Luke 2:1-20
“In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration and was taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. All went to their own towns to be registered. Joseph also went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the city of David called Bethlehem, because he was descended from the house and family of David. He went to be registered with Mary, to whom he was engaged and who was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for her to deliver her child. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in bands of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no place in the guest room.
Now in that same region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for see, I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying,
“Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and on earth peace among those whom he favors!”
When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go now to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us.” So they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph and the child lying in the manger. When they saw this, they made known what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them, and Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, just as it had been told them.”
Growing up in the 90's my dad often performed the song, "Mary, did you know?" at the Christmas service at our church. The song (which you've probably heard on the radio at Christmas time) entertains the notion if Mary was aware her baby created the heavens and earth, or that He would one day walk on water and eventually deliver her and the world from their sins. I've watched him perform it so many times that I know all the words by heart. One line in the song often struck my heart growing up and still can overwhelm me today:
"Mary did you know? … when you kiss your little baby, you've kissed the face of God."
As a mother of three little boys, the line has become even more layered. I love showering my boys with kisses, as I'm sure Mary loved kissing her firstborn baby boy. He came not as a full-grown man, but as a baby, who loved to be kissed by his mother. We will never know exactly how much Mary knew at the time of Jesus' birth, but, luckily, it's not the most important part of Jesus' birth. The greatest gift God has given us is Jesus, whom God allowed to inhabit this fallen and dusty world and be kissed by a mother and a father. Before Jesus, God often appeared as a light or hidden by a cloud, but Mary and Joseph were the first to see His face and actually hold Him in their arms. They held God in their arms? This is still hard for me to comprehend and can only make sense through God's boundless and everlasting love.
How might you consider the possibilities of the perfect, boundless, everlasting love of God in your life?