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Hello everyone and welcome to episode 47 where today we revisit the Christmas story from the perspective of Mary, and how the birth of Jesus affected her relationships, because his birth affects our relationships as well.

I don\u2019t know about you, but for me there are lots of things that tire me about Christmas. Reindeer, wrapping paper, lighted Santa Claus figures on neighbors\u2019 lawns, strands of Christmas tree lights with burned-out-bulbs that are time consuming to fix.

How about you? I bet there are things that tire you about Christmas, too.

But one thing I never tire of is the actual real-life Christmas story itself, found in the Gospel of Luke, chapter 2.

I find new things every year in this story that never changes. This year, for example, for the first time I wondered about the sheep that the shepherds left behind to go find the Christ child in Bethlehem. What happened to them? They were left unprotected, or did the angels watch over the sheep while the shepherds were gone. Or did wolves or other predators do them in? And did the shepherds loose their jobs over leaving their post, or was their pay docked?

Not the most profound of questions, to be sure.

Something of far more significance comes near the end of the apostle Luke\u2019s account of the first Christmas Day. Let me read the whole story to you, it\u2019s just 20 verses from the beginning of chapter 2 of Luke\u2019s gospel.

[Read Luke 2:1-20]

I never get tired of reading this familiar story. And this year it\u2019s because of what Luke says about Mary at the end of the passage when the shepherds left to spread the word about what they saw. Mary is next to the manager with her baby, in the quiet of the night, reflecting about what just happened.

Luke then says in verse 19,

\u201c\u2026 but Mary kept all these things in her heart and thought about them often.\u201d

Here\u2019s what impresses me about this story

Some versions of Luke\u2019s Christmas story translate \u201ckept all these things\u201d in her heart as \u201ctreasured\u201d or \u201cpondered\u201d all these things in her heart. However you translate it, the main point this verse makes me think about this year, is what were \u201call these things\u201d that filled Mary\u2019s heart?

Luke doesn\u2019t come right out and tell us. But in looking at the context, I\u2019d like to suggest one strong possibility. And that is Mary quite possibly was treasuring her relationships in a new and profound way.

It starts with the beginning of vs. 19, \u201c\u2026but Mary\u2026\u201d Everything that came before this important word \u201cbut\u201d was about an event of one kind or another. It was the plot of the story, the facts, the details. Then Luke adds a contrast to these facts, with the word \u201cbut,\u201d which transitions us to another important aspect of the story. Namely, what is going on in Mary\u2019s heart as she considers the relational implications of these recent events.

First off, she has to be thinking and feeling, \u201cI\u2019m a mother now!\u201d And like most first-time mom\u2019s down through the centuries probably wondering, \u201cHow in the world am I going to do this? I don\u2019t have a clue.\u201d She must have thought about this thing often.

More than this mother-child relationship, there was her relationship with God that must have joyfully gripped her heart. I suspect she was thinking something along the lines of\xa0 \u201cThis actually happened. What the angel told me has actually come to pass. It\u2019s really true. God used me to create a miracle, and this is all going to be really, really big, even though I am really, really, small.

\u201cWhat a wonderful and kind God to finally enter the human race to redeem and reconcile all people to himself. And to use me as part of his plan. I can hardly believe it.\u201d This certainly must have been one of the things Mary treasured in her heart and thought of often.

And then there was her relationship with Joseph. I don\u2019t see how this couldn\u2019t have brought her to tears in thinking about how blessed she was to be in relationship with him. He had every right to break off the engagement when she told him she was pregnant.

\u201cBut he believed me,\u201d I can picture Mary thinking, \u201cand he believed the Lord that what I told him about my pregnancy being of God was actually true. What man in his right mind would believe such a thing? Only a man who walked closely with the Lord, and who will be my husband. My Joseph had to endure the sneers and snickers of friends and relatives who took him for a fool in believing me. But he did. And he did it for me, and for God. He believed in me, and in God.\u201d

This too, I imagine she pondered and treasured in her heart and thought of often.

