Advent Thoughts: Mary

Two years ago I wrote lyrics for my first and only songwriting collaboration with our choir director at church. He asked me to write something about Mary's perspective on the Christmas story.

I was thinking about how Mary was the first one to know Jesus as Immanuel, his name which translates as "God-with-us." She was the first person in history to experience the indwelling of Christ. The really cool part is that she knew it literally, as she carried the baby who was also God inside her. Because of this ultimate miracle, now you and I can carry Him in our hearts. Isn't that amazing?

Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel. Isaiah 7:14


"The virgin will be with child

and will give birth to a son

and will call him Immanuel."

Then the angel sang

to fulfill those ancient words

that God-with-out

would become God-with-in

Sweet in Mary's heart

sprang the first worship

of God-with-us

Immanuel

Soon this foretold child

would live mankind to save

but just this hushed moment

the joy was hers alone:

"O may my soul sing

forever of your great love!

How can it be that in me stirs

the rescue of all ages?"

Advent Thoughts: It's True

This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.

But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins."

All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: "The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel"—which means, "God with us."

When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.

Matthew 1:18-25


Eight little verses in Matthew open a new chapter in the most fantastic story ever told. Nearly 28,000 verses of back-story in the prelude of the Old Testament, all leading to the first bodily appearance by our Hero... who arrives as a squirming, red-faced baby boy. Who was born of a virgin. Who, along with her husband-to-be, was told about all this in a dream and visitation by an angel. And did you catch the part where the baby was to be the savior of the world, God-incarnate?

It's fantastic. It's so crazy. It's more out-there than the plotline of anything we have ever come up with. Any book, any movie, any other story: there's those and then there's This.

C. S. Lewis, in describing some of how he came to believe that Christ was the Son of God, wrote that he eventually realized that "the story of Christ is simply a true myth: a myth working on us in the same way as the others, but with this tremendous difference that it really happened: and one must be content to accept it in the same way."

He understood that the human race is a people of stories and storytelling. It's our tradition that really and truly sets us apart from the rest of nature. We love stories and we allow them daily to affect us. We cry at movies, we connect with song lyrics, we are inspired by characters in books and their quests and we name our children after them. Lewis came to understand that we shouldn't turn off that part of ourselves when it comes to facing the story of Jesus.

So fall in love with this magical, fantastic story, embracing everything it means. And then, go one step further. See the one "tremendous difference" from all other myths out there.

It's true. Utterly, mercifully, graciously, wonderfully true. Read it again. It's true.

Advent Thoughts

I'm just going to stop numbering these, because then I don't have to feel guilty about my rather loose interpretation of doing "daily" posts...

In a sermon a few weeks ago, our pastor talked about how God wants to move us towards fearlessness. What would THAT be like, huh? To live, unafraid of the future, chasing after God and embracing without a backward glance all that he extends to us...

In scripture's account of the Christmas story, every time an angel shows up, the first thing they say is "Do not be afraid." Here's three times just in Luke:

But the angel said to him: "Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to give him the name John." Luke 1:13

But the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God." Luke 1:30

But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people." Luke 2:10

Of course, the angels are saying "do not be afraid" partially in reference to themselves, as seeing an angel pop up in front of you was just as shocking as an experience to these people as it would've been to you or me. But I think what we know of God and His great plan shows us that the "do not be afraid" part is mostly in reference to what is about to be revealed.

God told these people not to be afraid, even though what would come next for each of them was sort of terrifying!

"Zechariah, don't be afraid of the fact that you and your wife are old and that it is scientifically impossible for her to be pregnant. Don't be afraid that the son I'm going to give you has a really important job to prepare the way for my son."

"Mary, don't be afraid that you are the one who is getting this ultimate job of motherhood. Don't be afraid that no one will believe you, because they might not, but I know the truth. Don't be afraid of your husband-to-be and what he will think. Don't be afraid of the way people will talk. Don't be afraid about how this isn't how you thought the Messiah would eventually appear. Don't be afraid even though your son's life - and yes, Mary, someday his death - will change the course of history."

"Shepherds, don't be afraid that people might think you're crazy when you tell them what you saw. Don't be afraid that this baby won't be the king in the way you imagined he should be. Don't be afraid that this is too good to be true; I sent this baby to be to you as you are to the sheep asleep at your feet."

Can it be as simple as that, for you and for me? That God would say to us, "Do not be afraid," and, even if what he says next sounds really really scary, we could obey? At Christmas, we celebrate the most extraordinary miracle of all time. Our Savior entered the world. That's got to be more than enough reason to follow God into fearlessness.

