Mary In the Middle of the Mess

By Jerry Harris

Christmas songs are a genre all to themselves. Many have been written but only some make it to permanent Christmas status—and most of those are quite old. They were published as hymns for hymn books. More contemporary ones like Walking in a Winter Wonderland (1934), The Little Drummer Boy (1941), White Christmas (1942), The Christmas Song (1946), and Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer (1949) are more secular in nature. So it’s rare to have a new song that sticks with people and at the same time, communicates the actual meaning of Christmas. Such a song came together in 1991 with words by Mark Lowry and music by Buddy Greene. It’s been covered by Kenny Rogers, Wynonna Judd, Clay Aiken, CeeLo Green, Pentatonix, Jordan Smith, Carrie Underwood, Dolly Parton, and Maverick City Music. The Song is, Mary, Did You Know?  

This haunting and beautiful song is written in a minor key, its magnificent rhetorical questions leaving us to contemplate just how awesome the true Christmas story is. Each concept is so uplifting and powerful, and so much a part of the story. But is it the whole story? As this song came to mind with the questions it poses, it makes me wonder just how much Mary knew when this story began to unfold in her life. 

What did she know? Luke 1:26-38 lays out the biblical narrative. She knew that God favored her and was with her. She knew that God was going to cause her to have a son as a virgin, that his name would be Jesus, that he would be great and called the Son of God, and that he would reign on David’s throne forever. She knew that the Holy Spirit would overshadow her to conceive. 

What didn’t she know? She didn’t know what Joseph’s response would be. She didn’t know what her parents’ response would be. She didn’t know what the community’s response would be. She didn’t know what it would cost her. She didn’t know she would have to travel about 90 miles in her ninth month of pregnancy. She didn’t know where she would deliver her first child or who would be there to help her. She didn’t know that she and her baby would have to flee for their lives to Africa. There was much she didn’t know. However, I don’t think that she was so naive that she didn’t know there were going to be hardships, challenges, and pain. 

And what was her response? It’s recorded after she had time to think about it and after experiencing some of the early hardships. It would have been before she was showing, but I believe Mary would have been forthcoming with Joseph and her parents. It’s probably why she went to visit Elizabeth, her cousin. It’s recorded in Luke 1:46-55 and has been called The Magnificat because of the translation of the first line, “My soul magnifies the Lord.” Her words reflect her obvious emotion. She is full of joy. And why? She tells us. God has chosen her. He understands her humble circumstance but has exalted her. She sees herself from an eternal perspective referring to “all generations” and views her circumstance as a “great thing” for her! She concludes with a flurry of praise for God as evidenced by all the good things he has done. 

Mary’s self-reflection raises the question of how we interpret the circumstances of our lives. Unlike Mary’s situation, much of the hardships, challenges, and pain we endure are of our own doing or that of the people around us. Much of Mary’s hardships would come from the people around her, but she kept her focus on how God viewed her. It begs the question; how much of our attitude comes from how God views us, how much comes from the viewpoint of others, and how much from how we view ourselves?   

Thankfulness and gratitude are choices, and Mary demonstrated great strength in making her choices, which must have been at least one reason why God favored her. She was truly a person who kept her eyes on the upper story instead of being dragged down into the lower one. Thankfulness and gratitude are choices for us as well. I’m sure there are plenty of reasons we might give for bitter or discouraged hearts, but could it be that we are choosing not to concentrate on the good things God has done and continues to do for us? 

Mary was consistent in her choice too. When the wise men came to pay homage to her son, the Bible says that “she treasured all these things in her heart.” She could have blamed the wise men for placing her and her son in danger, but she didn’t. I’m sure the expensive gifts were used to fund their journey to Egypt, which she saw as God’s provision and protection for her and her family.   

When Jesus was presented in the temple, an old man named Simeon told Mary that a sword would pierce her soul. Mary knew there were tough times ahead, but she had no idea just how tough they would be. There is a consistency in Mary throughout her life, whether becoming a widow and single parent, watching the brutal torture and death of her son, receiving him back from death only to watch him go again, or leaving her country later in life to go to a foreign land. No matter what happened, Mary remained locked on the upper story and the faithfulness of a God who always keeps his word. 

I doubt if any of us have had to endure the difficulties Mary did. She was truly in the middle of the mess, but only from a certain point of view. What’s your point of view today? Think about all that God has done for you, what he has given you, and what he has called you to. There’s no doubt that there will be messes, but we can choose to lift our eyes above the mess to see that God has something better for us.