So these are just three relationships that kept her thinking. I wonder about her relationship with her parents, with Joseph\u2019s parents. With her neighbors and townspeople of Nazareth. What were these relationships going to be like moving forward. What was the future going to be like for all of humanity, and my role in it?

Here\u2019s the one thing to remember from today\u2019s episode, our show in a sentence:

Christmas takes on a much richer meaning when we follow Mary\u2019s example and ponder, treasure in our hearts, and otherwise think about often the implications of our relationship with the God of the universe.

Here\u2019s what you can do in response to today\u2019s show.

Think often about the following questions.

• Mary had a deeply intimate relationships with Jesus. What is the state of my relationship with Him. Do I even have a relationship with him?
• Who was around me when Jesus came into my life, and what role did they play? Was there a sibling, parent, trusted friend, or a spouse like Mary had? How has my relationship with Jesus affected my relationship with them?
• In what condition was I in when Jesus came into my life, and how did He change things?
• Mary was pregnant before marriage to Joseph. She must have had her critics. I bet you have some too. How has your relationship with Jesus helped you deal with them?
• Mary had Joseph in her life, a man who believed in her when all logic and the opinions of others thought otherwise. Do you have a Joseph in your life you can count on? Someone who trusts you and believes in you when others do not? To whom can you be a Joseph? And if you\u2019re a woman, who can you be a Josephine for?

As always, I\u2019d be interested in what resonated with you about today\u2019s episode. You can share your thoughts in the \u201cLeave a Reply\u201d box at the bottom of the show notes. Or you can send them to me in an email to john@caringforothers.org.

Closing

As we close this episode, and along with it, season two, I want to let you know what you can expect over the next several weeks. First of all, Season 3 of You Were Made for This will begin on January 22nd. It seems like a long way off to me, but Carol tells me it\u2019s not.

While the podcast is taking a break, my weekly email to you isn\u2019t. Each one will be very brief and will be about an insight, thought, or tip you can use to find more joy in your relationships. Because they come to you every Wednesday, from now on I\u2019m going to call them my Every Wednesday emails.

If you\u2019re already getting them each Wednesday morning, there\u2019s nothing more you need to do. You\u2019ll still get them. If you\u2019re not getting them, and want to, just go to the show notes of any podcast episode and fill out the 3 fields in the \u201cGet it Every Wednesday form.\u201d You\u2019ll see the form on the right side of the page, as well as at the end of the show notes. johncertalic.com/podcast is where you can find this.

Carol told me to tell we do promise to get the email to you Every Wednesday, even on Christmas Day and New Year\u2019s Day, which are both on a Wednesday this year.

I asked off for Christmas Day, but Carol said \u201cEvery Wednesday means every Wednesday. What is it about \u2018every Wednesday\u2019 you don\u2019t understand?\u201d I didn\u2019t have a good answer for her. So to help me out, she pasted a \u201cEvery Wednesday means Every Wednesday\u201d sticker on my locker downstairs in the employee locker room. All this to say, you will be getting an email from me on Christmas and New Years Day, and all other Wednesdays. Carol\u2019s tough, but fair, and doesn\u2019t expect anything from others she doesn\u2019t expect from herself. So she\u2019ll be working, too, on Christmas.

Now while you won\u2019t be hearing new podcast episodes until January 22nd, there are 46 older episodes you can access any time. You can get them from our website, johncertalic.com certainly. But the You Were Made for This episode listing is displayed in a more readable form in iTunes and Google Play. I\u2019ll put links to both at the bottom of the show notes.

Like all our episodes, each one of the older episodes is designed to help transform your relationships into the best they can be.

Now for Our Relationship Quote of the Week

Luke 2:1-19

I never get tired of this story, I hope you don\u2019t either

That\u2019s all for today. See you next week in my Every Wednesday email. Good bye for now, and season two.

Resources mentioned in today\u2019s show

A listing of all 47 episodes of You Were Made for This from seasons one and two can be found here:

iTunes

Google Podcasts app

Android/PC users

Spotify