Mary, did you know?
Tonight we commemorate the single most significant event in the entire history of the world. This was something so earth-shattering that even athiests measure time from its occurance. On this night, more than 2,000 years ago, the Son of God was born of a woman in a lowly cattle stall in Bethlehem and hardly anyone even noticed.
Tonight, I'm going to try to take you back to that holy night, to try to recreate some of the feelings of the people who DID witness this earth-changing event. But, I need your help. You're going to have to supply the imagination and the faith to make it work.
First, I'd like to tell you a little bit about MY family. Many of you know this, but my wife, Jan, and I have four kids. They range in age from nineteen to thirty-two. So, it's been almost twenty years since there's been a child born in the Buckley family. And, as the time goes by, you have a tendency to forget just exactly what it was like when a new life enters the world.
But all of that changed when our oldest son, Mike, and his wife Jennifer, announced that we will become grandparents this coming April. All of a sudden, the excitement, the anticipation, the wonder that are part of a new life all came rushing back. Modern science has taken away the mystery of whether the child is a boy or a girl. She's a girl. But all the rest of the exciting, and sometimes frightening, questions are still there.
What will she look like? What color will her eyes be? What color will her hair be? Will she be ok? (Please God, let her be ok!)
I remember how excited Jan and I were when each of our kids was born. There's no feeling in the world like meeting your own son or daughter for the first time. It truly is a miracle.
But, now I'm going to be a grandfather. What are grandfathers supposed to do? How am I supposed to act? My grandparents died before I was born, so I'm not sure. Wait! My late father-in-law was a wonderful grandfather. My kids loved him. What did he do? Oh yeah, he gave them beer. They'd sit on his lap and he'd share his beer with them. Is that what grandfathers do? There are lots of questions.
Suddenly, I have an entirely different take on a new birth. The Gospels don't say anything about Jesus grandparents. If they were still alive, they probably weren't there for His birth. They aren't mentioned. I suppose that they might have been in their home town registering, just as Mary and Joseph were in the city of David. But, what I really want to focus on tonight are Mary and Joseph.
This is where you have to help me. I want you to close your eyes and pretent that you were there on that winter night in Bethlehem. Think about the last time a baby was born into your family. Maybe it was your son or daughter, maybe it was a grandchild, maybe it was a brother or sister, or a niece or nephew. Try to bring back the feelings you had that day. Think about the sounds and the smells. Remember, except for his natural father, Jesus was a baby like any other baby. Sometimes He was quiet. Sometimes He cried. Sometimes he had that fresh, clean new baby smell. Sometimes He didn't smell so great. There were no Pampers in those days.
Now, here's where you're going to have to use a little more imagination. Mary and Joseph had the normal sights and sounds and smells that are part of every birth and we can all relate to that. But, they also had the sights and sounds and smells of a cattle stall. There was straw. There were cows and sheep and other animals as well. There was no heat. It must have been quite a night!
Of course, this hadn't been a normal pregnancy from the very beginning to the very end. Moms, think about this: You're nine months pregnant. The baby is due any minute. And you have to get on a donkey and ride to Rolla, MO. What must that have been like? Dads, imagine that you had to walk along side Mary, riding that donkey to Rolla. It's about as far from St. Louis to Rolla as it is from Nazareth to Bethlehem.
Like Mike and Jen, Mary and Joseph knew in advance the sex of their baby. The angel told Mary that she would have a son. Even with ultrasound, there's always the possibility that our granddaughter could turn out to be our grandson. It's a very small possibility, but it could happen. The doctor told us that our daughter, Megan, was going to be a boy. But, Mary and Joseph knew that Jesus was a boy. God doesn't lie.
But, what would He look like? Obviously he wouldn't look like Joseph. Or would He? After all, anything is possible for God. Would He favor Mary? That would seem logical, but they really didn't know. Being Jewish, hair and eye color were pretty well set. In spite of the blonde haired, blue eyed Jesus that we've seen in the movies, Jesus was a Jew. He had dark hair and eyes. But Mary and Joseph had all the questions that any new parents, plus a whole lot more.
What would this “Son of God” be like? Would He walk and talk immediately after His birth? Would He take over as head of the family? Would he be like the baby Stewie on the cartoon Family Guy, or, would He be just like any other baby? Who knew?
Before mass the choir sang one of my favorite Christmas songs, “Mary, Did You Know?” I hope you were here to hear it. But, if you weren't, I'm sure you know how it goes. It asks questions that I'm sure we would all like to ask Mary, and Joseph too.
