What the lyrics don’t mention, though, is that the secret of this wondrous season hinges on something God asks of us, in the depths of our hearts.
We mustn’t cling tightly to our plans for the future, but be ready to surrender everything to him.
This secret is revealed in a lovely biblical scene, called the Annunciation, which has inspired hundreds of paintings and songs.
When an angel showed up unexpectedly in a young girl’s room and addressed her as “full of grace,” she was troubled, which isn’t surprising, since his visit upended her dreams for her future.
Putting this in today’s terms, let’s imagine a teenage girl in her bedroom, studying for her next algebra exam.
She’s already applied to colleges, and has a good chance of getting into her first choice, plus she’s dating a fine boy who’s hinted about marriage once they’ve graduated.
Then into her life steps an angel, bearing a different set of blueprints, which feature her conceiving a baby called the “Son of the Most High.”
Now it’s tempting to conclude that “back then” in biblical times, this angelic announcement wouldn’t be as life-changing as it would be today.
After all, “back then,” weren’t people totally different from us? I mean, they wore long robes, they used donkeys for transportation — and they didn’t even have TV, let alone Hulu and Netflix!
But in fact, it’s a mistake to assume people who lived centuries ago were radically dissimilar from us, which this biblical scene underscores.
You see, Mary reacts like any innocent young girl, in any century, would — “How shall this be done, since I know not man?” — which is her way of proclaiming, “This is impossible!”
Her response arises from her knowledge of nature, but the angel’s answer is entirely supernatural. He tells her the Holy Spirit will come upon her and the shadow of the Most High will encompass her.
Then he adds another shocker, saying her elderly cousin, Elizabeth, is now six months pregnant. And even “back then,” Mary would’ve known pregnancies for old women and virgins were biologically impossible.
But the angel’s reply is the bedrock of faith: “Nothing is impossible with God.”
We can imagine Mary’s thoughts on this angelic visit, since she surely suspected Joseph would be devastated by her pregnancy and knew that, according to Jewish law, she could face death by stoning.
When God asks something life-changing, which entails radical sacrifices, we often devise excuses. “I’m too old. I’m too young. Too tired. Too busy.”
Clearly, Mary could have responded to the angel, “Come back when I’m older and more settled down.”
Instead, she did the hardest thing in the world, which was acquiescing to God’s plan that she give birth to his son. “Be it done to me according to thy word.”
As a grown man, her son would bow to the Father in the Garden of Gethsemane with strikingly similar words, “Not my will, but thy will be done.”
Christianity beckons us to give everything to God, no matter what he asks of us. It could be something wonderful, like welcoming another baby — or heart-breaking, like enduring the death of a spouse.
This year, as we gaze upon the crèche beneath the tree, let’s acknowledge Mary’s stunning role in the Christmas story.
And just as her “yes” to God altered the course of human history, let’s realize that our surrender to his will can radically change our hearts.
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