Mary, Mary Christmas

"When [Mary] surrendered herself to God, there was indeed a miraculous New Heaven and New Earth. The Spirit entered the world- light and wisdom and love, patience, fortitude, and joy entered the human heart and mind, and in the sight of God a springtime of loveliness woke in the world."
                                                                                                             The Reed of God
                                                                                                             Carryl Houselander


For Christians, Christmas is a time to celebrate the birth of Christ. As a mom of three growing children, I find I identify more with Mary during this season. The story of a fourteen year old girl issuing the Christ child, full of the knowledge she will almost immediately lose him to the world, has always fascinated me.

Mary wasn't a woman full grown, she was basically a child. When her son was brutally tortured and crucified  she was only 47 years old, my current age. And yet, she carried this enormous responsibility with grace and dignity, a dignity that's clearly expressed in her Magnificat, a poem from Luke's gospel, one of the earliest Jewish-Christian canticles written.

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.

Glory Be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;

As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.)

                                                                                          Book of Common Prayer

I am hesitant to think Mary actually spoke these words. But Luke's poem expresses the woman he and others living at that time knew her to be.

Over the years, I have had quite a struggle with the divinity of Christ, as told by the story of the Angel Gabriel descending to inform Mary of Nazareth she has become impregnated with the child of God.

I'm willing to bet Joseph was glad God decided to stop at one.

This doubt used to cause me great stress. For a number of years I considered myself an atheist; then, as my practice of yoga developed and I learned more about Eastern religions, I practiced a general spirituality. Reading The Life of Pi, one of my favorite fables wherein a boy decides to follow multiple religions instead of only one, further confirmed my agnosticism. I also love earth religions, such as the faiths practiced by many American Indian tribes.

I found that atheism, a faith in it's own right, was not right for me. If there's one thing age has given me, it's the gift of uncertainty. I'm just not willing to bargain that my pitiful brain contains the universe's highest form of knowledge. I can't even remember the location of my car keys.

Love is a powerful tool. Too powerful, I think, to spring only from electrical impulses and nerve conductance.

These days, I am very grateful for my Catholic upbringing as I feel it provides a firm jumping off spot for the consideration of my place in the world. I am no longer concerned with my uncertainties about the stories of my religion; conversely, I enjoy the process of questions and the answers they uncover. I employ a little less logic and a greater acceptance of letting unexplainable events just lie.

A raw oyster looks absolutely disgusting, and has the consistency of snot. Yet, I find oysters delicious and completely addictive. Unexplainable. Doesn't bother me a bit these days.

As Carryll Houselander relates in The Reed of God, "The wind of the Spirit had beaten on the door, rattled the windows, tapped on the dark glass... One day a girl opened the door, and the little house was swept pure and sweet by the wind. Seas of light swept through it, and the light remained in it."

Mary may not be the Mother of the Christ; Jesus may not be the Son of God. But Jesus was a man so extraordinary, he didn't just make the world a better place while he was living in it, his presence has provided hope for many for thousands of years since his death. (Of course, horrible things have also happened under the auspices of religion. But that's a story for another day.)

Jesus' words speak of love and respect, for all, including women, a segment of the population not exactly highly regarded in his time.

Mary, of course, holds precedence over all. Jesus so loved his mother. And by many accounts never married.

It just occurred to me Jesus may have been gay. Now I love him even more.

Mary Christmas, everyone.