Tag: Mary

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A Song. A Dream. A Promise

A girl got a song.

A carpenter got a dream.

A just and loyal old saint got a promise from the Spirit.

All of them are part of the Christmas story. And each one shows us something important about the way of God in this world.

Let’s first look at the aged man named Simeon from the account in Luke 2. He was a man of expectation. There are always such people among us. The Bible makes this clear.

Periods of turmoil come and go. Any look at the record of history should make this obvious to us.

Early in Genesis, we read that the world and its residents, which had been created good, good, and very good in the eyes of the Lord, had become profane and debased in mind and heart. So wicked was life on earth that it caused God to grieve to the point of considering its total destruction.

There was Noah, however, and his family. He found grace and the Lord instructed him to build an ark for his people and sent the Flood to wash all the others away. Through this faithful follower of God, humanity got a restart.

Simeon was of Noah’s kind. A watchman, he was. He had heard from the Spirit that his days on earth would not end until “he had seen the Lord’s Christ” (see Luke 2:26).

Humble Eyes, Humble Heart

I imagine Simeon with wide open eyes and discerning ears. He surveyed the streets of Jerusalem on his walks to the Temple. He listened closely to the conversations for he knew that his faith had “come by hearing and hearing by the Word of God” (Romans 10:17).

The Spirit guided Simeon’s steps to the Temple just as Joseph and Mary arrived with Jesus. Born eight days earlier, this Firstborn was to be presented by the parents to the Lord according to the order of the Law.

Poor ones from Nazareth were they, and as such, they could only afford pigeons to confirm their offering of this Son. Those looking for the Messiah were expecting a grander entrance from Him, one fit for royalty.  Nathaniel, the Apostle, expressed thoughts of Jesus representative of the mood among the Jewish people:  “Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?” (See John 1:46).

Simeon refused to judge by appearances, however. He believed and knew at once who Jesus was (and is forever) – the salvation of God prepared for all people and the true glory of Israel (Luke 2:30-32). He took the baby Jesus into his arms and blessed God. I can see this old man singing, “He is here, Hallelujah; He is here, Amen.”

This ancient man of God revealed his humility. He rejoiced at the presence of Emmanuel, though He came small and to the home of a poor, worker’s family.

A Faithful Husband

Simeon’s words were marveled at by Joseph, another man of humility and faith and obedience. The story of Mary being impregnated by the Holy Spirit became a cause célèbre and scandalous news around his town. And yet Joseph loved Mary and sought to dissolve their betrothal contract in quietness so as to shield her from added disgrace.

As he slept on this decision, this carpenter got his visitation: “… an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, ‘Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins’” (see Matthew 1:20-21).

Joseph took Mary as his wife, though she, a virgin, carried this Child. He treasured his promise from God despite the difficulties associated with it. Things would never be easy for this couple into whose home the Son was born. Joseph, I believe, listened carefully as Simeon blessed them. With the blessing came also a warning about days of pain and sorrow that were to come.

The somber words of Simeon were directed mostly to Mary. She would have her heart shredded as she watched the way of the Son. She nursed Him. She mothered Him through His adolescence – losing track of Him one Passover visit to Jerusalem, as we know from the latter part of Luke 2. She followed this Firstborn from His birth to His death and also to what came above and beyond His dying.

Mary Magnified the Lord

Mary stood alongside John at the Cross, as Jesus committed her to the care of the Apostle (John 19:26-27). And we also know she circulated among the band of disciples after His Resurrection and His Ascension. She and her other children were in the upper room when the mighty wind of the Holy Spirit blew into them at Pentecost (see Acts 1:14).

What was it that kept Mary? How did she weather the storms that would blow upon her mother’s heart?

I believe it was her song. This should not surprise us, for Paul wrote that songs and hymns and spiritual songs are vital to the stirring up of our faith as we read in Ephesians 5:19-21 and Colossians 3:16. The verse from Colossians is part of an exhortation to “let the word of Christ dwell in you richly” and bring wisdom. Songs were and should be vehicles of admonition and consolation.

