Mary Has The X Factor 

👤 Geoff

It's that time of year again, the run up to Christmas. You know it's nearly Christmas when the Strictly final is close and the shops are already making shelf space for their Easter promotions. Yes, Christmas starts early in the retail business, which is why they’ve been playing carols since just after Bonfire Night. Whatever happened to Advent being a period of joyful hope and anticipation? We are all encouraged to shop until we drop, culminating in a mad rush on Christmas Eve, and that’s Christmas done and dusted. Which is a great shame, because the twelve days of Christmas start, not end, on 25th December.

But for those of us who appreciate Advent as a time for reflection and preparation, this year I've been thinking about Mary's part in the Christmas story. I reckon she might have done quite well in one of those TV singing or talent competitions, such as The Voice, Britain's Got Talent, Pop Idol or the X Factor, because we have one of her songs recorded in Luke chapter 1 and I like to imagine she had a reasonably good singing voice. She was a youngster like so many in these TV competitions, and she certainly had a 'rollercoaster journey' that would provide the tear-jerking backstory that everybody seems to have these days.

Imagine how it must have been for this young girl starting out on life with her whole future in front of her. She'd found a wonderful man to take care of her (which was the only way she could find security in the culture of the day - no serious jobs for women, no benefits, no TV talent contests to help you 'follow your dream' and find thirty seconds of fame). Yes they were poor, but Joseph had a trade and I'm sure they were looking forward to settling down and raising a family together.

Then God shows up and her life is turned upside down. Suddenly she is looking at the possibility of being a homeless single teenage mother facing the death penalty. How will Joseph react? (We know he tried to quietly break off their engagement, so her fears must have been real). What will she tell her mum and dad? What will everyone think?

Joseph, of course, does stand by her and together they face the full force of government bureaucracy, lack of healthcare provision, a brutal dictator bent on finding them and killing their new baby boy, and being forced to leave their own country and become asylum seekers.  That's quite a 'journey' for a young couple! And it’s a long way from the picture conjured up by most Christmas cards and carols.

It seems to me that the Christmas celebration of Jesus as Immanuel - God With Us - works two ways. Firstly, we can be sure that whatever life throws at us, God will journey through it with us. That's a promise.

But the thing that's more difficult to accept is that when God shows up things can get messy. Obediently following God's plan for my life will not necessarily be easy. Accepting 'God With Us' will mean struggle, challenge and at times downright opposition. Am I really ready for that?

I'm amazed at Mary's response to all this. Mary said, "I am the Lord's servant! Let it happen as you have said."  (Luke 2:38). What an attitude. What an example. Whatever the X Factor actually is, Mary's got it in bucketloads.

All this leaves me wondering whether I'm as willing to welcome Immanuel into my life this Christmas as I might think. Wondering whether or not I'm really up for the ‘journey’ God may have in store for me in 2026, which he has not promised will be all wine and roses. And wondering whether I can summon up the courage and faith to respond as Mary did to the call of God. 

But, God helping, I pray that I will. Lord, let it be to me according to your will in 2026. Bring it on!

Happy Christmas!