It’s Christmas time, when we celebrate Christ’s birth and the gift that is to all of humanity. I’m guessing your inbox is already full of all sorts of devotions, studies, and reminders of exactly what this season is about. It’s all around me too. And while we should, and are, reflecting on the wonder that is Christ’s birth and the incredible gift we have in this wonderful counselor, there’s another figure in the story I’ve been thinking of as the holiday approaches: Mary.
Before Jesus arrived physically on the scene, God was working carefully and completely with a young woman who had a massive role in the story that was unfolding. So for these last two Thursdays before Christmas, we’re going to be looking at Mary’s part in the story of Christmas, how God took care of her, and what that teaches us about how God looks after us.
When Mary enters the story she’s a young woman, newly engaged, who an angel has just appeared to and told that she’s going to be pregnant with the Son of God. And this brave young woman responds by saying “I am the Lord’s servant. May everything you have said about me come true.” (Luke 1:38). And after this the angel leaves her.
Now the Bible doesn’t give a lot of insight into Mary’s emotions at this news. I know if it were me, I’d be absolutely freaking out. Amazed that God chose me out of all the other women, terrified by being pregnant out of wedlock in a society that could stone me for such an offense, and completely overwhelmed by everything that would come and that God was asking of me.
Fortunately, before the angel left, he gave Mary an interesting piece of information. “What’s more, your relative Elizabeth has become pregnant in her old age! People used to say she was barren, but she has conceived a son and is now in her sixth month.” (Luke 1:36)
So Mary quickly makes the decision to go see Elizabeth and this touches off a beautiful moment of God’s care that I don’t think we talk about enough.
Once my sister and one of my closest friends were both expecting babies (who are now here and adorable and I love them very much!), so pregnancy was something on my mind quite a bit. As they reached the end of their pregnancies, I learned more and more about the intricacies of having a baby and just how delicate the process truly is. Sitting with my friend one night, we got to talking about Mary’s pregnancy. She was seeing it from a whole new perspective and pointed out the incredible gift of Mary’s time with Elizabeth.
I’d always looked at if from the perspective of mary being understood. To be pregnant out of wedlock in Biblical times could be nothing short of a death sentence. Women had been stoned for less. But Elizabeth understood the nature of Mary’s pregnancy. Not only did she understand it, she celebrated it. What a gift to have an ally.
But my friend pointed out the even deeper gift of Mary’s time with Elizabeth: her wellbeing. Pregnancy takes a lot out of a woman. I’ve never experienced it myself, but if you’ve had a baby well, then you know intimately, the toll it takes on your body. You also know how delicate the process is. There’s stacks of books, blogs, articles and all other manner of information on all the things you should and shouldn’t, can and can’t in pregnancy, and it’s all in the name of keeping you and your baby safe and well. And we also know that the early stages of pregnancy are absolutely critical for the health and development of your baby and the most uncertain for their ability to survive if something goes wrong.
And it was at this stage that Mary found out she was pregnant. Unwed, isolated in her knowledge, in danger for her life when found out, and pregnant. You don’t need to have been pregnant yourself to know that stress isn’t good for the baby, and Mary, I’d wager, was under a lot of stress.
But where does God send Mary for three months? To a close family member who knows her well, is further along in pregnancy herself, and believes without question that Mary is carrying the son of God. As my friend pointed out, there likely wasn’t any better place God could have sent Mary for that critical first trimester.
What’s more, Elizabeth would have been able to create not just a healthy environment for pregnancy, she would have been able to create a healthy environment for Mary as a woman. She would have been able to answer questions Mary couldn’t ask anyone else. She would have been able to counsel her and encourage her faith. She would have been able to comfort Mary in her fears. She would have been able to point Mary to the calling God had given her on the hard days. Mary could be simply Mary with Elizabeth, and I imagine that the time she spent with her cousin would have relaxed the grip of fear and overwhelm that would have been squeezing at her heart.
God was doing the single greatest thing he was ever going to do for all of humanity, and he also took the time to see to the health and well-being of a girl who was brave, but scared and overwhelmed. That is the kind of God we follow. God is able to bear down on the world with cosmic strength to save humanity through his son, and he’s able to bend low and meet the specific, pressing needs of your own heart. And he can do both at the same time. Show me another god who cares to do that.
We are as cared for in God’s story as Mary. When he is moving in huge ways and asking big things of us, he also cares deeply for our needs and has every intention and ability to meet them. He is not a callous or unfeeling God. He doesn’t use his followers until they are husks and no further use to him before he casts them aside. He invites us in to the story and makes it possible for us to do so. The same God who met the needs of Mary’s pregnancy as he prepared to save mankind is the same God who cares for you. He will meet your needs with no less love and attention.
God will certainly ask big things of you, but he will never do so without complete and total loving care for you. With love so great, there is no one safer you could step out in faith with.
So let us learn from Mary this Christmas and every season after. Let’s step out in faith and trust that God has already laid a way forward for us in the safety of his will. He did not fail to meet Mary’s needs, and he will not fail to meet yours. Take heart, Christian, he has always had a plan.
Let’s find some joy,
A
Avalon Robinson Author 