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Mary - The Wonder of
Wonders
(Hold baby for first part)
(Put up sign "Day of Purification")
This morning as we were preparing to go up to the temple in
Jerusalem
for my rite of purification, Joseph whispered to me, “Tonight you are going
to be mine.”
Joseph and I have had a strange start to our marriage.
We had a rough, uncertain start but he has been so loving, kind and understanding.
He could have had me stoned.
We were engaged to be married. I was
anxiously anticipating the marriage our parents had arranged.
Joseph had requested his parents contact mine.
He was a godly young man and loved to go to the temple to worship.
He was the kind of person that stood out in a crowd.
Not because he was loud and boisterous, but his kind words, gentle spirit
and gracious ways. I was a fortunate
young girl. And then, I had this
most unsettling, holy experience. I have always
had a heart for the things of God. One
day I was home alone, just praying, mediating and thinking about and planning my
wedding.
Suddenly an angel came to me. I was
so startled and my heart pounded till I thought it was going to explode.
I knew it was an angel even though I had never seen one.
I haven’t been able to tell many people about this experience except
for my family, Elizabeth and Joseph. People
don’t understand. I am not even sure I do.
The words of the angel are forever embedded in my heart. I
have thought about them over and over and over.
Favored one.
You will be with child.
Conceived
by the Holy Spirit.
A son, and call him Jesus.
He will be great.
Son of the Most High.
Son of God.
He will reign on the throne of David.
His kingdom will never end.
I just did not understand how this would be.
We have been looking for the Messiah.
Many times I have heard my parents and neighbors sit on the roof at night
and talk about the coming Messiah-the deliverer.
The rabbis have read from Isaiah many times.
“The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light….for unto
us a Child is born. Unto us a Son is
give. And the government will be
upon His shoulder. And His name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty
God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace…”
(Isaiah 9)
Is this my son?
Will these hands hold a scepter?
Will a crown be on his head?
Will wicked Herod finally be removed and this baby, my son, sit on his
throne?
A beautiful robe.
Will he be wise like Solomon?
He
will rule the government.
Will people flock to hear Him speak.
Oh, baby, are you really the wonderful, Prince of Peace that we have
waited so long for? I know you
are special. The angel told me and I
believe it. I know you are from God.
I wonder why God would want to come as a baby and to our family. Your
daddy and I have been married for 6 months and we are still waiting to
consummate our marriage.
I will never forget going to Joseph after the angel had appeared to me.
I was excited and filled with nervous awe.
The impact of the angel’s message had not yet hit me but I had to tell
him what had just happened. He was
working in the shop making furniture for our house when I burst in the door.
I told him all about the angel and what the angel said.
He heard one word…pregnant. Pregnant.
I was pregnant and he knew he was not the father.
He tried so hard to understand. He
had me repeat it over and over. Each
time I repeated the words, I watched his face.
His eyes welled with tears and his hands trembled.
My heart got heavier and heavier. I
would be pregnant...pregnant…. pregnant. It
began to sink in to me too. What
would our parents say? How could we
hide this glorious shameful thing that was going to happen?
What would we do. Suddenly
life was very confusing and twisted.
I told him the angel told me about Elizabeth
. Joseph pleaded with me to go, just
go, get away for awhile, anywhere, go see Elizabeth. He needed time and space. Time to
sort things out. He was confused and
hurt and angry.
I went home and my world fell apart. My parents listened and they were confused.
It just did not make sense. They
wanted to believe me when I said I had not slept with anyone but pregnant and
not married? I could be
killed-stoned. They could be
ostracized by the village and even made to leave. They were afraid and felt I
needed to go into hiding for awhile till we sorted this strange happening out.
My cousin Elizabeth seemed just the perfect place to go.
Instead of planning my wedding I was planning my hiding.
I didn’t sleep well that night. One
moment I had peace and then fear and worry would consume me.
