Mary was (and is) always His mother

She was not prepared for a nine month pregnancy. She was not desiring the gossip, slander, and ostracizing she endured. Yet, she was obedient to God. The angel had told her she would be the mother of the Messiah. Her motherhood did not stop at the manger.

Christmas is the only time of the year where non-Catholics come together and recognize, honor, and adore Mary in the manger with her Son. It’s one of the only times, if the only time in many churches, where the name Mary is ever mentioned, She gets kicked to the curb and stuck in a box of theological sermons after Christmas and waits again to be brought out the following December. 

We are all familiar with mothers and children. The mother prepares for nine months with doctor appointments, baby showers, painting bedrooms, gathering baby items, and looking through baby name books. The couple excitedly announce they are having a baby. Everything will be ready for the baby’s birth. The hospital is chosen, the name is decided, and the baby’s crib is constructed. 

The baby is born and the mother leaves the baby after the first day. That’s how life works. Ridiculous? It is absolutely absurd to treat the mother of the Messiah, the mother of our Savior, as if she just gave birth to Him in a barn and then left. That is how it seems many treat Mary. She’s only Jesus’ mother once a year for a couple weeks. 

Yes, Jesus is Lord. He was the Lord Incarnate, the Messiah, God among us, and the King of Kings. Let us never overlook the fact that He, in addition to all of this, was man. He did not get out of the manger after an hour of cleaning Himself off and walk among the people. He did not step out of the manger after a couple hours and heal the lame, raise the dead, and give sight to the blind. 

He was in the manger. He cried. Mary held Him. He was dirty. Mary cleaned Him. He was hungry. Mary fed Him.

Mary did not cease to be the mother of the Lord when the Holy Family left the manger and made their way back home. In fact, her role as His mother was just beginning. I can imagine her confusion and struggle as she contemplated the fact that her baby was the Messiah. How could He possibly be the Messiah when he cried for His mother to hold Him in the middle of the night? The angel told her that He was Lord and that He would save His people. How could that be when she was the one to feed Him when He could not hold a bowl? 

The angel said He would save the Lord’s people from their sins and He would rule the nations. How could this be when He could not even walk? She taught Him how to stand, saw His first steps, fed Him, clothed Him, bathed Him, and bandaged His wounds when He fell. She cheered Him when He had a success and taught Him how to put God first in worship. 

Imagine that! She taught Him how to walk and yet He would give legs back to the lame. She taught Him how to speak and He would restore speech to the mute. She fed Him and He would feed thousands. She raised Him up when He fell and He would raise up the adulterer when she was at her lowest. She taught Him God is always present even in the storms of life and He would calm the storm with a word.

She walked with Him through the best of His life and never abandoned Him in the worst. She might not have totally understood everything, but she loved and obeyed. 

She was His mother each and every day He walked on this earth and she remains His mother today. We do not stop being mothers when we give birth to our children in the hospital. She never stopped either. 

Let us not treat Mary as if she walked away from the manger that day and stopped being His mother.