“Mary, did you know
that your baby boy will one day walk on water?”
“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.”
And a question that we know she knew:
“Did you know,
that your baby boy has walked where angels trod?
When you kiss your little baby,
you've kissed the face of God. “
And Joseph, what about Joseph? He was only the baby's step father, but what a night it must have been for him. What had he gotten himself into? Already he had taken on the responsibility of a child who wasn't his. He had married Mary to save her from the scandal of being an unwed mother. What was to come? What else would be asked of him? He had no way of knowing that he would have to give up his business and move to Egypt. He had no idea that just when they got settled in Egypt, he would have to turn around and move back. He couldn't know the heartbreak of searching all over for the young Jesus when He was lost only to find Him in the temple and hear the words,” Didn't you know I must be in my Father's house?” Imagine what that felt like, how that must have hurt. No, there was a lot that Mary and Joseph didn't know.
But, on this night, the excitement of becoming parents must have erased any worries that they might have had. Holding that tiny baby for the first time, even surrounded by smelly cows and sheep had to be the best moment of their entire lives. Jan and I have had that feeling four times. Mary and Joseph would have it only once. Shepherds and kings would be coming soon to pay homage to the newborn King, but on this night, in this stable, Jesus WAS Mary and Joseph's world.
In the days to come, the new parents will learn more about what the future holds. The shepherds will come. The three kings will come bearing gifts. Soon, they would meet a man named Simeon in the temple. Simeon recognized who Jesus was. He told Mary, “Behold, this child is destined for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be contradicted (and you yourself a sword will pierce) so that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed."
Then, in one of the great lines of all the Gospels, Simeon takes the baby in his arms, blesses God and says, “Now, Master, you may let your servant go in peace, according to your word, for my eyes have seen your salvation...”
OUR eyes have seen God's salvation too, and it's there for each and every one of us, if we want it. All we have to do is say “yes” to Jesus, just as Mary said to the Angel all those many years ago.
So, as you head out into the night to spend this wonderful evening, and the glorious day of Christmas tomorrow, with family and friends, remember that for a few minutes on Christmas Eve, you were there with Mary and Joseph and their little baby. Remember that the baby born on this night so many years ago was God's greatest gift to us; the gift of salvation. Please don't forget that gift in the excitement of the material gifts that come with Christmas.
Tonight, I'm going to try to take you back to that holy night, to try to recreate some of the feelings of the people who DID witness this earth-changing event. But, I need your help. You're going to have to supply the imagination and the faith to make it work.
First, I'd like to tell you a little bit about MY family. Many of you know this, but my wife, Jan, and I have four kids. They range in age from nineteen to thirty-two. So, it's been almost twenty years since there's been a child born in the Buckley family. And, as the time goes by, you have a tendency to forget just exactly what it was like when a new life enters the world.
But all of that changed when our oldest son, Mike, and his wife Jennifer, announced that we will become grandparents this coming April. All of a sudden, the excitement, the anticipation, the wonder that are part of a new life all came rushing back. Modern science has taken away the mystery of whether the child is a boy or a girl. She's a girl. But all the rest of the exciting, and sometimes frightening, questions are still there.
What will she look like? What color will her eyes be? What color will her hair be? Will she be ok? (Please God, let her be ok!)
I remember how excited Jan and I were when each of our kids was born. There's no feeling in the world like meeting your own son or daughter for the first time. It truly is a miracle.
But, now I'm going to be a grandfather. What are grandfathers supposed to do? How am I supposed to act? My grandparents died before I was born, so I'm not sure. Wait! My late father-in-law was a wonderful grandfather. My kids loved him. What did he do? Oh yeah, he gave them beer. They'd sit on his lap and he'd share his beer with them. Is that what grandfathers do? There are lots of questions.
Suddenly, I have an entirely different take on a new birth. The Gospels don't say anything about Jesus grandparents. If they were still alive, they probably weren't there for His birth. They aren't mentioned. I suppose that they might have been in their home town registering, just as Mary and Joseph were in the city of David. But, what I really want to focus on tonight are Mary and Joseph.
This is where you have to help me. I want you to close your eyes and pretent that you were there on that winter night in Bethlehem. Think about the last time a baby was born into your family. Maybe it was your son or daughter, maybe it was a grandchild, maybe it was a brother or sister, or a niece or nephew. Try to bring back the feelings you had that day. Think about the sounds and the smells. Remember, except for his natural father, Jesus was a baby like any other baby. Sometimes He was quiet. Sometimes He cried. Sometimes he had that fresh, clean new baby smell. Sometimes He didn't smell so great. There were no Pampers in those days.