How would I deal with this? The angel’s words would play through my
head.... Son of God, Holy One, His name shall be Jesus.
Early the next morning I packed my donkey and took off on the 100 mile trip to
see
Elizabeth
. I can’t believe they let me go
alone. I think they were too
confused and hurt to think rationally. God
protected me on that journey up into the hill country.
I needed that time alone to think. God’s
presence felt so near. It took
several days and at night I slept under the stars.
It was if God rode on that donkey with me.
Not once was I afraid. By the
time I got to
Elizabeth
’s house I was so at peace. I knew that something special was going to happen
and that this baby was from God. What
or how, I did not know.
The neatest thing happened when I got to Elizabeth’s house. I went inside and when I
greeted her, her baby leaped in her womb. I
think it was at that moment I became pregnant.
She grabbed her belly and there was no holding it still.
We laughed and shouted and sang and worshipped God.
The Holy Spirit came on her and she threw up her hands and spoke in a
loud voice. God spoke to me through
her words. I knew then without a
doubt that what was happening was of God. I
started to sing and praise God. I
couldn’t stop. Words spilled from
my mouth and to this day I remember every word.
There is so much I don’t understand but my soul magnified the Lord and
I vowed to be a willing handmaid. (Luke 1)
I spent three wonderful months with Elizabeth and Zachariah as they encouraged
me in the Lord and we studied the holy words in the scroll.
Zachariah was a priest and he couldn’t speak because he doubted God’s
words when an angel appeared to him and told him he was going to have a son. His
son is going to be special also. Something about being a forerunner of the
Messiah-my son. Zachariah and
I did not have trouble understanding each other.
We searched the scriptures trying to understand what was happening.
It just doesn’t all make sense but we agreed that God was once again
getting ready to visit man and something special and holy is about to happen.
Why would God choose me, a young, inexperienced, unmarried, peasant girl
to be mother of a King, a holy King?
Finally we decided it was time for me to go back home and
see Joseph. I hadn’t heard from
him. I wondered so much what he had
decided. But I had come to peace and
it was ok if he needed to divorce me. Somehow
God would see me through. Zachariah and
Elizabeth said I could come back and live with them.
Joseph was so relieved and glad to see me. He
had decided to divorce me very quietly until an angel appeared to him and
confirmed what he had told me. The
angel even quoted scripture from the prophet Isaiah, “a virgin shall be with
child and bear a son.” Joseph took
me in his arms and held me tight. He
promised to love me and marry me and together we were going to get through this
thing which had happened.
Word of my pregnancy spread like fire thru the village.
It was a small village and we all knew each other.
I became the gossip of the town. None
of my friends were allowed to speak to me anymore.
The boys taunted me and called me terrible names.
I saw people stop and stare at me and then whisper as if I was some
oddity. They were hard days and
months. Joseph and I were
married quietly. Because we believed
this pregnancy was holy and we decided that until the baby was born, that
sacredness would not be violated. We
developed a close emotional bond. Joseph
became my trusted friend, protector and provider.
I developed a deep love and respect for him.
Tonight…..tonight I become his.
There is so much I wonder.
How will a king save people from sin?
Why did God choose me?
Why did I have to be an unwed virgin?
Why would a king be born in a stable?
How can I raise this child, the Son of God?
Will he be different?
How will people know he is a king?
And today when we were at the temple for the purification ceremony.
Simeon prophesied. We just
marveled at what he said. There have
been so many confirmations of who this child is; the angel who appeared to me
and then to Joseph, Elizabeth and Zachariah, the Shepherds who came at his
birth. Simeon looked
straight at me and said, Mary, a sword will thrust thru your heart, that the
thoughts of many will be revealed. (Luke 2:35)
Will
people revolt against this king and kill the queen mother?
Where
will Joseph be?
Am
I going to be murdered with a sword?
What will happen to Jesus?
