An angel appeared to Mary. An angel. That’s what God tells us in the book of Luke. It seems a little crazy, doesn’t it?
The angel proceeds to tell her that she has “found favor with God,” and she’s going to “…conceive and give birth to a son…that he will be called the Son of the Most High.” Not only that, the angel tells her, “The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”
What?!?! Can you imagine an angel coming to you and telling you this life-altering, world-changing message? CRAZY, right?
If you keep reading, the crazy continues! The angel goes on to say, “Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month.”
So.Much.To.Take.In. Mary could have responded in a dozen different, disbelieving ways. But she didn’t. She humbly replied, “I am the Lord’s servant, may your word to me be fulfilled.”
It begs the question, what kind of home did Mary grow up in for her to respond so obediently? What kind of parents and other relatives did she have around her to model the kind of faith she exhibited?
The book of Luke tells us that Elizabeth and Zechariah were “righteous in the sight of God, observing all the Lord’s commands and decrees blamelessly.” Perhaps they had a significant influence on Mary.
Mary “hurried” to go see Elizabeth after the angel had visited her. In the first moments of her visit, during Mary’s greeting to Elizabeth, there was confirmation that what the angel had said to Mary was indeed true. Elizabeth was expecting a baby and asks, “But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?”
It may have felt crazy to Mary initially, and most certainly surreal, but nonetheless it was all true.
Neither Elizabeth nor Mary were able to choose the names of their sons. No, God had chosen them already. God had determined and decided long ago who these babies were going to be when they grew up. And they were going to change the world forever.
After Jesus was born, an angel appeared to some shepherds. I wonder if for a split second they thought they were going crazy. What on earth were they seeing before them? What must it have looked like to see “the glory of the Lord” that shone around them?
All I know is that they hurried off (just as Mary did when going to see Elizabeth) to see this thing that the Lord had told them about. And when they found precious baby Jesus, it was all confirmed. What they had been told was true.
The shepherds spread the word and “…all who heard it were amazed…But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.”
Mary had the history of the previous 9 months. Everything that likely seemed crazy at first was all unfolding just as she had been told. Everything was true. She was putting together all of the external pieces and internalizing them, pondering them in her heart.
As we look back on that miraculous night, when Jesus was born, I can’t help but think of the lyrics to our modern day song, Silent Night.
Silent night, holy night!
Son of God, love’s pure light
Radiant beams from Thy holy face
With the dawn of redeeming grace
Jesus Lord, at Thy birth
Jesus Lord, at Thy birth
As we ponder the account of the birth of Christ, in some ways it seems so utterly crazy but the confirmation of everything God said, of every prophecy was evident over and over again.
May we have the belief and humility that Mary exhibited and the willingness to do whatever God asks of us, no matter how crazy.
And may we reflect the radiant beams from Jesus’ holy face as we share His love and truth this Christmas.
Merry Christmas my friends!
Go Be Radiant 