We are going to close out the year by looking at 25 posts on Mary and Joseph for Advent. Part 8: The Shepherds Give Mary Lifelong Affirmations
Luke 2:6-7,16-19 (NLT)
6 And while they were there, the time came for her baby to be born. 7 She gave birth to her firstborn son. She wrapped him snugly in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no lodging available for them.
16 They hurried to the village and found Mary and Joseph. And there was the baby, lying in the manger. 17 After seeing him, the shepherds told everyone what had happened and what the angel had said to them about this child. 18 All who heard the shepherds’ story were astonished, 19 but Mary kept all these things in her heart and thought about them often.
Dear God,
It was a few years ago when I first started to ask “why” regarding the shepherds. Why did you disturb their sleep with this news? Why did you bring them into the loop? Why were they chosen to receive this instead of the local church or community leaders? And I have come up with some thoughts related to why the shepherds instead of anyone else, but that is not what I am looking at today. I am looking at how Mary’s story intersects with theirs. And I find the key in verse 19: “…but Mary kept all these things in her heart and thought about them often.”
It was a night she will never forget. She had to give birth in a stable. She was young (remembering she was likely a child by today’s standards), she was tired, scared, and going through all of this with a guy she presumably did not know as well as she later would. Was there any part of both Mary and Joseph that Satan was using to sow doubt about and distrust of the other? Just how scared and alone did Mary feel that night? Then these dirty shepherd guys show up. These unlikely heroes came in and told Mary, Joseph, and anyone who would listen about their own angel visit. But they did not get just one angel: “Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others—the armies of heaven—praising God and saying, ‘Glory to God in highest heaven, and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.’” (Luke 2:13-14)
They got an army of angels! Mary did not get an army of angels on her visit with Gabriel. Joseph did not get one either. But these guys saw an army of angels. God’s incarnation into the world was big time!! This was an affirmation to Mary that God knew exactly what was happening. She did not have to worry about whether or not she and Joseph had done something wrong because they were not in a house or inn. You affirmed to her that you knew exactly what was going on, all the way down to Jesus lying in a manger. You sent shepherds to her and to Joseph. And as Jesus grew up, she could return to this memory, which she apparently did often.
She probably did it the day the wise men came. She probably thought about the shepherds a few days later when you sent her more affirmations at the temple in Jerusalem (more on that tomorrow). She probably thought about them when Joseph woke her up in the middle of the night and told her to get Jesus ready for a trip to Egypt. She probably thought about the shepherds’ visit when she heard about Herod killing all the baby boys back in Bethlehem. She probably thought about the shepherds when they were frantically looking for Jesus when he was 12. She probably thought about them as she asked Jesus to make some wine. She probably thought about them when she stood outside a home, worried that Jesus had lost his mind. She probably thought about the shepherds when she saw Jesus crucified. And she probably thought about the shepherds after the resurrection. This memory likely stayed in her heart for the rest of her life and always comforted her.
Father, help me to remember all the affirmations you have given to me through the years. My wife and I sometimes talk about the prayers we have prayed and how sometimes you say no and sometimes you say yes. What I need to do is have faith you are working things out the way you know is best. So I reiterate my faith right now. I trust you. I trust you. I trust you. Help my distrust. And help me do today what you would have me do so that your will might be done and your kingdom will come on earth as it is in heaven.
I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,
Amen
