Article Tools
- Text Size
- Add a comment (0)
- Print this article
- Email this article
And [Mary] gave birth to her first-born son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn. — Luke 2:7
“His Mother carried him in her womb, may we carry him in our hearts; the Virgin became pregnant with the Incarnation of Christ, may our hearts become pregnant with faith in Christ; she brought forth the Savior, may our souls bring forth salvation and praise. May our souls be not sterile, but fertile for God.”
— St. Augustine, Sermons, 189, 3
What relief had been Mary’s
when Joseph’s light-filled eyes and gentle smile
had let her know that he, too, had received the angel’s message!
And in the quiet months that followed,
how the two must have wondered
and pondered the ancient prophecies,
searching for understanding to ease the questions in their hearts.
Had they dared to voice their hidden fears and sense of awe,
or were they calmly silent
because it was enough for them to know
they could rest secure in God’s will?
Had they knelt together in humble prayer before their God,
preparing their hearts to receive the child so wondrously
(and so miraculously)
to be entrusted to their care and keeping?
And then the waiting had been interrupted by Rome’s decree
and the two made ready
and set off upon the road to David’s city.
Did Mary fret a bit as she packed,
wondering whether to take the swaddling bands
and little garments she had stitched—
or would they be back home again in their own village
before her time had come?
Did Joseph cast a last look longingly back over his shoulder
as Nazareth’s security passed out of sight?
Yet the same road that led far from familiarity and comfort
led straightway to the city of promise:
You, O Bethlehem Ephrathah,
who are little to be among the clans of Judah,
from you shall come forth for me
one who is to be ruler in Israel,
whose origin is from of old,
from ancient days.
Joseph set a steady pace, careful of his young wife’s comfort,
but eager to put the road behind them—
eager to arrive and find a place where she could rest
while he went about the business of being counted by Caesar,
then finally
eager to be on the way home again with Mary.
But that was not to be.
How Joseph’s heart must have troubled him
as he sought in vain among the crowded streets to find shelter
for God’s coming in the flesh.
And she gave birth to her first-born son
and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger,
because there was no place for them in the inn.
Yes, Mary bound the child in swaddling bands
that our binding sins might be loosed
and laid him in the feed-trough upon the hay—
he who was to become crushed wheat and life-giving bread
to fill our hearts’ hunger.
This article is an excerpt from the book “My Soul Magnifies the Lord.”
Click here to purchase “My Soul Magnifies the Lord”