Christmas Eve 2022

In late November, our choir was practicing for the Christmas Cantata, which consisted of alternating readings and Christmas hymns. I absorbed the following words being read.

“As the morning light overcame the darkness of the stable, Mary thought about all that had happened. She knew that the tiny Child who was born that night in Bethlehem had a special purpose. She kissed Him, and, as all new mothers must do, counted His fingers and toes! She would take care of Him and love Him and cherish the time she had with Him, but it was all in God’s hand now, even as it always had been. She wondered what the future would bring, but now it was time to rejoice. The Messiah had come! The long-awaited Savior had been born!”

(A Christmas Musical: All Through The Night by Greg and Gail Skipper)

All I thought about was the mothers of our two grandsons born in October and December. Weren’t their actions of counting the toes and fingers the same as Mary’s? Weren’t their thoughts of caring for their sons and cherishing the time they will have with them the same as Mary’s? When these young women carried their sons in the womb for 9 months, they developed an exceptional connection with the baby which is unique only to each mother. Each mother nourished the baby, protected the baby, and produced so many mental images of who this child will look like and what he will have passions for. Isn’t this what mothers do before and after the birth of their child?

Even as Mike and I have visited each of these families and held these sweet, precious newborns, I have thought about the similarities shared by Jess and Lis with Mary, the mother of Jesus, in their actions and thoughts and emotions. Regardless of the vast differences surrounding the process of childbirth from Mary’s time to today, the actual birthing process has not changed. Today there are more “bells and whistles” to analyze every aspect of the pregnancy, labor and delivery whereas Mary’s time period had very little expertise except the experience of midwives and women in the community. Nevertheless, the actual birth is the same.

However, there is one difference in this comparison. As sweet and precious as our 2 grandsons are and as sweet and precious as I’m sure Jesus was, our grandsons are not human and divine. They are completely human, whereas Jesus was the Son of God.

Can you imagine what it would be like to know that you are giving birth to God’s only Son?? Should He be handled or treated any differently than other newborns? What should we expect from Him in the future? Will He be a King sitting on a throne and overcoming the Romans?

So many questions for a mother who was scorned by her family and friends. So many questions for a young girl who was to become the mother of the Son of God. So many questions for a young man who felt the stares and abuse of his friends for taking this young pregnant girl to be his wife when the law required that he stone her.

But Mary and Joseph did what the angels told them to do because they BELIEVED! If they had not believed that these angels were from God, and if they had not even believed in God, this Christmas story would not even be a story for us to read.

All mothers (and parents) endure a lot for the sake of our children. But thanks be to God for what Mary and Joseph did when each of the angels came to them. We thank God for their belief and their obedience. Let us rejoice in the HOPE of Christ!

Merry Christmas!

Thanks for stopping by,

Rachel