Mary, Did You Know?

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

John 1:14

In 1984, comedian and singer Mark Lowry wrote a program for a Christmas pageant at his church. His script included questions for Mary while she was holding the baby on Christmas night. Years later, according to Lowry, he found his script and gave it to his friend Buddy Greene, saying, "Buddy, write a hit with these words." Lowry claims to have been kidding. But Greene took him seriously and wrote the music for a new song, "Mary, Did You Know?" A couple of years later, this song was recorded by Michael English, then by Kathy Mattea and many other artists. "Mary, Did You Know?" became the hit Mark had joked about. No other spiritual Christmas song in recent memory has achieved the extraordinary popularity of this masterpiece by Lowry and Greene.

Why is "Mary, Did You Know?" so popular? To be sure, Buddy Greene's haunting melody has something to do with it. (Buddy, by the way, is a great friend of Laity Lodge, where he often performs and sometimes teaches.) But the lyrics of "Mary, Did You Know?" stir our hearts with some of the deepest mysteries of Christmas. We think of Mary, a young, vulnerable woman called into the most extraordinary human work in all of history: giving birth to the Word of God Incarnate. We are reminded that the baby to whom Mary gave birth would walk on water, heal the broken, and save us. We are astounded once more by the fact that Mary's baby boy is "Lord of all creation" and, in fact, "the great I AM."

This is a mystery beyond our comprehension, though it stands at the center of Christian faith. We believe, not only that Jesus was Israel's Messiah, not only that he was the Savior of the world, but also that he was the Lord of all creation, the great I AM, come in human form. As the Gospel of John puts it, "The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us" (1:14). The Word who was in the beginning, the Word who was with God, the Word through whom God made all things, the Word who was fully God...this Word became human in Jesus, the son of Mary.

Christmas is, at its core, a celebration of the Incarnation. During the Christmas season, we ponder the mystery of God becoming human. We marvel at the grace of God, who entered our reality in order to save us, to make us new, to heal us, and to die for us as heaven's perfect Lamb.

QUESTIONS FOR FURTHER REFLECTION: As you think about the Incarnation, what thoughts and feelings come to you? What difference does it make in your life that God became human in Jesus?

PRAYER:

Mary, did you know
that your baby boy will one day walk on water?
Mary, did you know
that your baby boy will save our sons and daughters?
Did you know
that your baby boy has come to make you new?
This child that you've delivered
will soon deliver you.

Mary, did you know
that your baby boy will give sight to a blind man?
Mary, did you know
that your baby boy will calm a storm with His hand?
Did you know
that your baby boy has walked where angels trod?
And when you kiss your little baby
You've kissed the face of God.

Mary, did you know? Mary, did you know?

The blind will see
The deaf will hear
The dead will live again
The lame will leap
The dumb will speak
The praises of The Lamb

Mary, did you know
that your baby boy is Lord of all creation?
Mary, did you know
that your baby boy will one day rule the nations?
Did you know
that your baby boy is heaven's perfect Lamb?
This sleeping child you're holding
is the Great I Am.

For the mind-boggling, heart-warming, life-transforming mystery of the Incarnation, I give you thanks, O Lord. Amen.

"Mary, Did You Know?" lyrics by Mark Lowry, music by Buddy Greene. Copyright © 1991, 1993 Word Music, LLC (a div. of Word Music Group, Inc.), Rufus Music (Admin. by Gaither Copyright Management).