There is a song…and I don’t know which one. And the reason I don’t know which one is because it’s your song – some song from long ago where you happen to remember all the lyrics. Maybe it even takes you back to a particular moment.
Songs are like that. Somehow some moments and tunes and lyrics get etched in our memories, sometimes even to our surprise that we remember something from long ago when we can’t remember one we heard a week ago.
It’s not a perfect analogy, but I wonder if this is what happened to Mary.
As we’ve been picking off (picking on?!?) various characters in the Christmas story, Mary has come up a couple times for obvious reasons. But I want to take you back to part of the story we talked about a couple days back.
You’ll remember that Elizabeth – a relative of Mary’s -- had her own baby miracle story (though getting pregnant with your husband isn’t quite a miraculous as getting pregnant without a husband!). Her story started about six months before Mary’s, but it intersects with Mary’s when Mary comes for a visit. And when she hears Mary’s greeting, Elizabeth’s baby leaped in her womb.
Now “leap” is kind of a funny word to use for a little critter bundled up in the fetal position, but that in that culture that word was an expression of joy. But then Dr. Luke tells us that Elizabeth is filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesies over Mary calling her the mother of the promised Messiah. And then…
Mary sings.
My soul praises the greatness of the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, because He has looked with favor on the humble condition of his servant. Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed, because the Mighty One has done great things for me, and His name is holy. Luke 1:46-49
Now unlike us speculating about Zechariah’s poem being a song, this was really a song. And this wasn’t just any song, it was an old song. One that any faithful Jew would have known, a song that sounds a LOT like a song Hannah sang back in a book we call Samuel a thousand years earlier. And here’s the kicker: Hannah was singing a song of praise about a God opening her womb, keeping His promises, kicking some butt of bad dudes, and ends saying that God will give strength to His king.
Alright, to be fair, Mary kinda riffed on Hannah’s song. She leaves out the buttkicking part. But everyone around would have known this song, and it would be clear what she was riffing on. And that this God she loves and serves loves and is merciful to the broken people and hurting people and those cast aside and those who feel like no one’s paying attention. That’s pretty mind-blowing when you think about it – that the Creator of all things cares about you. And wants you.
This Christmas season maybe one thing to remember is a little different than what you’ll hear elsewhere: a chair! Here’s what I mean. Imagine you sit in a chair…do you have faith that’s blind or woo-woo? No, you have confidence in an object. So, what do we have in Mary? God knew Mary’s name, and her heart. She had faith, and it was faith in the object – or in this case the person – who was the object of her faith.
Maybe I’ll get lucky and you’ll remember this little Advent note like you remember an old song. God knows your name, and your heart. He knows how you hurt and what you hope for and whether you’ve been bad or good. Best of all, and unlike Santa Claus, He’s real. He keeps His promises. He wants you to trust Him. And could we have any Christmas gift than being able to put our faith in the promise that the reason for the season will come again?
I don’t think so.
Roger Courville, CSP is a globally-recognized expert in communications, an award-winning author and speaker, and a passionately bad guitarist. ForTheHope equips on-the-go professionals with biblical principles to engage marketplace relationships with competent humility. On Twitter can follow him @RogerCourville and/or his podcast @JoinForTheHope, or get all updates by email subscription at www.forthehope.org.