Saturday, December 9, 2023
- Reflection by Rev. Dr. Troy Troftgruben
Luke 2:15–20
When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go now to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us.” So they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the child lying in the manger. When they saw this, they made known what had been told them about this child; and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them. But Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them. (NRSV)
Mary Did You Know?
There is a widely familiar Christmas song that asks the question: “Mary did you know?”... Luke implies she knew quite a bit—and she did so simply by "treasuring" and "pondering" the events around her.
In the Christmas story (Luke 2:1–20), an entourage of shepherds heralds the arrival of Mary's child by seeking out and seeing him and his family. As they do so, Mary “treasured" all these things and "pondered" them in her heart. These two verbs are not terribly profound in and of themselves. They reflect basic acts of guarding or preserving (syntēreō) as well as considering or literally “tossing around” (symballō) in one's heart. What these acts do suggest are forms of deep listening, observing, and noticing. They suggest that whatever Mary knew, she did so by simply paying attention—by listening to the words and events around her.
In the early 8th century, the Benedictine monk Saint Bede reflected on what he thought Mary knew: “She then knew that the Lord had come in the flesh, whose power is one and eternal with the Father, and he would give to his daughter the church the kingdom of the heavenly Jerusalem. Mary was comparing these things which she had read were to occur with those which she recognized as already having occurred” (Homilies on the Gospels 1.7).
Whatever Mary knew, the way in which she took notice and listened is a model for us. Whether or not we know much about this Christ child, we respond most faithfully by taking notice of him, by pondering his significance, by guarding his presence in our hearts and in our homes, and by listening to his words and presence among us.
Prayer: O God, help us, like Mary, to take notice and to ponder the significance of your Son’s arrival among us, that we may truly know good news this day. Amen.