Advent Thoughts #3, #4, #5

I figured I better catch up on my days since I started this a little late so I'm using the three gifts of the Magi to count for three different advent thoughts. I wanted to do a little research (Thank you Wikipedia) on the gifts and their meaning.

Matthew is the only gospel to mention the three gifts by name. And interestingly enough, the traditional nativity representation of three wisemen stems from the fact that three gifts were mentioned. We don't really know how many were in their group. We also don't know when they came to see Jesus exactly, though most scholars agree it was not at the scene of his birth.

"When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. And going into the house they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh." Matthew 2:10-11

I love buying and giving presents at Christmas. Spending time to pick out something perfect, wrapping it up beautifully, watching the recipient open it and (hopefully) love it... that's my favorite part. If only I would take a hint from the wise men and remember that first and foremost I should bring my gifts to God! I love that they were so incredibly excited to find Jesus that scripture uses TWO forms of the word "joy" in the same sentence. Shouldn't I "rejoice exceedingly with great joy" to find Christ this Christmas; to find him every day?

Here's a little info I rounded up about each gift and its significance:

Gold - Just like today, gold was very valuable during ancient times. It would also have been a practical gift since it could be used for currency by Mary & Joseph. The symbolic nature of gold is to reference Jesus as king. In fact, all the gifts are common to what might have been given to royalty at that time. The wise men recognized Jesus's lordship, even in the form of a chubby little baby.

Frankincense - This gift, like its name implies, was a material that could be burned as incense. It comes originally as dried sap from a specific tree that is native to the southern area of the Arabian Peninsula. It was used by multiple ancient cultures, including Egyptians, Jews, and Chinese, across Africa and Asia as a fragrant incense during religious ceremonies. It was also used in perfume, makeup, and medicines. It relates symbolically to Jesus as priest, as our connection to God the Father.

Myrrh - Myrrh is also a tree-sap byproduct. It has some really interesting historical uses. The ancient Egyptians used it to embalm the dead. Despite its bitter qualities, it was also used in fine perfumes and anointing oils, and is mentioned throughout scripture as such. Myrrh also has a functional use as an antiseptic, and is used as such even today. Whether the magi intended it or not, the gift of myrrh has come to foreshadow Christ's death on the cross. It has a haunting scriptural parallel in Mark's account of the crucifixion:

They brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha (which means The Place of the Skull). Then they offered him wine mixed with myrrh, but he did not take it. And they crucified him. Mark 15:22-24

The symbolic nature of these items is fascinating stuff, but when I think of the magi and their gifts, I am mostly convicted about my own gifts to God. Have I brought him my best? My most rare and valuable? My most prized and significant offerings? Gifts to glorify Jesus my God, to honor Jesus my Priest, to thank Jesus my Savior? Clean hands, a pure heart, incessant prayer, songs of worship, obedience, compassion... these and more are the offerings we can bring.

Advent Thoughts #2

Just last night I rewatched the first of the Narnia movies based on C.S. Lewis' beloved series. In The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, the White Witch seeks to rule Narnia. As Mr. Tumnus describes to Lucy, it is this pretending queen who makes it always winter, never Christmas.

What a relief that we have Christmas to celebrate in winter! I think most of us tolerate the cold weather and frozen landscape because Christmas twinkles on the horizon. Don't you find the chill of December more bearable than, say, mid February? The joy of anticipating the holiday and all it means keeps us warm, in a way.

We live in what often seems a winter-numbed world, full of gray circumstances, icy perils and cold-hearted people. But like Christmas in December, Christ in our hearts fills us with hope. God kept his word to send the world a savior. We celebrate His arrival in the dead of winter, a blaze of joy in a most dark hour. Because of Christmas, we can live the other 364 days carrying the flame of fulfilled-promise that God will also do everything else he said he would do, including one day bring us into his glorious eternity.

Lost souls operate in an always winter, never Christmas world. We have to live like Christmas is coming. Because it is, dear ones. It is.

Advent Thoughts #1

I'm a bad little blogger lately, I know. Sorry Mom and small but lovely handful of other readers out there! I thought I would try something special from now through Christmas, and that is to make a daily "Advent" post. It can be a sort of devotional, for you and for me. Let's start now!

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Rescue. I love that word as it pertains to what Christ means to us weary sinners. There's a drama to that particular word; it heightens my sense of understanding of how very far gone we all were before Christ stepped into the world. Kidnapped by death, held hostage by our sin, eternally incarcerated for our offenses against a righteous, holy, perfect God.

And then there was Jesus. Our rescue was coming, did come, has come. That's what the world was waiting for. That's advent: the anticipation of our imminent rescue.

"Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen." Galatians 1:3-5