Mary’s Magnificat, as it has come to be known, goes like this:

“… My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant.

“For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed; for he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name. And his mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation.

“He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts; he has brought down the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of humble estate; he has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty.

“He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy,as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his offspring forever” (Luke 1:46-56).

Throughout her life, I believe that Mary sang this song to herself. The words detail the redemptive plan of Heaven. The proud shall be brought down. The humble exalted. The hungry filled with good things that come by grace through faith.

The girl with this song was an amazing believer, just as Simeon and Joseph were remarkable and faithful men. All of them magnified the Lord and rejoiced in the God of their salvation.

And thanks to people such as them, His mercy has been revealed from generation to generation.

Holy is His Name.

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Joseph and His Leap of Faith

Joseph is a man we know very, very little about. This carpenter of Nazareth stood with Mary in a difficult time, a time when she and he would have been greatly misunderstood.

The first chapters of Matthew and Luke provide the details surrounding this young couple. They were betrothed. The contract for their marriage had been agreed upon, but they had not come together yet as man and wife. Into this poor, but seemingly neat and tidy world comes Gabriel, from the Throne of Heaven. This angel’s message to Mary is this: “Fear not, Mary, for you have found with God. And behold  you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus.”

And so Mary was found with child, and Joseph, a kind man, thought to terminate the marriage without fanfare. He refused to make a display of her. This revealed the heart of mercy in this man, and also his love for this woman. By the law of Moses, Mary would be counted to have committed adultery and  been subject to stoning. The evidence was there to see.

As Joseph made his considerations, the angel of the Lord spoke to him in a dream. “Joseph, son of David, fear not to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.” Notice the way Joseph is addressed as “son of David.” The gospel of Matthew begins with the declaration of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David. This first gospel of our New Testament was given to speak to the Jewish population regarding the Person of Christ.

A Messianic Expectation

The Jewish people now under the government of the Roman Empire carried an Messianic expectation for their King. This King would, of course, be from the line of David, the dynasty settled in the books of Samuel, Kings, Chronicles, and Psalms.

Jesus, Son of David, and Joseph, son of David — it had to be this way for the fulfillment of the prophecies and promises proclaimed centuries before. The Son to come from Mary would save His people from their sins, the carpenter was told.

Did Joseph buy into the divine plan? He did, for he awoke from his sleep and did as the angel of the Lord commanded, taking Mary as his wife and did not consummate the relationship till the Son was born. This brings us to what grew into a point of contention throughout church history. Did Joseph ever have sex with Mary? The Bible record here says that he did not know her until after Jesus is born. Later, in Matthew, we read the names of the brothers of Jesus and also that there were sisters who grew up in the Nazareth household.

the legend of mary

Things have been fabricated about Joseph in order to create an unscriptural portrait of Mary. Her status was elevated and she came to be viewed as one who was always a virgin and without sin as Christ was without sin. Yet, in Luke 1, Mary herself proclaims her need for the Savior. The legend of Mary grew to include the idea that she was assumed into Heaven; that is, her body was carried away and did not suffer decay as other human bodies. Nothing into the New Testament record remotely indicates this event.

As for the matter of Joseph, he came to be celebrated for his celebacy regarding Mary. On St. Josephy’s feast day, he is called a hero for never having had sex with Mary.  Legend grew that Joseph was an older man and had children from a previous marriage, which covers the Scriptures relating to Jesus’ brothers and sisters.

“And he called His name Jesus.”

Joseph was a man of faith and integrity. His heart followed after the mission of God. He stuck with Mary and raised Jesus, despite the gossip that surely circulated through Nazareth and the regions populated by the Jews. Our New Testament’s begin with his family tree.

Great is God’s faithfulness to those who answer His call no matter the consequences and circumstances.

 

 

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Be it Unto Me

Mary was a simple teen-ager. Devout and sweet, betrothed to the town carpenter, she was ready to lead an unspectacular life and a gritty existence in Nazareth. She and Joseph would raise a Jewish family. They would celebrate the feasts together with travels to Jerusalem.

