What do we do with Mary at Christmas?

Answering this question might change your life and the world...

Photo by Grant Whitty on Unsplash

Mary’s song—is more and more becoming a song for me. Perhaps, it is a song for everyone, if the truth is known. How this young, peasant girl transforms before our very eyes in self-awareness, God awareness and world awareness is something to be behold, indeed. I think Mary just might hold something to give us at Christmas that we need and want!

Like most protestants, I’ve had a very ‘low view’ of Mary. I say ‘low view’ because as protestants, we sort of protested (It’s even in our name—‘the protest people’), any one, other than Jesus. But, as I’ve grown and grown in the wisdom of Mary’s view of self, God and the world, I’ve changed. I’ve laid aside my identification as a labeled kind of Christian, i.e, “evangelical”. Corrupted humans and political leaders destroyed that term for me. So much so, that a few years ago, I wrote what I thought would be a trilogy on three important lives in the stories of the Bible: The life of Lazarus; the life of Jesus and the life of Mary. I was able to write and publish two books in this imagined trilogy, The Lazarus Life and The Jesus Life. These two books have been passed around the globe and I’m thrilled about it. When I pitched the idea of writing the third volume in this trilogy, my evangelical and protestant publisher at the time balked. I wanted to write a book about Mary.

I’ll never forget my publisher’s words: “Steve, you’ll need to let the idea of writing a book about Mary die. Your readers will never be able to handle much about Mary. We won’t publish it. It will not sell.” ( This is another Substack that I might write about sometime). It was more fodder for my internal fire that started burning brighter and hotter to grow deeper, wider and embrace mystery more than at any other time in my life. Mary helped me then to work through some issues with my faith.

It was in this time that I spent an entire year doing what is called, “The Ignatian Exercises.” It was a grueling inner journey for me—one that brought me to a new and far different place in my spiritual journey. Every Wednesday at 4:00pm, I met with a Catholic Priest who guided me in this life altering exercises developed by the Spanish Ignatian of Loyola in the 16^th century. (I recorded two podcasts with this priest and they are among the most listened to of all the podcasts that I recorded. As a Subscriber, you get free access to 158 podcasts at the link above).

It was in these afternoon sessions that I journeyed with Mary in a way that I had never done before. It was also in this time, that I came within a narrow inch of converting to Catholicism. Having worked with so many protestant and evangelical pastors in my work in those years, I became completing disillusioned and disenchanted with mega church and corporate and industrialized Christianity that Mary offered me a life line—a line which helped me move deeper into the world of mystery and mysticism—a place that Mary knows quiet well. The priest I met with for over a year became an Anam Cara (soul friend) and helped me discern my ways with clarity and to find a way to remain anchored in my own protestant faith. I will never regret that season of my faith journey.

When Mary was told by the angel that she would bear a baby and that this baby would be the Savior of the World, Mary’s response is now known as “the Magnificat”—meaning “My soul does magnify the Lord…”

This year, I found myself warming back up to Mary. Somehow, in the midst of so much messaging about Advent and Solstice and politics, Mary helped me again.I suppose it is the world these days: our flirtation with what we think is power; a drunken intoxification with self pre-occupied leaders and the on-going injustices in the world such as Ukraine, Gaza, Syria, corporate assassination of an insurance executive and the glorification of the assassin, child killing by guns becoming the number one way children die in this country and more… that bring me to like her—perhaps love her even more now. Some days, I do think Mary offers us an invitation to re-think what we believe about power, world injustice, self-rejection; self-esteem and so much more that we need right now. Don’t be afraid of her if you have a background like mine or if you grew up Catholic and left the church altogether. There’s something here, I’m quite certain of it for us all right now.

Read her beautiful and exquisite song—her response to hearing such life altering news about her future and the future of the child within her womb:

Mary’s Song of Praise

⁴⁶ And Mary said,

‘My soul magnifies the Lord,
⁴⁷ and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour,
⁴⁸ for he has looked with favour on the lowliness of his servant.
Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed;
⁴⁹ for the Mighty One has done great things for me,
and holy is his name.
⁵⁰ His mercy is for those who fear him
from generation to generation.
⁵¹ He has shown strength with his arm;
he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts.
⁵² He has brought down the powerful from their thrones,
and lifted up the lowly;
⁵³ he has filled the hungry with good things,
and sent the rich away empty.
⁵⁴ He has helped his servant Israel,
in remembrance of his mercy,
⁵⁵ according to the promise he made to our ancestors,
to Abraham and to his descendants for ever.’

It’s just so good that it might be good to read it again and again—that is if you are struggling with Christmas, the world, self and brokenness in friendships and family and the plethora of injustice in our world. She, has something to show us and teach us.

Here we see a young woman, not meek and mild but so strong, resolved and purposed and at such a tender age as well. E. Stanley Jones wrote of Mary’s words here that this is “the most revolutionary document in history.”

Jones says that because he must be seeing what I am seeing about this amazing girl who has much to offer us and mentor us in right now..

Mary is describing a world so far different than this world we are enduring at the moment. She is describing a world I want to live in and that is inviting, welcoming and beautiful—a world she gives words to—a world that her very child would usher into existence. It is a world as my friend, Dan Hix describes as a “world where the proud are scattered, rulers brought down, rich sent away empty and the humble lifted up—a world turned upside down.”

Mary is also allowing a blessing of her own soul to be not only spoken but believed. Since I wrote my post about “self-blessing” so many of you have written to me privately expressing your appreciation in hearing such “foreign words” as one friend put his response to me. Mary’s words offer us the invitation to sing this with her—a song so often recorded and sung at this time of year. It isn’t really Christmas without listening to Ave Maria by Andre Bocelli, is it? Or Josh Groban’s verson as well.

Mary’s words about being called, highly favored and then this one—that future generations will call her “blessed” sort of trips us up if we are so narrow in our thinking that these words could actually be inspired and believable.

The problem I now have is not with Mary but is with the people who discount Mary’s song; Mary’s future thinking about a world God intends and that Jesus would single handedly tell us about. This new world, best described by Jesus in Matthew 5-7 is a world, not of the church, but of the Kingdom. It is the same kingdom that Handel must have grappled with when he wrote the Hallelujah Chorus which plainly says, “The kingdom of this world is become the kingdom of our Lord, and of His Christ; and He shall reign for ever and ever.” I so swell up on the inside when I hear those words—a swelling of my soul that re-emphasizes to me the sheer truth of it all. Those words bring me to tears and these days, we just need to cry at all we are experiencing that is just not right.

Mary, Handel, Dallas Willard and so many others who actually believe the red letters of Jesus, find a comfort in Mary’s song and her life.

It is a song about self-awareness, God-awareness and world awareness. This kind of awareness is different from believing the doctrine or a creed. It is believing the revolutionary words that happened at Christmas and here’s the thing—the revolutionary words that are offered to us again in Christmas!

When Mary says her response to the angel, “Be it done unto me, according to your word” I am fileted wide open. Her words of surrender; her humble welcoming to all of the Unknown and her trust—not just her belief but her posture is a model that could mentor every man and woman for all eternity.

Merry Christmas and Every Blessing for the New Year.

Steve

Before I sign off, please consider joining me for an online, 2 hour retreat on Zoom with me and Peter Ivey where we will use poetry, prayers and the Great Annual Examen to launch us into a New Year. Here’s the link to consider and register.

It would be a joy to join with you for a time of needed reflection and to do this together. It’s limited to 50 people. If you’re in the 3C Group, please use your special code to register for free!