Two dear friends led me to think deeply about Mary this Christmas.
First, Yay. She cried, “Yay!” when she found a book with an accompanying music CD at the second-hand bookstore where we had been browsing (heavy-duty reading, actually) books after books for almost an hour. Glancing at the cover, I immediately hummed, “Mary Did You Know?”
The tune and lyrics of this song, written by Mark Lowry and put to music by Buddy Greene in 1984, touched me greatly when I heard it sung in our church the first time years ago. It never fails to move me still every time I hear it:
“ . . . Mary did you know that your baby Boy has come to make you new? This Child that you've delivered will soon deliver you.“. . . Mary did you know that your baby Boy is Lord of all creation?”
In Luke 1:46-47, Mary said,“My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior . . .”
Second, Josil. He was the devotion speaker at the Christmas party of the OMFLit Christian Writers Fellowship and his message centered on the nativity scene, particularly Mary's reaction to what has happened.
Luke 2: 18 and 19: “ . . . and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.”
Amidst the excitement, amazement, and joy, Mary stayed quiet and reflected in her heart the meaning of it all.
May we be like Mary as we prepare for our Christmas celebration today and have a Mary Christmas. Amidst the merriment—frantic excitement, frenzied amazement, and feverish joy—all around us right now, I pray we find time on Christmas eve to stay silent for a few special moments and ponder the greatest Gift ever given to man: the grace of salvation.
The Lord of all burst forth on earth on that early Christmas morn to deliver Mary, all mothers, all fathers, all sons and daughters, and all of creation.
Merry Christmas from our family to yours!
5 comments:
I still get teary-eyed whenever I hear the song. Such love He poured on us starting that first Christmas day. And oh, how real it is everyday!
Have you heard the version of Kenny Rogers? Beautiful.
Yes, heard it too; mellower but touching just the same.
I remember having it with Lola Cionang and all the originals still around . . . in Umingan.
they're all gone now, except Auntie Puring. But auntie Puring's mind has been gone for a long time. Sad . . .
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