Christmas Eve: All That She Could Bear - Mary, Giving Birth

Luke 2:1-7

Maya Angelou, author of I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, recalled something her grandmother used to say: “If you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change it, change your attitude, but don’t complain.”

That is very good advice, but it’s hard to follow at times. You have to wonder what Mary would have done with that advice when it came time to give birth.

Instead of giving birth in the comfort of her own home (as comfortable as a home birth could have been two thousand years ago), Mary had to trek to Bethlehem, a walk of four to seven days. She was very, very pregnant. When she got to Bethlehem, there was no guest room for her, so she had to give birth where the animals were kept.

She probably didn’t like that she had to do it that way, but Mary couldn’t change it. Imagine telling a woman who is about to give birth in those circumstances, “Change the way you think about it, but don’t complain.”

Do you think Mary complained? Maybe she did. She’s often portrayed as a mild-mannered young woman who always behaved perfectly, but think about it. Wouldn’t the person God chose to raise his Son have to have some fire in her?

Before Jesus was born, Mary surely had to fend off the judgment of people who knew she was pregnant before she married Joseph. After Jesus was born, she had to keep him safe from a king who wanted to kill him. It makes more sense to see Mary as someone with some spark. It also makes sense to believe that she, like almost anyone else, might have a complaint or two about the circumstances under which she gave birth.

But remember her response nine months earlier, when the angel showed up and her life changed forever. Not “No way!” Not “Let’s negotiate.” But “I am the Lord’s servant.” So let’s grant her the moans and groans of discomfort and an occasional fiery barb. But she seemed to understand that there was something huge going on here, something she wouldn’t change if she could. Her attitude had already changed. There was no need to complain, especially when the Creator was about to save the world.

While they were there, the time came for her baby to be born. She gave birth to her first child, a son.

Luke 2:6-7