Magnificat.

Our journey with Mary, from maiden to mother, culminates with her speaking the Magnificat, the first explicitly Christian piece of poetry, or song, ever written.  It's so old that it predates Christ himself, by a period of about 6 months.

Mary, the unwed mother to be, has just crossed over an immense gap.  She has moved between being scared, not sure what the fate of this child or of herself will be, and at the point of the Magnificat, she has embraced it.  She has embraced her role.

This is something all prospective mothers have to do at some point, is to deal with the fear and trepidation, and to crest the wave of imminent change.  All prospective mothers, when they find out that there is a baby on the way, are riding a crazy emotional roller-coaster for a while, and it brings them dizzying highs and crushing lows, as they consider all the changes that this child will bring to their lives.  And as men, we miss this, because for the nine month period that a mother is expectant, not much changes in our lives.  We get up, go to work, perhaps we make a few more suppers, or give out a few more backrubs, but our lives don't change until the arrival of the child, not really.

But for the women, it's different all the time.  It's crazily different.  It has profound effects almost right away.  Your body changes over the course of those months.  And forget all those magazines you see where Kim Kardashian gets her pre-baby body back nine seconds after giving birth.  It's not really realistic.  The thing is, you go through a period of time, through those nine months, where that baby changes you from the inside out.  You get swollen ankles, weight gain, stretch marks; you're hot when you want to be cold and cold when you want to be hot, and this is all significantly before the child is even born.  And that's how the babies work.  They change you from the inside out, and then, after they're born, you know they're going to change you from the outside in.

More than anything else in creation, your children can bring you to the highest highs, and to the lowest lows.  They bring you more joy than anything else in creation, and them spurning you brings you more heartbreak than you could possibly imagine.  In a sense, when you have a child, you are taking a step into a much bigger, much more frightening world, with unlimited potential, but potentially disastrous results.

It's sort of like when God created humans, isn't it?  The one thing in the universe that had free will, the one thing that was free to love or hate God, without him controlling them.  And before making people, God had the thought that he was to make mankind in his image, but would not be controlling and running them all the way through.  They could love or spurn, they could cleave to or leave.  And when you have a child, when you make something in your own image, there is a chance that they could be very good, or very bad.  And that's the price you pay for embarking out on this journey.

So with Mary, her trepidation gives way to resolve.  She is able to look at her status, unwed mother, young woman bringing a child into the world, and more than a normal baby, but a baby who would be born into the world, and say 'this is what I want.  This is good.  This is right, this is the right thing to do.'  Embracing even in the midst of fear and doubt, what is good and wonderful.

And of course, this child, we know, will cause her unimaginable pain.

Standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother, his mother's 

sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene.

When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved

standing nearby, he said to his mother 'Woman,

behold your son!' Then he said to the disciple,

'Behold your mother!'

John 19:25-27

The pieta from Durham Cathedral.  It is shockingly moving.

She had to stand there and watch him die.  The greatest pain a parent can ever experience, and Mary had to suffer through it.  It was preordained, it was set, this was going to happen.  She was going to have to have her eldest child die before her eyes. This is as bad as things get for human beings.

But there was also indescribable joy.  The greatest joy that a parent could ever hope for, the thing that is lurking at the back of the mind of every parent who has ever lived, is that their child could do well, succeed, be prosperous, happy, and never die.  If we seriously considered that our children were going to die at some point, I wonder if we'd ever have them in the first place.  But that risk of crushing sadness is mitigated by Christmas, and by Easter, by the decisions made by Mary so long ago, who understood whose child this was to be.

For unto us, a child is born, 

And unto us, a son is given.

Whose child is this?  He belongs to the world.  To bring joy to the world.  Light and life to all he brings, far as, far as the curse is found.  This is what Christmas is all about, the coming of the child into the world, the child who still to this day brings us intense joy and crushing sadness, through his word and his spirit.  He breaks us with the law, and carries us towards heaven with his grace.  And yes, it's a daunting prospect to get close to God, to get close to Jesus, it is a terrifyingly daunting prospect.  But Mary took that journey from maiden to mother, and Christ took that journey from manger to cross, in order that we might be given life, and have it abundantly.  He was born not just for his family, but to the whole world.  whoever does the will of his father is his brother and sister.  

Rejoice and be glad, for Christmas is almost here, and the child who once changed one woman from the inside out, is here to change us all.

My soul doth magnify the Lord : and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.

For he hath regarded : the lowliness of his handmaiden.

For behold, from henceforth : all generations shall call me blessed.

For he that is mighty hath magnified me : and holy is his Name.

And his mercy is on them that fear him : throughout all generations.

He hath shewed strength with his arm : he hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.

He hath put down the mighty from their seat : and hath exalted the humble and meek.

He hath filled the hungry with good things : and the rich he hath sent empty away.

He remembering his mercy hath holpen his servant Israel : as he promised to our forefathers, Abraham and his seed for ever.

PJ.