My favorite version of the Christmas story is found in the Message Bible. The account of Mary goes like this:
“In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to the Galilean village of Nazareth to a virgin engaged to be married to a man descended from David. His name was Joseph, and the virgin’s name, Mary. Upon entering, Gabriel greeted her:
“Good morning! You’re beautiful with God’s beauty, beautiful inside and out! God be with you.”
She was thoroughly shaken, wondering what was behind a greeting like that. But the angel assured her,
“Mary, you have nothing to fear. God has a surprise for you: You will become pregnant and give birth to a son and call his name Jesus. He will be great, be called ‘Son of the Highest.’ The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David; He will rule Jacob’s house forever—no end, ever, to his kingdom.”
Mary said to the angel, “But how? I’ve never slept with a man.”
The angel answered,
“The Holy Spirit will come upon you, the power of the Highest hover over you; Therefore, the child you bring to birth will be called Holy, Son of God. And did you know that your cousin Elizabeth conceived a son, old as she is? Everyone called her barren, and here she is six months pregnant! Nothing, you see, is impossible with God.”
And Mary said,
“Yes, I see it all now: I’m the Lord’s maid, ready to serve. Let it be with me just as you say.”
Then the angel left her. (Luke 1:26-38 (The MSG))
Have you ever wondered what Mary felt? We can’t know for sure. But we can imagine.
And based on what we see in this passage, we can assume that what she went through to be obedient to this call was not easy. Not even close.
The story starts with Mary and her experience of encountering an angel out of nowhere, and how she agrees to the incredible call with an obedient yes. No matter how she wrestles with the craziness of what she is told, she accepts what God has in store for her.
So what about Joseph in all of this? Let’s look:
“This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.
But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” (Matthew 1:18-21 (The MSG))
We see in this passage that Joseph initially struggled with the news Mary gave him. He didn’t believe her story. It was too much. He was probably heart-broken and felt betrayed by her. He thought they were committed to one another. Her explanation of how she was with child probably felt absolutely unbelievable to him and completely blasphemous.
Joseph technically could have had her stoned at the city gate for adultery. Their marriage contract had already been signed so calling it “off” at this point was the same as divorce. So he planned to end it discreetly. But God intervened. An angel appeared to Joseph in a dream, and Joseph hears what he was called to do. He would choose to walk in obedience with his soon-to-be wife and risk his reputation for the promise of God.
Then you have the issue of being misunderstood by her community. People did not understand her pregnancy and she probably lost a lot of friends and maybe even family members who put her to shame for her obedience. She was scorned and had her integrity and purity put to doubt. She was rejected and judged harshly for something that she didn’t choose but was obedient to. Mary probably felt very alone. She had risked being misunderstood by not only Joseph, the person she loved most, but with everyone around her. So much at stake.
The other reality of her obedience to this calling was the pain and inconvenience of the pregnancy itself. She would wake up with the morning sickness. She would struggle to get comfortable at night and maintaining an appetite to keep the Son of God growing. I imagine Joseph was begged every night for foot rubs and quick walks to the market for the latest craving. She would have had moments of seemingly confusing emotional responses to the hormones changing inside of her. Moments where she felt absolutely overwhelmed.
And that journey they would have to take! Have you ever moved during a pregnancy? Then you know! Nazareth to Bethlehem was 80 miles! A loooooong 4-day journey. Imagine 20 miles a day on foot or donkey while being pregnant! It is possible that they traveled in a caravan of family and friends, but we honestly don’t know from the passage. With everything they have been through they may not have had any friends and family supporting them at all. They may have been all alone during this season.
Mary felt it all. The baby growing, the relational loss, the wounded reputation, the shouting tax collectors, the inconvenient travel, and the unknown expectancy of being a mother for the first time.
You name it, she felt it during that 9 months. Loneliness mixed with moments of joy mixed with moments of trepidation. Emotionally, physically and spiritually, she felt it all.
I imagine questions swirled in her head:
“You are too young!”
“You are not yet married!”
“Who do you think you are?”
“Where will you live?”
“How will you care for this child?”
The only One who could keep His daughter’s chin up was God Himself. Only He could silence the voices. She must have felt His presence and His pleasure in a mighty way. Even on her darkest days, I imagine God met her there and spoke affirmations over her, urging her to press on.
And Mary continued to believe that her yes was to the Almighty God and that this child would be worth it. Worth it all. As Christians we know that Mary was an important part of our faith story but who she was birthing was the most important person of all. Our focus on her story is really all about her Son. Jesus.
And often times, we can learn a lot about someone when we meet their mothers. So when we look to Mary, we look to her for answers about our Jesus. And we see that Jesus followed the obedience of his mother. Mary said “may it be as you say,” to the angel, and Jesus said “not my will, but yours” to the Father in obedience to the Cross.
Jesus learned obedience through suffering and so did Mary.
That first Christmas was not a silent night. It was difficult and hard. And Mary’s life was characterized by adversity. She was blessed and favored, but she knew her share of troubles.
And like Mary, God will often call us to new seasons of growth and obedience that require us to press on when facing some of the challenges she felt. We may be judged, misunderstood, have our character in question, our reputation at risk, and our loyalty tested when we are following the plans of our God. Are you in a season like this? The reason I ask is because many times we believe that if we are experiencing these kinds of trials or suffering, we must have done something wrong, missed a sign from God, or something? We struggle with the lie that if we are obeying Jesus, why do those closest to us not support our decisions? The enemy knows that our flesh desires the approval of people, while our Spirit desires the approval of God alone.
Look at Joseph, his first instinct was to think Mary was blasphemous for what she claimed. The person closest to her had to be convinced by God Himself.
Sometimes God calls us to a painful birthing of His purpose and suffering will precede the promise.
That’s how life was for Mary, that’s how life was for Jesus, and that’s how life is for us. Life doesn’t always go according to our plans. Sometimes it’s hard and painful and scary. Yet, in the messiness of life, God is at work, bringing blessing out of burden. That’s the true message of Christmas. Blessing from pain. Redemption. God making all things new in the form of a human baby boy through a courageous young girl and her faith.
Mary responded to the angel with courage, her identity sure. She said, “I am the Lord’s servant. May everything you have said about me come true.”
This is the cry of my heart. To say yes.
To know and experience the true sacrifice that Mary chose that day when she uttered those words. She was choosing Jesus over her own plans for her life. What she was being asked to do was going to produce Hope for all of eternity. She would be an example of God using the “foolish things to shame the wise.” People may not understand. But she knew who she was and Who she served.
The very first Christmas began with a young girl yielding to her Father. May we begin to see this season through her eyes. Choosing obedience even in the midst of uncertainty, having confidence in our God and His faithfulness, and believing that Jesus is better than anything this world can offer.