Like Abraham being told that he would have a huge family at the time when he was old and childless (Genesis 12), Mary had no imagination or anticipation that she should be the mother of the Messiah. But even after Mary was told that she would give birth to the Messiah, we should not imagine that Mary considered herself to be giving birth to the second person of the trinity but rather the Messiah, the deliverer King of Israel. And what exactly that meant neither Mary nor anyone else in Israel really knew, which is why Luke tells us that Mary continually "treasured all these things in her heart", pondering their meaning. This is also why Simeon the prophet also warned that a sword would pierce even Mary's own soul. Nobody was really ready or were aware of what exactly the Messiah would be. They didn't expect him to be born of a virgin or a peasant girl. And neither did Mary. However, when Mary saw Elizabeth's excitement over their unexpected pregnancies, Mary could not contain herself anymore and she burst into a song. This song is one that Abraham might have sung as well. Obviously, Abraham was the opposite of a young woman, but they were both childless nobodys. Why did God choose them out of all the people in the world to be his vessels for His purposes? They didn't know. They were no predisposed for this task. They had no coaching, no grooming, no advantage, no privilege and no qualifications. Why should a childless idol worshiper like Abraham believe that he should become the patriarch of the family
through whom the One True God would rescue the entire cosmos? Why should an unmarried, teenager of no means or reputation imagine that she should become the mother of the Messiah? Apparently, at the time of Jesus' birth, many children in Israel were named "Jesus" or "Joshua" which are effectually the same name and evoke the heroic delivers of Israel from days gone by. There were indeed parents who hoped that their child might grow up to be the Messiah. But wouldn't the Messiah likely come from a family of means and reputation? Shouldn't he be born to someone in a position of power? Weren't the disciples shocked when Jesus told them that it is darn near impossible for the rich to enter the kingdom of God? Didn't the Magi first appear in Herod's palace looking for the Messiah in the house of the "king of the Jews"? Nobody it seems would have anticipated the Messiah as being born in obscurity to a girl who had never had sexual relations with a man. Mary's song is one of bewilderment and unrestrained joy. Elizabeth and Mary were both experiencing the validation that Jesus would bring to all those who are truly underprivileged or truly oppressed. As Elizabeth stated "at last the Lord has taken away my disgrace among men." "For He casts down the proud, but he lifts up the lowly. " Luke 1:52 If You are alone and hurting this Christmas, know that you are in the company of God's mighty saints. Don't hold onto bitterness or un-forgiveness but embrace the constant, redeeming, love of God who shares a manger with penniless, childless, nobodies and lifts them up to eat with princes. Who is like the LORD our God, Who is enthroned on high, Who humbles Himself to behold The things that are in heaven and in the earth? He raises the poor from the dust And lifts the needy from the ash heap,
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