By Alyce Faye Bragg
The woman was little more than a girl–and tired; so tired. She swayed slightly on the back of the plodding donkey, and the older man who walked beside her reached out a steadying hand and said encouragingly, “Be of good comfort Mary, we will soon be to Bethlehem.” She shifted her heavy body and smiled wanly at him.
It had been such a long, hard journey, and since noon there had been a queer, persistent pain in the small of her back which had grown worse as the hours passed. She hadn’t mentioned it to her husband. He was such a good man, she thought with a rush of feeling–and he had been filled with worry over her making this long trip in her condition. She sighed unconsciously and let her mind drift back over the events of the last few months.
It had all started with the stranger who had appeared so suddenly in her room early that first morning. She hadn’t heard him enter, but she hadn’t really been frightened when she looked up and saw him standing there. There had been a compelling glow about him, and when he spoke, it was in a kind and compassionate voice. Still the words had left her troubled.
The words came back to her quite plainly, “Hail, thou that art highly favored, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women. Fear not, Mary, for thou hast found favor with God. And behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God shall give unto Him the throne of his father David: and He shall reign over the house of Jacob forever; and of His Kingdom there shall be no end.”
He went on further to explain how this was to be, and Mary remembered her willing submission when she answered him, “Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word.”
Then there was that curious visit to her cousin Elizabeth. After a lifetime of barrenness, Mary found Elizabeth indeed expecting a child in her old age. It was just as the stranger had said. And in the three months that she visited there, Elizabeth’s husband Zacharias had spoken not a word. Cousin Elizabeth told her that he had been stricken speechless some six months before. Mary mused on, remembering how her cousin had greeted her with a blessing and even now wondering at the words that poured from her in reply.
The twinkling of lights in the distance brought her out of her reverie. Dusk had fallen, and they were nearing the city of Bethlehem. “Soon, Mary, we shall be at the inn,” joseph comforted her. Mary realized that the pain in her back had grown steadily worse, and the thought of a bed comforted her.
As she waited in the courtyard for her husband to secure a room, she was struck by the multitude of people that milled to and fro. So many people had come to Bethlehem to pay their taxes. She could tell by the discouraged droop of Joseph’s shoulders that he was the bearer of bad news. He tried to smile at her. “Mary, there is no room for us in the inn,” he told her. “But,” he continued in brighter tones, “The innkeeper said we could sleep in his stable. What do you want to do?”
Even a bed of straw was welcomed by Mary, who realized that her time of delivery had come. The next few hours was a kaleidoscope of sound, and pain, and at last joy, as Mary gave birth to her firstborn son. The fragrance of fresh hay filled the stable as Mary wrapped her son in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger.
There was a sudden burst of noise at the door, and Mary looked up to see several roughly-garbed shepherds talking excitedly. It seemed that while they were out in the field nearby tending their sheep, and angel had suddenly appeared. “We were so frightened,” one of them said. “The glory of the Lord was shining all around.” “He told us not to fear,” another of them continued. “He said he brought good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people–that a Savior was born today in the city of David, which is Christ the Lord.”
“He said the sign would be, that we would find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. Then there was a whole multitude of angels, praising God and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will to men’–we came as fast as we could–” and stopping abruptly, the shepherds fell on their knees and began worshipping the baby.
Mary lay on the hay, and pondered these things in her heart. There were darker days ahead, and the time would come when she would know the full meaning of the words spoken by Simeon at the circumcising of Jesus. (Yea, a sword shall pierce through thy own soul also.) But now she was at rest; her heart was full of thanksgiving for her beautiful, healthy baby.
For some reason, her mind kept returning to the words heard on the last Sabbath that the scribe had read from the book of Isaiah. “For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given: and the government shall be upon His shoulder: and His name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace.” Mary sighed, and snuggled her baby closer. Just a baby, but the hope of the world!
The event that happened so long ago in the hills of Judea are still echoing in our hills today–and throughout the whole world. I am thankful for Mary, who was blessed among women. I rejoice with the angels who sang, “Peace on earth, goodwill to men.” I am so glad that the angel told Mary that she would bring forth a son, and call his name Jesus, for he would save his people from their sins. I praise God most of all for the greatest gift the world has ever known. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
“Whosoever” included me.
