Weekly Words

Have a "Mary" Christmas!

Have you ever thought about what Christmas was like for Mary? After going through 9 months of an unexpected teenage pregnancy she finds herself in the discomfort of travel on dirt roads. She has the luxury of switching from walking to riding a top of the line DONKEY, and somewhere in the midst she begins experiencing labor pains. Then, instead of going to a comfortable labor room or a deluxe suite at a nearby hotel, she is left to suffer through delivery between the foul stench of animals and the nagging pricks of hay on her back.

If the immediate discomforts of pregnancy in the 1st century, labor on the road, and delivery in a barn were not enough, can you imagine the nerves and fears of an unwed teenage mother in the highly judgmental environment of purity focused Judaism? If you cannot imagine the environment just think of the average “purity-and-holiness” driven Christian church today. Mary was surrounded by scowls of disapproval, talking-behind-the-back peers, and forced to live a life of socio-religious marginalization. Yeah, being called to be God’s mom was not all it was cracked up to be.

The point I am making is that the first Christmas did not come without a serious cost and a profound sacrifice from someone - Mary. Great things, grand moments, and miraculous events rarely occur without someone who is willing to give up some things and endure personal discomfort for the sake of a preferred future and a better world. Yes, Christmas is the celebration of the gift God gave the world in the birth of Jesus. Yet the means of God’s work is the life of a bright eyed young teenage woman whose life would never be the same because of her willingness to be used by God. I believe Christmas is a grander version of how God works daily in the world. God takes human willingness to be used by God and blesses us with acts, moments, and events that give us pieces of the Divine. In this sense, everyday is an opportunity for Christmas when we allow ourselves to let God work through us.

This season, many people will and have wished you a Merry Christmas. The hope is that you will be consumed with Christmas spirit, enjoy the company of family and friends, and be blessed by the giving and receiving of gifts. Indeed this is a beautiful sentiment. However, for us to have a “Merry” in Christmas today there had to be a Mary for Christmas years ago. Christmas needs a Mary who will be an instrument for God’s work and movement in the world. Christmas needs a Mary who will sacrifice for other people and future moments. So, I want to wish something weightier and greater for your life this Christmas – the opportunity to be God’s Mary. While many will wish you a “Merry Christmas,” this season, I want to wish you a Mary Christmas!

Humbly in Christ’s Love,
Pastor B.A. Jackson