How Mary's Song Can Be Our Song, Too

When I first heard four-year-old Claire Ryann sing, she and her dad were slouched on a couch belting out a duet of the Toy Story song,"You've Got a Friend in Me." I became a fan, however, when I discovered her hauntingly-beautiful YouTube video of the song, "Gethsemane."

In “The Songs of Christmas,” the first post in our holiday series, we learned how music touches the deepest part of our souls. In Part 2, “What Silence Can Teach Us this Christmas,” we learned from Zechariah the priest how periods of intentional silence and seeking God can lead us to greater faith and a deeper awareness of what God is doing in the world. 

Today, we’ll take an up-close look at Mary, the mother of our Lord. Probably a decade or so older than Claire Ryann, Mary was, nonetheless, a young woman. A very important young woman who sang a two-part song that  can be our song, too.

We read about Mary, the second singer in our Christmas choir, in Luke 1. Like Zechariah,  Mary asked the same question of the angel when he revealed the shocking news that she had been chosen to carry the Messiah, the Christ child – "How can this be?" 

 Zechariah asked, “How can this be? My wife is so old.” Mary basically asked, “How can this be? I’m too young. I haven’t yet married or known a man intimately.” 

The angel, Gabriel, answered her curiosity by sharing a bit of information no one else knew in Nazareth: “Elizabeth, your relative has also conceived a son in her old age; and this is now the sixth month for her who was called barren. For with God nothing will be impossible” (v.36). 

Mary knew full well the stigma that had plagued her poor relative Elizabeth – the tragedy no woman wanted – to be unable to bear a child. When she heard that God had done the impossible in Elizabeth’s life, she believed he could do the impossible in hers, too. “Behold the maidservant of the Lord," she declared, "Let it be to me according to your word” (v. 38).

 And we know the rest of the story: Mary immediately went to visit Elizabeth, where the Lord confirmed to Mary yet again that she was carrying the Messiah (v. 41-45). Mary’s song, the response that bursts forth from an overflow of her heart, became the passage we know as The Magnificat. 

Notice the two distinct parts of Mary’s song:

In verses 46-49, she speaks of what God has done in her (personally). 

My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, 

for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. 

From now on all generations will call me blessed, 

for the Mighty One has done great things for me-- holy is his name. 

In verses 50-55, she speaks of how God has fulfilled his promise and what he plans to do through her to save the world. 

His mercy extends to those who fear him, from generation to generation. 

He has performed mighty deeds with his arm; 

he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts. 

He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble. 

He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty. 

He has helped his servant Israel, remembering to be merciful to Abraham and his descendants forever, even as he said to our fathers. 

Mary’s song is a song we, too, should sing this Christmas. And our song can also have two parts. 

In the first part of our song, we can share with others what God has done IN us by sending Christ to save us from our sins. 

In the second part of our song, we can share with others what God wants to do through us by sharing the gospel with others. 

If Claire Ryann, a four-year-old little girl, and Mary, a frightened, bewildered, pregnant-out-of-wedlock teenager can testify for God, then we can, too. 

This Christmas season, I invite you to ask God for one person with whom you can share what God has done in your life because of Jesus. Just one. And then watch for the opportunity and be ready. 

Because it WILL come. 

In the final post of this series, we’ll look at the final singer in our Christmas choir, which isn’t really a singer, but a bunch of singers . . . Can you guest who it might be? Don’t miss it! 

Now it’s your turn. Who do you feel the Lord laying on your heart this Christmas season that needs to hear the Gospel? If you’ll leave their first name in the comments below, I’ll join you in prayer, asking God to give you the opportunity to share Jesus with them.

And then, click to enjoy Claire Ryann's version of Silent Night. Merry Christmas!

If you're reading by email, click HERE to hear Claire Ryann sing Silent Night.

 Dear Hungry for God friends,

I suspect there are quite a few busy women on your Christmas list. Friends, co-workers, fellow church members, and your children's teachers, coaches, and babysitters, to name a few.

If you'd like to give them a gift that will draw them closer to the Lord, encourage them to spend time in God's Word, and think biblically, Hungry for God ... Starving for Time, Five-Minute Devotions for Busy Women is the gift you're looking for.

And what about those friends and loved ones who may not have a relationship with the Lord?

In the last devotion in the book, I share, in a winsome and non-threatening way, what it means to have a relationship with Jesus Christ.

If you give someone you care about a copy of HFG, you'll not only be passing along spiritual encouragement, you'll also be sharing the gospel. Either way, you could change someone's life forever.

And that's what Christmas is all about.

I'm excited to say that
Hungry for God . . . Starving for Time has 112 reviews and a 4.8 star rating on Amazon. It received the Christian Small Publisher Book of the Year award in 2016.

If you live in the Columbia, South Carolina area, I'd love to autograph and personalize copies for your special friends. Email me at LoriAHatcher (at) gmail.com.



 

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Because busy women need to connect with God in the craziness of everyday life.