Why Mary?

“So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.”

Most every mother surely has been there: the awe, the unique relationship that only you have with the miracle body that was formed in you, unique to you.* It is recorded, Mary is visited by shepherds who learned of her son’s birth from none other than the angel of the Lord who happens to visit them one night in Jerusalem while they are tending sheep. Oh, let’s not forget the angel brought along with him a “host” of angel back up to sing in chorus praises to God and blessings to men following the announcement the Messiah is born! Shepherds were common men. They were pretty low in the status pole but God chose shepherds to receive the good news.†

“But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

So the shepherds leave the sheep they are tending and go in haste to Bethlehem to see the Christ child. In other words, these ordinary men walked out on their job to go see a baby. (It is an interesting note that the sheep they were tending were most likely those selected to be sacrificed for god’s favor and blessing.)

When they arrive and share their Good News, Mary receives it. Oh course, why would Mary find this strange, she knew more than anyone God had given her a son, the Son. Mary has already done a lot of thinking. At 16-1/2, 17 years of age she has experienced:

• The announcement of her pregnancy through the angel Gabriel
• The story of Zechariah’s vision in the temple delivered from her cousin Elizabeth
• Elizabeth’s prophecy when John the Baptist was born
• And, her fiance‘, Joseph, stood by his bride-to-be knowing the child was not conceived by him because the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream

“But Mary treasured up all these things
and pondered them in her heart. Luke 2:19”

I return to this verse simply because it is one of my favorite and there is much insight to be found in it. It is such an incredibly beautiful tender picture of who Mary is and her temperment. To say Mary “treasured up” is to say she stored or kept in her mind for careful consideration the wonders she was experiencing.¹ To ponder meant that she considered carefully and worked through her experiences.² The words chosen to describe Mary’s reaction of her induction into divine motherhood paint a compassionate picture of why God chose Mary to bring into this world the Prince of Peace.

Reference: Luke, Chapter 2
• The child in the photograph is my daughter at 27 months.
† God chooses the poor and the humble. He could have announced the birth to a prominent member of the community but he choose the shepherds.
¹Treasured up” (NIV) or “kept all these things” (KJV) is the Greek verb suntereo, “to store information in one’s mind for careful consideration, hold or treasure up (in one’s memory). Source: http://www.jesuswalk.com/lessons/2_8-20.htm
²”Pondered” is the Greek verb sumballo (a compound word made from sun, “together” and ballo, “throw”), which means here, “to give careful thought to, consider, ponder,” something similar to our colloquial “get it all together.”[39] Source: http://www.jesuswalk.com/lessons/2_8-20.htm

Say What Am I Singing?!

“Here we come a-wassailing among the leaves so green, Here we come a-wandering, so fair to be seen.”

We entered from the back of the school auditorium at a steady march while clutching in our hands small lit candles and immediately scanned the audience of generously smiling parents to find the set of our own. Etched in my mind is the elementary school Christmas Concert and the song that I did not understand until many years later when I looked up the meaning of wassailing to find it meant revelous drinking!…which brings me to this posting.

When I asked a few people if they knew the meaning of some of the common words in Christmas songs, the wide response was a timid guess at best.  So here you go!

1. What is wassailing?
   The root of wassailing is a pre-Christian fertility rite where villagers went through orchards at mid-winter singing and shouting loudly to drive out evil spirits, and pouring cider on the roots of trees to encourage fertility. Rooted in the west county of England, families of farmers would sing a special Wassail song while the men fired guns in the trees, and banged pots to ward off the bad spirits and encourage a bountiful crop the following year.
   The old Saxon word “wassail” was a drinker’s greeting: “Was Haile” “Your health.” The wassail drink was made from ale, roasted apples, eggs, sugar, nutmeg, cloves, and ginger. It was served hot from a bowl. Later the word “wassailing” was used by the English for any kind of Christmas celebration where drinking occurred.
2. Why Christmas Carol and not Christmas Betty or Christmas Midge?
   To ‘carol’ once meant to dance in a ring or circle; it may be derived from the Greek word ‘choraulein.’ Eventually words and music were added to accompany the dance, and the word began to refer to the music instead of the dance itself. The word Carol actually means dance or a song of praise and joy! Carols used to be written and sung during all four seasons, but only the tradition of singing them at Christmas has really survived.
3. What does the word “Noel” mean?
   There are two schools of thought on this. Some believe that the word comes from the Latin natalis (birthday) and refers to Jesus’ birthday. Others believe that it derives from the French nouvelles (news), and so refers to the good news (the Gospel) of Christ’s birth, which the angels announced on the first Christmas when Christ was born. The second meaning seems to be the way the word is used in most carols, such as the “First Noel,” that is, the first proclamation of the good news.
4. What does the word “Yule” mean?
   The word comes from Anglo-Saxon word geol (feast). Since in preChristian times, one of the great feasts was the celebration of the winter solstice, the whole month of December was called geola (feast month). It was probably later applied to the feast of Christmas. Others believe that yule comes from the Old Germanic word Jol, meaning a turning wheel referring to the “sun wheel” rising after the winter solstice.
5. What is the meaning of ‘Excelsis Deo’? [glawr-ee-uh in ek-sel-sis dey-oh, glohr-]
   A few years back a friend in a choir turn to me and asked, What does Excelsis Deo mean? “Gloria in Excelsis Deo” is Latin meaning,  “Glory in the highest to God,” and in the English version, “Glory be to God onhigh.”

Glory to God in the Highest! This little display cutie was in a pizzeria we ate at on Sunday!

Sorry for the late posting—I am a bit short on time today. It is my goal to have the Countdown messages consistent in the morning but, at the late moment I decided to do this, I am pulling them together as I can the day before! Praise be to God! Enjoy this Season! Denise

References used:
http://www.hymnsandcarolsofchristmas.com
http://dictionary.reference.com
http://www.whychristmas.com
http://www.funtrivia.com
http://www.metrolyrics.com/