Christmas Ponderings
December 24, 2006
Micah 5:2-5a; Luke 1:39-45; 2:15-20
Betty Berghaus
“But Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart.” (Luke 2:19) I have for a long time pondered over Mary’s pondering! Mary had been told of the birth of Jesus by an angel, who said that she would bear a son named Jesus, who would be the “Son of the Most High,” a king in the line of David. The angel said that his kingdom would reign forever. The angel told her “Nothing is impossible with God.” Mary had visited her cousin Elizabeth, also pregnant with a special child, one whom we call John the Baptist. And as Mary grasped the significance of this child growing inside her, she sang the hymn that the choir sang last week in our worship services, the Magnificat, a song which proclaims God’s might and mercy, and reflects reversal of fortunes that the Gospel of Luke likes to proclaim of the proud brought low and the low ones exalted, the hungry full of food and the rich empty.
A very pregnant Mary endured what must have been an unpleasant journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem, according to Luke. Though no census was reported in history around that time in that region, the birth in Bethlehem fulfilled the prophecies of Micah that we read earlier in the Call to Worship. So Mary and Joseph traveled to Bethlehem. And though Joseph probably expected they would find a room with family, no room was available, and they stayed instead in the manger room, where the animals were kept. And that is where the gospel simply says that Mary “gave birth to her firstborn son, and wrapped him in bands of cloth, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.” (2:7) It was a lowly birth for a king! Maybe that was part of Mary’s pondering.
In Luke’s version, there were no magi. But some lowly shepherds were in the field when an angel appeared to them to tell them of the birth of the Savior. They left the field – something shepherds rarely did, and that is part of why they were so lowly regarded – they could not go to worship because they could not leave their flocks unguarded. The shepherds told Mary and Joseph what the angels had proclaimed to them, that the Savior was born, and would be lying in a manger. A host of angels proclaimed God’s peace.
And everyone who heard what the shepherds said were amazed – all except Mary. “Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart.” (2:19)
So what does it mean that Mary pondered these things in her heart? To ponder means to weigh in the mind, to consider carefully. The Greek word is sumballo, and it means “to throw together, to confer, or, in the sense of pondering, to put one thing with another in considering circumstances. Something that is ponderous is of very great weight. It is unwieldy, clumsy, and cumbersome. Some synonyms for ponder are “ consider,” “appraise,” “evaluate,” “ruminate,” “turn over,” “chaw.”
And Mary pondered these things in her heart. Now you must realize that the heart in the ancient world was more than an organ in the body. The heart was considered the central and unifying organ of personal life. For the Hebrews, the heart was the chief organ, the spring of all individual life, the source of all physical, intellectual, and emotional energies, and the part through which one connected with the divine. The Greek word for heart is kardia, from which we make words like cardiologist, of course. But our cardiology deals more with just the organ. And as we have said, for the people of biblical times, the heart might have been more like the seat of the person, the personality, the seat of intellect, moral life, and the point of contact with God. So Mary pondered these words with her whole soul.
Mary’s age at the time of Jesus’ birth has been estimated at around 13 to 15 years old. She was betrothed to Joseph, which meant she was promised to him and under his protection, but not yet married or consumated. Though both Luke and Matthew trace Jesus’ lineage to the house of David through Joseph (as it was traditional to trace through the father), Luke’s gospel implies that Mary too was of the Davidic line, and with Elizabeth as a kinswoman, she might have also been of Levitic (or priestly) descent. Though she was very young, she was very faithful, and with but one question to the angel, quickly complied with what the angel told her God would do.
Mary has been venerated through the centuries, especially by the Roman Catholic Church. The Interpreter’s Bible says that the picture of Mary in the NT shows “all that was finest in Jewish womanhood and motherhood; her deep spiritual sensitivity; her purity, faith and obedience to the divine people; her scrupulous training of her son in the religious traditions of his people; her loyalty to him, as evidenced by her presence at the Cross, even when she did not fully understand him – all mark her as a person of remarkable qualities” (Vol. 3, p.293). Ronald Brownrigg, author of Who’s Who in the New Testament says that Mary is to all Christians “what Abraham is to both Jews and Moslems: the person whose obedience to and acceptance of God’s call brought blessing to all people ”(Brownrigg, p. 161). William Butler Yeats referred to her as the Mother of God.
As the Mother of Jesus, we celebrate Mary in song and verse, even as we ponder how she must have reacted to the birth of a holy Son. Juan del Encina wrote (in the 16th century):
“A virgin of but 15 years, dusty-skinned, such festive eyes;
Such a comely shepherdess you’d find not in a 1000 flocks!...
…Let’s search for Mary, the daughter of St. Anne,
For she, (yes, she) gave birth to Him!”
Christina Rosseti wrote in “In the Bleak Mid-Winter” in the 19th century and said:
“Angels and archangels may have gathered there,
Cherubim and seraphim thronged the air;
But only His mother, in her maiden bliss,
Worshiped the Beloved with a kiss.”
In more modern verse, a popular song of the 20th century wonders:
“Mary, did you know that your baby boy will save our sons and daughters? 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?” 1991, Word Music)
Amy Grant’s song (1992) “Mary’s Song, Breath of Heaven” (from the movie “The Nativity Story”) speaks of Mary’s pondering as if in Mary’s own voice:
“Did you wonder as you watch my face if a wiser one should have had my place? But I offer all I am for the mercy of Your plan. Help me be strong.”
So what does it mean that Mary pondered these words in her heart? She was a very young woman, still a child herself, really, bearing a child. Many of us women, as we bear our first child, wonder at what we have accomplished, with many months of changes to our bodies, and perhaps many hours of labor. And we wonder if we are up to the task of mothering such a helpless being, and what he or she will grow to be like. New mothers may often sit and ponder this miracle of birth that has happened and what the future may bring with some mixed feelings of hope and fear.
And then when someone comes into the hospital room and praises our baby, or stops us in the mall to admire our infant in the stroller, why, we beam with pride! If someone said, “Oh, your child will save the world,” we would probably take it in stride, and simply be proud of what we had created.
But Mary had been given a special message about her baby, by the angel, and again by the shepherds who had visited after his birth. She knew this was not just any child. This was the child of God.
And because of this child, all of us and all of our offspring are children of God. I remember pondering this fact often after my Mary was born. This child is a gift from God, I would tell myself, because I truly believe that. (And that is part of why we baptize our infants, as we baptize Carson today, because we believe that they are truly God’s beloved children, loved by God before even formed in the womb!)
So Mary had much to ponder. What if we all took time to ponder in this Christmas season?It is such a hectic time, with shopping and parties and concerts and rehearsals and pageants and services, and so much more. We generally do not have much time to ponder God’s place in our lives. But perhaps we should follow Mary’s example and find a time and place to ponder God’s holy presence in our lives this Christmas, even in the midst of the rush. There is still time for pondering. Be like Mary. Ponder – consider carefully, ruminate, turn over, evaluate, appraise, chaw on God’s presence in your life, and do so with your whole soul! Ponder God’s presence in your life and in the lives of your family members. Ponder your relationship with God, and how you nurture that relationship. Ponder the ways you can take care of not just your physical and personal life, but also your spiritual life. Ponder…
“For a child has been born for us, a son given to us; authority rests upon his shoulders; and he is named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” (Isaiah 9:6).
- --Treasure these things and ponder them in your hearts.
And all glory be to God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, AMEN.