Hope for the Messiah lingered in her heart and in the hearts of many of her relatives who lived among the hills of Judea. Zacharias and Elizabeth, Mary’s uncle and aunt, were particularly faithful to the ways taught by Moses. And, yet, they were childless. It was a mystery and a sorrow to them and to all who knew their righteous lives. They had been such good Jews. Like most barren women of her day, Elizabeth wrestled with the emptiness. Her insecurities often got the better of her as she fought back the feeling that she might somehow be under a curse.

And then the angel came. Gabriel shined before Zacharias as he took his turn to make offering at the incense altar. The prayers he prayed over the decades had been heard. Now, those prayers were answered, according to this bright being, the messenger sent from the throne room of the Lord.

A Prayer Answered

Elizabeth’s womb was about to come alive, Zacharias was told. All that he and his wife had hoped for was about to come true. She would bear a son, an Elijah, a man with a call to make the people ready for the King, the Messiah, the Savior.

Zacharias, however, was doubtful. These words were just too good to be true. “How shall this happen?” he said to Gabriel. “We are old people.” Those would be the last words Zacharias would speak for almost a year. His unbelief prompted the Lord to mute him. He would have to keep his doubts to himself.

Please let’s cut Zacharias some slack. He had lived through a troubled and torturous age with his family and nation. Israel’s glory days of David and Solomon were long, long past. How heavy life must have been for a people so favored and so informed. The oracles of God were theirs to read and to study and to share. The people lost sight of that last part. Rather than allowing their nation to grow into a powerful witness for God, they selfishly guarded their privilege and grew prejudiced against other peoples, whom they came to see as inferior.

Age creeps up on us just as it did on Zacharias. He was faithful to the Lord and His commandments, but his sense of wonder and expectation waned. It is all too common among believers. The flame of faith doesn’t always burn brightly. We live in a brutal world. Aches, pains, heartaches, disappointments, disasters, and death do a number on us as they have done on believers in all generations.

Gabriel’s visit jump-started Zacharias’ faith, I am sure – especially since all that the angel said came to pass. Still, he could only smile, chuckle, and nod when his wife miraculously became pregnant a short while after this Temple visitation.

A Virgin Conceives

Mary, remember, was young and engaged. Excitement likely surrounded her preparations for the day when Joseph would take her as his bride. Wedding plans can get wild and contentious at times, but for the most part, they are joyful anticipations of a great celebration.

In the midst of all this, Gabriel appeared before Mary and announced this:  “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” (See Luke 1:29). Stunned, this young bride-to-be struggled to comprehend the meaning of this sentence.

The next words were even more astounding:  “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end” (Luke 1:30-33).

Mary had been chosen to give birth to the Son of the Most High. God would enter humanity through her.

Like Zacharias, she had her questions: “How will this happen? I am a virgin.” Gabriel explained that her conception would be a work of the Holy Spirit, the same Spirit who made Elizabeth’s womb alive, the same Spirit who hovered over the face of the waters at a time when the earth was without form and void. The Spirit would “overshadow” Mary – the substance of His presence would generate the incarnation, the activity of the Word taking on flesh and bone.

“For with God, nothing is impossible,” said Gabriel.

This was enough for Mary. She questioned no more and offered herself as a living sacrifice: “Be it unto me according to your word.” In so many words, this virgin girl said, “l am yours, Lord – do as You will.”

Soon Mary would sing with Elizabeth. Two women,  great with child, rejoiced at the miracle of God with us.

“My soul magnifies the Lord,
and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,

For He has looked on the humble estate of His servant.
For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed;

For He who is mighty has done great things for me,
and holy is His name.

And His mercy is for those who fear Him
from generation to generation” (Luke 1:46-50).

May these thoughts ring in our hearts as we see the Christmas season approach fast and furiously. Let us think upon the miracle of Mary and her choice to allow God’s purpose to be manifest in her. Hers was a simple and strong faith in the mighty God who does great things.