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I'm a huge fan of Christmas memes and this one had me laughing out loud this year. No offense intended, because 'Mary, did you know' is lyrically one of my favourite songs, and I promise I love it as much as you do. I just have to hear the words, "this child that you've delivered will soon deliver you," and I'm bawling like a baby. But since Christmas day, I've was found myself mulling over this meme, the angel's greeting to Mary as one "highly favoured", and the possible impact of what Mary "knew" on the rest of her life (at least what is revealed of it in the Bible). Mary is definitely one of the most intriguing and until this year, for me, the least relatable character in the narrative of Christ's birth and the rest of the gospels. I can't really relate to being a scared teenager willing to risk my entire future in, literally, a moment's notice. Add to that, these ups and downs (more downs, really) - her interaction with Jesus at the Wedding at Cana, or the time when Jesus' family accused Jesus of being out of His mind, or the time she watched her Son being nailed to the cross and I'm just lost. But this Christmas I, like Mary, treasured many things that I thought I knew and pondered them in my heart. And I found myself staring at Christ, the way Mary might have in the crib, in Cana or on the cross - confused. And if I were to guess, I think she must have been thinking, "How do I resolve what I know with what I see before me?" What about this paltry setting of a manger, or this Son who seems to wait around for 30 years and then starts acting like He's lost His mind from time to time, or this helpless Person nailed to a cross suggests that "He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end"? This Christmas, I empathized with Mary, who might have spent a good part of her life being just as doubtful as the song suggests today - "What did Mary really know?" As 2021 draws to a close, I remember everything that I feel like I know beyond the shadow of a doubt. And still I look around, and nothing I'm seeing seems to match what I know. I know that my God is a good, faithful promise-keeper. You will never shake me on that. And yet another year goes by, and I wrestle with my million unanswered questions, unfulfilled promises and nagging doubts. Centuries from now, believers everywhere could sing, "Nikita, did you know?" and I'm afraid I couldn't answer your question very well. On most days, all I seem capable of is the oxymoronical, "I believe, Lord; Help my unbelief." But on this last day of a crazy year, I'd like to welcome you to join me in praising the God we know, despite what our lives may look like- the One who patiently works with ones as flawed as I.
And this year, I'm also deeply grateful to Mary for showing me that "highly favoured" doesn't often look the way I think it does.
