Mary, did you know (a few more things)?

My personal Christmas prep this year has consisted of hand-copying various scriptures, both from the Old and New Testament, that build toward the advent of the Messiah, the Christ, little baby Jesus.  This week I have been simply copying Luke 2, which is fantastic because it is such a familiar passage for me, but slowing down for "i's" and "t's" and punctuation and hand cramps has absolutely helped me to pick up on some details or key points that I forget to notice during a Charlie Brown Christmas.

Among these details is the one that struck me this morning in Luke 2:35.  It came during Joseph and Mary's visit to the temple where they encountered Simeon.  After praising God for what their little baby was about to accomplish, Simeon turned to Mary, looked her straight in the eye, and said, "and a sword will pierce your own soul too."

Gah.

Any mother would hate to hear those words about her eight day old baby, but to hear those words come from the mouth of a prophet and know, deep in your soul, that they were absolutely true...ugh.

I was reflecting on this and thinking about the song "Mary, Did You Know?" which I know, I know, is the source of great controversy.  "Of course she knew! God told her! It says it right there!" But at the same time, I think we can all agree that there's a big difference between knowing something is going to happen, and witnessing it with your own eyes when it finally does.

Either way, I was thinking about a few more things I wonder if Mary realized would happen, or the weight of, or the cost of. Do you think she planned to be a disciple of her son - like a "travel from place to place, tending his needs" disciple? As a mom, I wonder if she was prepared for the pain of watching people reject and threaten the life of her son. And also as a mom, was she ready for the heartbreak of watching her other children reject their savior, scoffing him instead of submitting to him? What Christ-following mother wouldn't grieve over that?

And ultimately, to know every moment of her life as his mother was leading to that prophecy of when her own soul would be cloven in two because of him.

So whether you're on Team Eye-Roll or Team Tears-Streaming-Down-Your-Face with this song, I think it is worth taking a few minutes to consider what Mary knew - not whether or not she saw it coming, but whether she was prepared to experience it all. 

And in so doing, we cannot let our eyes rest on Mary, because she was not our Savior, but her life and her commitment in these 33-years-worth of moments can direct us toward the one she gave all of herself to - Jesus Christ, our (and her) Lord.

Mary, Did You Know (a Few More Things)

Mary did you know

            For you, your full-grown son would turn water into wine?

Did you even know

            if he would live long enough to become a man?

Did you know that you’d follow him

            Until you wept and your feet bled?

That the life of his disciple

            Meant nowhere to lay your head?

 

Mary did you know

            That your other sons would hate him and reject him?

Mary did you know

            That for your own sin he’d stand silent though condemned?

Did you know that you’d stand and watch

            The ground hold a crimson pool?

And as he cried out to his Father

            That a sword would pierce your soul?

 

Mary, did you know?