Mary's Love for Jesus

 

And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn. (Luke 2:6-7 ESV).

 

Today we look at the love Mary had for her first-born son, Jesus. Our reading gives us an insight into the birth. This, of course, is the center of the Christmas story. Mary gives birth to her firstborn, a son, and she tenderly wraps him in swaddling cloths and lays him in the manger. There is a natural love between every mother and the child she bears. She has given life to this child. For nine months she has nourished the child with her own body. She has felt every move, every kick, every turn. She has dreamed and imagined what this child would look like. She has gone through the long months of pregnancy, the hard sacrifice of labor, the excruciating pain of childbirth, and now she holds her newborn child in her arms. There is that element of love in Mary.

 

However, Mary’s love for Jesus is also indicated in other ways by Scripture. For example, after the shepherds visited Joseph and Mary and then went into the town spreading the word about Jesus, we read in that “Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.” (Luke 2:19). The word translated “treasured” is a word that means “to preserve” or “to keep in mind” or even “to keep thinking about something so that you won’t forget it.” The word translated “pondered” is a word that means “to bring together” or “to think deeply or reflect on something.” Together these words tell us that Mary didn’t want to lose a single memory of all that happened that night. She kept running through the events over and over again in her mind so she wouldn’t forget. She thought deeply about these happenings, bringing all the individual memories together and wondering what it all could mean. Mary’s love for Jesus was reflected in her very thoughts about him. Her thoughts were captive to Christ, and she made every effort to remember every detail as she sought to understand the meaning of his birth.

 

Her love for Jesus is also revealed by the words Simeon spoke over Jesus and Mary in the temple (cf. Luke 2:34-35). In effect Simeon told Mary that there were difficult days ahead for her son, Jesus. Mary didn’t know how difficult at the time, but Simeon gave her forewarning when he told her that a sword would pierce her own soul, too. True to this word of prophecy, Mary suffered greatly as Jesus grew to be a man, not the least of which was her witnessing Jesus’ death on the cross. Yet she knew deep in her soul that this was the will of God. Her love sustained her until that first Easter morning. That is a love we should practice for our children as well.