Now, here's where you're going to have to use a little more imagination. Mary and Joseph had the normal sights and sounds and smells that are part of every birth and we can all relate to that. But, they also had the sights and sounds and smells of a cattle stall. There was straw. There were cows and sheep and other animals as well. There was no heat. It must have been quite a night!
Of course, this hadn't been a normal pregnancy from the very beginning to the very end. Moms, think about this: You're nine months pregnant. The baby is due any minute. And you have to get on a donkey and ride to Rolla, MO. What must that have been like? Dads, imagine that you had to walk along side Mary, riding that donkey to Rolla. It's about as far from St. Louis to Rolla as it is from Nazareth to Bethlehem.
Like Mike and Jen, Mary and Joseph knew in advance the sex of their baby. The angel told Mary that she would have a son. Even with ultrasound, there's always the possibility that our granddaughter could turn out to be our grandson. It's a very small possibility, but it could happen. The doctor told us that our daughter, Megan, was going to be a boy. But, Mary and Joseph knew that Jesus was a boy. God doesn't lie.
But, what would He look like? Obviously he wouldn't look like Joseph. Or would He? After all, anything is possible for God. Would He favor Mary? That would seem logical, but they really didn't know. Being Jewish, hair and eye color were pretty well set. In spite of the blonde haired, blue eyed Jesus that we've seen in the movies, Jesus was a Jew. He had dark hair and eyes. But Mary and Joseph had all the questions that any new parents, plus a whole lot more.
What would this “Son of God” be like? Would He walk and talk immediately after His birth? Would He take over as head of the family? Would he be like the baby Stewie on the cartoon Family Guy, or, would He be just like any other baby? Who knew?
Before mass the choir sang one of my favorite Christmas songs, “Mary, Did You Know?” I hope you were here to hear it. But, if you weren't, I'm sure you know how it goes. It asks questions that I'm sure we would all like to ask Mary, and Joseph too.
“Mary, did you know
that your baby boy will one day walk on water?”
“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.”
And a question that we know she knew:
“Did you know,
that your baby boy has walked where angels trod?
When you kiss your little baby,
you've kissed the face of God. “
And Joseph, what about Joseph? He was only the baby's step father, but what a night it must have been for him. What had he gotten himself into? Already he had taken on the responsibility of a child who wasn't his. He had married Mary to save her from the scandal of being an unwed mother. What was to come? What else would be asked of him? He had no way of knowing that he would have to give up his business and move to Egypt. He had no idea that just when they got settled in Egypt, he would have to turn around and move back. He couldn't know the heartbreak of searching all over for the young Jesus when He was lost only to find Him in the temple and hear the words,” Didn't you know I must be in my Father's house?” Imagine what that felt like, how that must have hurt. No, there was a lot that Mary and Joseph didn't know.
But, on this night, the excitement of becoming parents must have erased any worries that they might have had. Holding that tiny baby for the first time, even surrounded by smelly cows and sheep had to be the best moment of their entire lives. Jan and I have had that feeling four times. Mary and Joseph would have it only once. Shepherds and kings would be coming soon to pay homage to the newborn King, but on this night, in this stable, Jesus WAS Mary and Joseph's world.
In the days to come, the new parents will learn more about what the future holds. The shepherds will come. The three kings will come bearing gifts. Soon, they would meet a man named Simeon in the temple. Simeon recognized who Jesus was. He told Mary, “Behold, this child is destined for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be contradicted (and you yourself a sword will pierce) so that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed."
Then, in one of the great lines of all the Gospels, Simeon takes the baby in his arms, blesses God and says, “Now, Master, you may let your servant go in peace, according to your word, for my eyes have seen your salvation...”
OUR eyes have seen God's salvation too, and it's there for each and every one of us, if we want it. All we have to do is say “yes” to Jesus, just as Mary said to the Angel all those many years ago.
So, as you head out into the night to spend this wonderful evening, and the glorious day of Christmas tomorrow, with family and friends, remember that for a few minutes on Christmas Eve, you were there with Mary and Joseph and their little baby. Remember that the baby born on this night so many years ago was God's greatest gift to us; the gift of salvation. Please don't forget that gift in the excitement of the material gifts that come with Christmas.
posted by Mike at 10:29 PM
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