Musings on Christmas - Part 5

Luke 2:15-20 (NKJV)

15 So it was, when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, that the shepherds said to one another, “Let us now go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us.” 16 And they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the Babe lying in a manger. 17 Now when they had seen Him, they made widely known the saying which was told them concerning this Child. 18 And all those who heard it marveled at those things which were told them by the shepherds. 19 But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart. 20 Then the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told them.

Mary knew who this baby was. God had told her. And now at His birth, she got further confirmation when the shepherds came to worship. She must have marveled at their story of the angel and heavenly host coming to them in the fields.

I wonder if she found it intriguing that shepherds were the first to get the news of the birth of the Messiah and the first to come to worship. Maybe she thought it appropriate that shepherds were the first since the only place she had to lay Him was a manger. Maybe she laughed that God would send lowly people, people who lived in the fields and cared for animals day in and day out, as the first to see this child. Maybe it gave her an idea of who this child came to serve and the breadth His ministry would cover.

Did she wonder where the rulers and important people were? Probably not, because she herself was not an important person in their eyes. She didn't come from a powerful family or have political connections. She and her husband were poor and couldn't even command a room in the inn. And would the powerful and connected believe who this child was anyway?

She knew who this baby was. She could not know all that would transpire over the next 30+ years. But she knew, at this time, who He was. God had now confirmed the message He had given her months ago.

Mary kept all this in her heart and pondered. How many times would she remember this day while this child grew? How often would she return to pondering this night when things happened that were a struggle for her to understand?

A lesson for us leaps out of this passage. We would do well to do as Mary and ponder these things in our hearts. When the holiday season is over, when we get bogged down in the grind of daily life, it is good for us to ponder what God did for us on this Christmas Day. It is good for us to consider how incredible it is that God came to us in our form, with our limitations and with our weaknesses. The burdens of life will seem lighter when we meditate on what God has done for us.

And with this I close my Musings on Christmas for 2021. Merry Christmas!