Born of the Virgin Mary

WuHaT a moment of transcendent joy was that when Mary bore her Son! What though the surroundings of His birth were the rudest and humblest possible, that the stall provided the chamber, and the manger the cradle, whilst the beasts moved restlessly at their halters! Hers was the joy of bearing a Child on whom the light of prophecy was focussed! A woman’s joy when a man-child is born into the world was in her case mingled with the memory of the words of the Angel Gabriel, spoken at the Annunciation, “He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Most High: and the Lord God shall give unto Him the throne of His father David: and He shall reign over the House of Jacob for ever; and of His Kingdom there shall be no end.” Could she forget those words spoken but nine months before, when her cousin accosted her as blessed amongst women, and as the Mother of the Lord? and surely she had also been informed

of the word of Zacharias, who had compared her 64

BORN OF THE VIRGIN MARY 65

Child to the Dayspring from on high that visits the world with general illumination.

All her highest hopes were realised, and the confirmation was given to them, when, presently, the wise men from the East obtained admission to their humble dwelling-place, and presented Joseph and herself with costly gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh, and when the shepherds came, telling of the wonderful vision of angels, and went forth glorifying and praising God. A further corroboration had been given her when she presented her Child in the Temple, and was greeted by the prophetess Anna, who, when she saw the Child, gave thanks unto God, and spoke of Him as being connected with the redemption for which she and many were looking.

It also confirmed her high hopes when the aged Simeon took the Child in his arms, and blessed God that he had lived to see His salvation — the Light of the Gentiles, and the Glory of Israel. But what did the old man mean when, looking steadily at her, he said, “Yea, and a sword shall pierce through thine own soul”? She could not forget his significant look, or those warning words. Whenever she thought of them she gave an involuntary shudder. What lay hidden for her Boy in the dim future which should make His life a stepping-stone and a stumbling-block for many in Israel, and a sign which should be spoken against? She did not, and could not, understand these words; they came back upon her frequently as a breath of coming autumn in the midst of a radiant summer day.