Mother Mary

I had to give a talk today about Mary's perspective on being the Mother of Christ. I thought I'd post what I wrote. The punctuation is atrocious, but oh well.

What must it have been like to be Mary? A young woman betrothed to Joseph, facing the unknowns a new marriage brings. Suddenly visited by the angel Gabriel with a glorious salutation:

What must it have been like to be Mary?  A young woman betrothed to Joseph, facing the unknowns a new marriage brings. Suddenly visited by the angel Gabriel with a glorious salutation:

               

“Hail, thou that art highly favored, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women. Fear not Mary; for thou hast found favor with God. And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name Jesus. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest; and of his kingdom there shall be no end. For with God, nothing shall be impossible.”

And with that salutation so many more unknowns were suddenly before this young Mary. Yet, never doubting and with gentle submissiveness and humble acceptance, the pure young virgin replied:

                “Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word.”

Would I have responded with such faith? Do we, even now, respond with such faith when accepting the will of the Lord? “Be it unto me according to thy word.”

What must it have been like to give birth to a King in such humble circumstances? A stable. Musty and damp, the lowing of animals and buzzing of insects, dirt and straw for a floor. Suddenly transformed into a nursery for the King of Kings and a greeting hall for visitors on errand. The manger, meant for the feeding of beasts of burden, made to be the bed for He that would one day bare all burdens. How did Mary feel in these primitive surroundings?

What must it have been like to hold the Savior of the World? Tiny and feeble, wrapped in swaddling clothes, dependent and wanting. You are your baby’s world, yet this babe is somehow THE world. And will bring Salvation to the world. This baby so tender, so weak – will become incomprehendably strong. Strong enough to bare our sorrows and our griefs.

The instant an infant is born you know you would give your life for him. Yet, Mary knew that somehow this precious baby Jesus would surrender His life for her. The prophecies had been foretold. His future was in her mind. Oh how she must have wanted to protect him, to shield him from the pains to come. Doesn’t every parent wish that for their child?

For he would be “despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief. Wounded for our transgressions, bruised for our iniquities: brought as a lamb to the slaughter: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.”

And just like Mary’s newborn son, every child that comes to this earth possesses divine origins and therefore infinite potential. Perhaps that is why the human heart rarely fails to be moved by the sight of a tiny baby.Hail, thou that art highly favored, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women. Fear not Mary; for thou hast found favor with God. And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name Jesus. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest; and of his kingdom there shall be no end. For with God, nothing shall be impossible.” (Luke 2)nd with that salutation so many more unknowns were suddenly before this young Mary. Yet, never doubting and with gentle submissiveness and humble acceptance, the pure young virgin replied:

And just like Mary’s newborn son, every child that comes to this earth possesses divine origins and therefore infinite potential. Perhaps that is why the human heart rarely fails to be moved by the sight of a tiny baby (Simon Dewey).