Mary and Christmas

Give thanks to the Lord, call upon his name; make known his deeds among the peoples, proclaim that his name is exalted. – Isaiah 12:4

Most women, having done the Christmas shopping, the cookies and having sewed the angel wings on a kid’s costume for the Christmas play, sigh, “Thank God, it’s over!”

Yet – and are you ready for this to turn the corner? – a young woman’s body became an incubator-chapel as the greatest miracle of all times was enacted. The very Son of God, the One who had participated in the creation of the world, the one whose existence was described as “from everlasting to everlasting,” was nurtured for nine months in the womb of God’s choice – a woman known as Mary, the mother of Jesus.

Yes, I know that the focus of Christmas is on the baby that was born at Bethlehem and placed in a manger – probably a stone trough where cattle were fed – at His birth. Yet, I have been thinking of Christmas from the mother’s frame of reference. Today epidurals and spinal blocks, along with medication, make childbirth easier; however, for Mary, the wife of Joseph, there was no hospital, no midwife, nothing to make the birth of her firstborn easier. Mary’s pain ultimately resulted in bringing forth a Son whose pain on the cross enabled reconciliation and forgiveness with God the Father for humankind. Yet Mary’s pain of childbirth cannot be compared to the pain she experienced as she saw her Son crucified at Calvary.

Pain was part of that birthing experience, and pain is part of both the beginning and ending of life. It is also part of the experi- ence of salvation. Through pain, life is born and life brings hope and joy.

The birth of every baby is God’s way of saying, “Life must go on!” and the coming of the Christ child brought salvation and healing to mankind. He’s the one who understands heartache and touches the hearts and lives of those who suffer.

* * *

Used with permission from Guidelines International Ministries. To learn more about Guidelines and the ministry, send an e-mail to [email protected]. You may also visit www.guidelines.org.