December 17, 2003

Reading: Luke 1:39-58

 

“Blessed is she who believed” (45)

 

When it comes to the Christmas story men historically have been given the center of attention. The only woman pictured in scenes depicting the birth of Christ is Mary, His mother. Protestants assign little time to Mary, and virtually none to Elizabeth and Anna. Anna who? you may ask. If you read Luke 1:30-58 you will be introduced to three women who are given significant mention by the gospel writer.

First, consider Elizabeth, who was pregnant with John the Baptist, the cousin and forerunner of Jesus, the Messiah. She it was to whom Mary went for comfort and support. Mary was soon to be an unwed mother, a social sin of no small importance. Society rejected and ridiculed such women and, as far as they were concerned, Mary would be an outcast. Spurned by society and condemned by the religious leaders, Mary had but one thing to sustain her—her belief in the message of the angel (45). Elizabeth did not spurn her, but rather acknowledged that she had been chosen by God to carry and give birth to the Son of God, the long awaited Messiah. Elizabeth’s faith in the word of God shone through the circumstances for which society shunned her cousin. The Holy Spirit confirmed to her that Mary was the mother of the Messiah. Elizabeth’s words wonderfully express her faith, a sure evidence that she was filled with the Holy Spirit (41). She acknowledged that Mary’s unborn child was her Lord (43). Did not David do the same thing when he said, “The LORD said to my Lord, ‘Sit at My right hand, till I make Your enemies Your footstool’" Ps 110:1? David, by faith, acknowledged the promised Messiah was His Lord, and would one day sit at the Father’s right hand as supreme Ruler of the Kingdom of God.

Mary received the work of God in her life and sought to understand it more thoroughly—“But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart” Luke 2:19. What a sure example for us. God has given us His Word and it is our great privilege and joy to hide it in our heart and seek to enter into a deeper understanding of it. Mary’s magnificent song of praise and acknowledgment should sound from everyone whose heart and life has been touched by the hand of God—Luke 1:46-55.

The third woman in this account is Anna. Only three verses are given to her (Luke 2:36-38), but that is sufficient to tell us a great deal about her. She was a Godly woman who spent her life in the Temple fasting and praying. She was among those who looked for “Redemption in Jerusalem.” While many looked for a Messiah to break the political hold Rome held over them, I believe Anna not only anticipated the Messiah and recognized Him when He came, but looked for Him to redeem His people from their sins. For many years she fasted and prayed day and night waiting anxiously for the Redeemer of Whom she read in Isaiah 9 and 53. When she saw Him she recognized Him and witnessed to those who also awaited His coming (Luke 2:38).

Elizabeth’s faith in and perception of the Word of God, Mary’s devotion to understanding the work of God in her life, and Anna’s witnessing to others that the child born in a stable was indeed the promised Messiah, combine to give us an example of our priorities this Christmas season. Let us not allow commercialism to take center stage at Christmas, but rather remember and practice the example of the three women who willingly participated in the original Christmas story. Remember the reason for the season.