Play the song:
The Wonder of Wonders
The wonder of wonders as she looked and smiled
He
was her maker as well as her child
He
created the womb that had given Him birth
He
was God incarnate, come down to the earth.
Chorus:
The wonder of wonders, Oh, how could it be
That
God became flesh and was given for me.
The
Almighty came down and walked among men.
The
wonder of wonders, He died for my sins.
The
wonder of wonders as she heard His small cry
That
this voice that thundered on
Mt.
Sinai
.
He’s
small hand she held so tenderly
Had
made a dry path through the mighty
Red Sea
.
33 years later…..
(Change sign to "33 years later")
Never, never did I envision life this way.
Somehow things make sense now but I still can’t process
it all.
Don’t laugh, I have never told this to anyone.
(whisper) I thought I was
going to be “queen-mother” but many times during the past 3 years I thought
I was the “forgotten- mother”. Sometimes
to even talk to him I had to work my way through huge crowds or wait until he
finished speaking and healing to even be noticed.
I will never forget the time when he was told we were there to see him
and he said the crowds of people were his mother and family.
I was hurt, but I knew this Son was destined to be different.
I just didn’t know how different or how to always deal with it.
But one thing I know and I know with all my heart. He is
bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh. He
lived with me, grew up like any other young boy, but He is also the Son of God.
A funny thing happened, He became like me so I could become like Him.
I am His mother but He is my Savior. He needed me for life, now I need
Him for life eternal.
I remember his birth as if it was yesterday. I went with Joseph up to
Bethlehem
to pay our taxes. It was a hard
journey being 9 months pregnant. The
last few hours were almost unbearable. My
contractions started and Joseph was so kind and gentle and understanding.
Because of my pain we could not go as fast as we needed to and arrived in
Bethlehem
after dark. I was scared.
You just don’t travel in that part of the country after dark.
My contractions were getting closer and closer.
I didn’t think I would make it. As
we came into
Bethlehem
the streets were filled with people, people were everywhere but we were so
alone. I needed a bed now and everywhere we stopped
the rooms were full. No one seemed to care until finally at one inn I burst into
tears and started sobbing uncontrollably. Tears
started flowing down Joseph’s cheeks when the innkeeper said it was full.
The innkeeper was sympathetic to our predicament and gave us the only
thing he could-the stable. I
didn’t care. I was so grateful for that stable.
At that moment it was like a mansion to me.
I couldn’t even get off the donkey.
Joseph lifted me off and carried me over to some clean soft straw and a
few hours later our precious baby was born.
Joseph held my hand and suffered with me thru my labor.
The innkeeper checked in on us and brought us a jug of water and towels.
God felt so close to us that night. I
never smelled or saw the dirt. Never
was a place more peaceful and quiet and we were alone except for a few observant
animals. I will never forget the
dove that keep cooing. It was as if
he was saying “God, God”.
We didn’t even hear the boisterous nightlife going on
around the corner. Early in
the morning we were resting and dozing on and off to sleep when men, shepherds
they were, came quietly almost reverently into the stable.
At first I was startled by this crude, smelly group of men; I thought it
was some drunks off the street. But
there was a holy ruggedness to those men.
They shared how the angels had come to them and told them about the birth
of the baby and where to go. I was
so tired and sore but they refreshed my spirit and I felt lifted to the throne
of God. I didn’t want them to
leave.
We needed that confirmation. It was
heaven sent. We knew without a doubt
that this baby was the Son of God. But the unanswered questions…. Why was the
Son of God born in a stable, away from family, in a strange town.
But then very little about the life of this child made sense at the time
it was happening.
You remember that famous wedding where Jesus turned water into wine.
After all Jesus was 30 years old.
It was time he had a plan for his life.
I thought he would never promote himself.
He just didn’t seem interested in being a public figure.
If he was going to be King he needed to do something, start preaching and
make himself known. He was different as a child growing up.
