Thoughts for Christmas

There is a very interesting statement made about Mary in Luke 2 that we often give little thought to.  Luke records these words: "But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart."  I was fascinated by that little word "pondered."  The verb comes from the Latin word "ponderare" which means "to weigh."    It means "to give serious consideration to a matter; to weigh it carefully."


There is a lot we do not know about Mary: her age (we guess she was in her late teens, but she could have been much younger); her family status (we guess she came from a rather poor family, but we don't know for sure - we do know that Joseph was poor because the offering he provided for Mary's purification after the birth of Jesus was the offering of the poor); her educational background (what she had learned at home).


But, this statement from Luke tells me something special about Mary.  She was reflective.  She pondered things.  She did not accept things at face value.  She probed beneath the surface.  Notice what Mary was pondering: the words of the shepherds.  You see Mary and Joseph had not heard the angelic announcement - they were busy giving birth.  They had not heard that stirring anthem: "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests."


So, what did Mary do?  She took time to reflect.  She took time to ponder.  Ah, that is the problem today - we don't take time to reflect!  We simply charge straight ahead with little thought at all.  "Time is of the essence" we shout as we flail madly about.  "He who hesitates is lost" becomes our anthem for activity.  Our sound-byte world does not help us with reflection.  Instead of sitting and reflecting, we grab our phones or ipads and play games, search the Internet, doing something to occupy our time.  As a result, we have become a people who have lost the ability to be reflective, to ponder.


Mary certainly was a busy mother - and she did not even have the benefit of having her mother there to help.  What about diapers?  Had they packed some when they left Nazareth?   There had been no "baby showers" for Mary before she left - in fact, she was shunned because of her pregnancy out of wedlock.  And where were they to stay - a cattle shelter was no place to raise a child?  And what was Joseph going to do for a job?  A lot for a new mom to think about.


And yet she pondered the words of the shepherds.  And the text tells us that she treasured those words she was hearing and tucked them into her heart.


What is the message for us this Christmas Season?  It is simply this: we need to take time to reflect upon the birthday of the Lord Jesus.  Tis the Season that makes great demands upon our time: programs to attend, parties to show up for, presents to purchase - did we forget anyone on our list?  Mary pondered the birth of her son - and we should do likewise.


I want to wish my Jewish friends a joyous Hanukkah Season.  May you know the light of the presence of G-d in your home and in your life.  And I want to wish all of you a most blessed Christmas Season as we ponder the reason why Jesus came.  May you know His presence, His peace, His joy, and the hope that only He can bring. 


Merry Christmas, and, as Tiny Tim would say, "God bless us, everyone."