Read: Luke 2:4-19
Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary? (Mark 6:3)
Sometimes, I send my children the pictures I took of them years ago. My kids roll their eyes and laugh about the way they get random baby pictures popping up on their cell phones when they’re in the middle of math class. But they appreciate them too. It feels like part of my job as their mom to hold on to these memories and share them now that my kids are older.
When God sent his Son to earth, he didn’t just plop Jesus down on a street corner, fully formed. The Father gave his Son a mother. Mary cared for Jesus and dried his tears. She also did what all mothers do: she “treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart” (Luke 2:19). The stories Mary told her oldest son would have shaped Jesus’s self-understanding as he grew up. But Mary’s memories also formed the basis for what we now know of Jesus’s extraordinary birth. Scholars believe that Luke was able to give us this intimate account of the Nativity because he spent time interviewing Mary. For thousands of years, the church has benefitted from the memories Mary treasured.
As you prepare to celebrate on this Christmas Eve, ponder Mary’s role in nurturing the newborn Christ. Give thanks for those who have nurtured you in the faith. Reflect on how you can shape the lives of the children God has put in your life.
As you pray, ask God to bless the children in your life and around the world.
About the Author
Sarah Sanderson is the author of The Place We Make: Breaking the Legacy of Legalized Hate. She lives with her husband and their four teenage children in Oregon.
