"Hello, you who are deeply loved! The Lord is with you."
What? Who is this? What is he saying to me? How did this man get into my room? I just looked up, and he was there. He looks normal, but- but- there's something about him. For some reason- I think he's important.
"Don't be afraid, Mary. God is very pleased with you. You are going to conceive and give birth to a baby boy, and you will name him Jesus. He will be a great man and will be called the Son of the Most high. The Lord God will make him king like his father David, and he will reign over all of his people forever. His kingdom will never end."
I am terrified now. This man is from God. He has to be! But what he's saying….
"But how is that possible?" I ask. "I'm a virgin."
"The Holy Spirit will come on you," he says, "and the power of the Most High God, will overshadow you. So the holy baby that will be born will be called the Son of God. Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and even though they said she could not conceive, she is six months along. Because nothing God says will happen will not work."
I can't believe this. What he's asking me to do… Joseph! I'm supposed to marry him! If I become pregnant, he could stone me! No one will believe me. I will always be thought of as an adulteress, even though I did nothing wrong. If I don't die before I deliver this baby, I will likely be divorced, and persecuted all my life. And yet….
Why did God choose me? I'm just a normal fifteen-year-old girl from Nazareth. He could just have easily asked the girl down the street, or any other girl in Israel! In fact, I don't even like babies or young children that much. But, if I understand this man right, of everyone in the world, I am the sole person with the opportunity to carry God in my belly. The thought terrifies me.
I don't want to do it. I can't just throw away everything I had wanted for myself like that. I can say no, right? He can find someone else!
With me, you CAN do it.
But suddenly I feel overcome with an overwhelming power. Of course I will do this. It's not because I feel like I have to, and I certainly don't want to. I know it will be hard. But I will do it.
I swallow hard. "I am the Lord's servant," I say. "Let everything happen just as you said."
…
What was that!? I feel… something moving. It's just the baby, I think, attempting to calm myself down. It's been almost five months- it's supposed to be moving by now. But the thought is no comfort. There is a baby inside of me. I'm responsible for its life. There is a tiny human, growing inside me!
I would be terrified enough if that were it. But this baby- this one is different. Scratch that- this baby follows a completely different standard! I think he's human, and yet… he's God. The thought makes me shudder every time. God, in human form, inside me? Is that even possible?
Everything is possible.
Joseph had a dream. He's not going to stone me, in fact he's still going to marry me! I thanked God for being so good to me. But people are beginning to know already. My parents don't believe me. They are already ashamed of me. They are even ashamed of Joseph now. They think he's the father, because he didn't stone me.
We will have to go to Bethlehem in a few months- four, to be exact. Yes, I know, extremely inconvenient timing. But Caesar Augustus commands it, and when Caesar commands something, you listen to Caesar! He wants everyone in his whole empire to go to the city of their ancestors, so that he can tax them. Well, Joseph's ancestors are from Bethlehem, so that's where we're going, and we really don't have a choice in the matter.
…
"Joshua."
That's what the angel told Joseph in his dream. It fits. It means, "God is Salvation." Joshua. God. Right here, in my arms now. Screaming his head off, like any baby. Except he's not just any baby. The Son of God, an ordinary baby now, is looking up at my face. And as strangers come in to worship him, I know I'm not worthy to hold this child.
But I regret nothing now. I know I will be persecuted. I know it will be hard. But nothing can compare to this. This little boy that I am holding is the delight of my heart. He is God with me.
I will always be with you. I will always love you.
…
I don't understand it. He was supposed to save us. He was supposed to deliver us from the Romans. But now he's dead. I can't believe it. It doesn't make sense. Was it all a lie? That's not possible. I was a virgin! But I don't understand it.
Wait. Trust me. I have a plan.
…
He is there. My son. My Lord. My Savior. But he was dead! Oh, God, you did it! Why did I underestimate you? Why didn't I trust you? Joshua was dead, but now he's alive! My heart leaps for joy. It praises you, God. I still don't understand everything, but you do. You set it in motion the moment you sent your angel to me.
I was in control. You delivered me, so that I could deliver you. I was your child, but now you can be mine.
Merry Christmas everyone!