He was so interested in God, thinking and talking about God as if God was
right there. Some children have
imaginary playmates. His imaginary
playmate seemed real. We struggled
to understand. We knew but we could
not comprehend. He helped his daddy
in the carpentry shop but it was as if he was putting in time.
His love was being outside and taking walks.
It was as if he and nature were one.
He noticed birds and flowers that no one else saw; it was as if he
understood them. He would rather
talk to older people than play with the other children.
He could sit for hours talking about the things and ways of God.
He was always gentle, quiet, contemplative, obedient, respectful and
helpful. Sometimes his goodness got
under our skin.
Oh, and his questions. He must have asked me a million of them.
Questions that normal children would not even think to ask.
Why does God not punish bad people? Why
do people ignore God? Where does the
wind go? Do flowers worry about
growing and blooming?
I did not know he would leave home and wander over the countryside with a band
of men called disciples. At first I
thought they were a tough group of guys. I
wanted him to be friends with Nicodemus and the other priest.
He needed to gain their respect.
I had misunderstood what it meant to be King.
I wanted to dress him priestly, preach in the temple, and run for office.
I thought he was to free our land from the tyranny of the Roman rule;
that his kingdom was to never end. His
followers became the poor and sick. The temple leaders hated him and were always
stirring up trouble. His pulpit was often a boat or mountainside where he would
teach for hours on end. He often
talked in riddles and parables that were hard to understand.
Lowly people were attracted to him. He was one of us but we were not
always one with him.
His siblings did not understand him at all and often taunted him. (John 7: 5)
He was always the talk of the town. It
is hard having your son talked about, made fun of, misunderstood, analyzed, and
questioned. One day people were
enthralled with him and talked about his miracles and the next day they wanted
to kill him, push him over a cliff. We
were his family, yet strangers. We
had to learn to know about his life mission through his teaching just like
everyone else. For 30 years after
his birth God was silent. I had many
things I pondered in my heart and was unable to talk about with friends.
During the later part of his ministry I was really attracted-drawn to hearing
him speak. Little by little His
words soothed my heart and healed my spirit.
Since Joseph had died, my cousin Salome often went with me to hear Jesus
talk. Mary Magdalene became my best
friend. I saw the change in Mary
Magdalene. That was my real turning
point. Us women helped to care for his needs the best we could.
He didn’t have a home. He
traveled from city to city and often slept under the stars.
Sometimes he would stay up all night praying.
I worried about him. I
wasn’t sure how he made it. Little
by little I began to put together the puzzle that had baffled me for so long.
But his death. That I was not
prepared for. No one foresaw the
tragic turn of events. One day he was being paraded into the city on a donkey
and heralded a king. I knew his time
had come. He was loved and cheered
and the march to
Jerusalem
was so joyous. The deceit, lies,
torture and suffering that followed were beyond human imagination and broke my
heart. I did not know how I could
bear it. I wanted to run away and
yet I stay glued to the hill where he was dying.
I could not leave my Son. How could MY peace loving son die? How could
the Son of God die? He needed
me and I could do nothing. It even
seemed his God had also forsaken him. What
had gone so terribly wrong? The King
was dead-murdered for a crime he did not commit.
But now, He is alive. In
the confusion and grief of his death we miss understood what he had told us so
many times. I must die that you may
have life.
Now he has ascended back to heaven and Pentecost:
oh, the power and anointing and knowledge we now have.
He was not my son, He was God’s Son.
I just gave him birth. He
gave me life.
Emanuel, God with us
Wonderful, Counselor,
Prince of Peace
Almighty God
King Eternal-- that is God’s Son.
"He became flesh and dwelt among us and we saw His glory, the glory as
of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. He came to his own,
but his own did not receive Him. But
to those who did receive Him, he gave the right to become children of God, to
those who believe on His name." John 1
December
24, 2006
Written
for a special Christmas Sunday School lesson
By
Pat Hertzler
| 
®
Hertzler
Farm
and Feed Inc.