part of this criminal treatment includes separating children from their parents when families enter the country illegally. Instead of being kept in detention together, children are housed at a separate facility. Over 700 children have been separated from their families since October 2017. Yesterday, the Attorney General used the Bible to defend this policy. He mentioned Paul and referred to his writings in Romans 13 that commanded the Romans to obey the goverernment because it was God ordained. According to Sessions, it is "very biblical to enforce the law." If Romans 13 represents everything that the Bible has to s...
Post a Comment
Read more

Let's talk more about friendship

Friendship is one of my favorite things in the world, but I rarely find posts or articles or podcasts or sermons or books or songs about it. Advice and discourse about marriage and parenting and family relationships are abundant, but sometimes friendship seems to be missing from conversations. Songs about romantic love can be easily found on any radio station in any genre at any time of day, but songs that celebrate friendship are harder to find. A quick Amazon search for books about marriage immediately lists multiple best sellers, devotionals, and popular authors. Searching Amazon for books about friendship, on the other hand, results in a smattering of books, unfamiliar names, and a few guides for making friendship bracelets. There is a notable lack of best sellers and devotionals. Why is this?  Perhaps, in the rush to find a romantic partner, we overlook and undervalue friendship.  Perhaps we don't do a good job of making time in adult life to cultivate and prioritize frie...
1 comment
Read more

re-imagining church

"Which church do you go to?" I have answered that question many times in my life. I have also asked that question many times in my life. Until the last few years, it felt like a natural question to me. But more recently, I find myself pausing whenever I hear it because it indicates both that church is a location that there are various church options to choose from in our society. How did this question even come about? Somehow over the past 2000 years, church became a location, a place to go during certain times of the week, a building that we enter or a worship service that we attend. Moreover, at some point, church-goers were presented with multiple options of churches to attend - a holy buffet of sorts, to appease all doctrinal sensitivities and worship style appetites. Church-goers can now choose a church based on the pastor, the politics, the length of the service, the music, the outreach opportunities, the Bible translation, the view on spiritual gifts, the theological f...
Post a Comment
Read more