by Rev. Nancy Carmichael-Stoner
“Mary Did You Know” was written by Mark Lowry. Jerry Falwell, his pastor, ask him to write a program for their next Living Christmas Tree in 1984.
Lowry remembers, “As I wrote the ‘speaking parts’ I began to think about Mary. I have always been fascinated with the concept that God came to earth. In a conversation with my mother, I remember she said, ‘If anyone on earth knew for sure that Jesus was virgin born — Mary knew!’ That was a profound statement that stuck with me. One thing they couldn’t take from Mary was that she knew her Child was not ordinary. “
My heart softens when I think of Mary with her baby
As I thought about the hymn, “Mary Did you know”, I realized that every time I hear it, my heart softens, the picture of Mary and her baby being held a few days after birth appears in my mind’s eye. Sometimes my eyes fill with joyful emotional tears.
The song grabs my heart and pulls me into that very holy intimate space of Emmanuel and Mary. I, as a child of God, I am not an intruder…… I am where I belong offering my adoration to God incarnate. Born of the very woman He created!
Seeing Mary cradling him at her breast and speaking the baby language of love. Doing what all mothers do, cuddling and kissing. I sit quietly embracing the Holiness of the moment.
Christmas celebrates the beginning of the new covenant
“Mary Did you know”, surrounds us with the Holiness of Jesus and the magnitude of the moment. It invites us into a precious moment, our history the beginning of a new covenant…
Christmas, the birth of Jesus on earth, is the beginning of Jesus’ mission. Which culminates in His death, resurrection and ascension at Easter.
It’s like that old song. You can’t have one without the other.
The star and the cross,
The blood of birth and the blood of death.
The hope of a newborn and the hope of the empty tomb.
The joy of new life and the joy of resurrection of life.
The wonder of Emanuel and the wonder of watching Jesus Christ return to heaven
We celebrate the Glory of God!
The truth is when we sing, Mary Did You know, we sing our faith. We sing our belief, and we sing to the Glory of God whose love is the greatest ever known.
What did Mary know that night? Mary knew exactly what God knew she needed to know.
First, Mary knew what the Angel proclaimed to her in Luke:
The Angel Gabriel Comes to Mary
26 Six months after Elizabeth had become pregnant, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a city in Galilee. 27 The angel went to a virgin promised in marriage to a descendant of David named Joseph. The virgin’s name was Mary.
28 When the angel entered her home, he greeted her and said, “You are favored by the Lord! The Lord is with you.”
29 She was startled by what the angel said and tried to figure out what this greeting meant.
30 The angel told her, “Don’t be afraid, Mary. You have found favor [a] with God.
31 You will become pregnant, give birth to a son,
and name him Jesus.
32 He will be a great man
and will be called the Son of the Most High.
The Lord God will give him
the throne of his ancestor David.
33 Your son will be king of Jacob’s people forever,
and his kingdom will never end.”
34 Mary asked the angel, “How can this be? I’m a virgin.”
35 The angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come to you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore, the holy child developing inside you will be called the Son of God.
36 “Elizabeth, your relative, is six months pregnant with a son in her old age. People said she couldn’t have a child. 37 But nothing is impossible for God.”
38 Mary answered, “I am the Lord’s servant. Let everything you’ve said happen to me.”
Then the angel left her. (Luke 1:26-38)