For as significant a role as Mary played in the life of Jesus, we know surprisingly little about her. Though we may not know many facts about her life, we can see glimmers of her in the words of her son. It’s fascinating to me how much Jesus probably learned from his mother. His parables seem to be permeated with her lessons. 

Jesus compared the kingdom of God to a woman who used a little bit of leaven to make enough bread to feed 100 people. (Luke 13:20-21) I can picture little Jesus pulling up a stool and watching as Mary kneaded her dough to make their dinner. I can hear her saying, “Look Jesus! Just a little bit of leaven and look what it can produce!”. I see his mother in the story of the woman who lost a coin and cleaned out the whole house until she found it. How many times did Jesus search on his hands and knees for some lost item of Mary’s, rejoicing with her when what was lost had been found? Why did Jesus alone seem to notice the poor widow who sacrificially gave to the temple offering? (Luke 21:1-4) Was it because he had seen his own widowed mother give out of her poverty as well? 

As sweet as it is to imagine Mary’s impact on Jesus’ teachings, there is no place where we see her influence more than in her beautiful prayer, which is known as the Magnificat. As we read her song of praise, we see the foreshadowing of her Son: 

“My soul magnifies the Lord,

and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,

for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant.

    For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed;

for he who is mighty has done great things for me,

    and holy is his name.

And his mercy is for those who fear him

    from generation to generation.

He has shown strength with his arm;

    he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts;

he has brought down the mighty from their thrones

    and exalted those of humble estate;

he has filled the hungry with good things,

    and the rich he has sent away empty.

He has helped his servant Israel,

    in remembrance of his mercy,

as he spoke to our fathers,

    to Abraham and to his offspring forever.”

Luke 1:46-55

Mary understood the character and nature of the God she magnified. She understood him to be a God who didn’t judge people based on their status, or the money in their bank account. He isn’t a God who surrounds himself with powerful, influential, and beautiful people. He is a God who cares about the lowly, the humble, the poor, the hungry, the outcast and the sinner. He is a God who longs to show compassion and mercy to those who desperately need it.

These are the words that flowed from Mary’s heart in a spontaneous moment of praise, which means that these were the things she cared about too. And everyone knows that more is caught than taught. What did Jesus learn about the heart of God from watching his mother? I can’t help but wonder how many times little Jesus walked to the market holding Mary’s hand and saw her stop to see the broken and hurting. Did he watch as she gave food to the hungry or cared for the sick? Did Mary herself include the lonely at her dinner table, because what’s one more mouth to feed when you already have so many? She must have instilled a love for these people in her Son. 

Because these verses describe Mary’s Son perfectly. Jesus was the strongest man that ever walked the face of the earth, but he didn’t use his strength to gain power or increase his status. He did not seek out the influential or the beautiful. He did not care about those things. Instead, he chose common fisherman, zealots, tax collectors, and women of ill repute. Throughout his ministry, he didn’t pander to the powerful or entertain the rich. In fact, he frequently offended them! He cared about those of humble estate, the hungry, the empty. 

So he made a habit of seeing those that others looked past and stopping for the ones that everyone else turned away from. He exalted others when he entered their homes and ate with them. He filled their hungry hearts with himself. He helped people in remembrance of his Father’s mercy. I love the way that one dictionary defines mercy: “[God’s] grace removes guilt. Mercy removes misery…Mercy is God‘s attitude towards those who are in distress.” Jesus saw the misery of his people and his heart went out to those who were hurting. He entered in and removed their misery. He was a man who stopped, who saw, who allowed himself to feel compassion for us.

I love these words that flowed from Mary’s heart. I love that they paved the way for her merciful Son. As we remember him this Christmas season, may we let Mama Mary lead the way. May we remember that our God has seen us–he has seen the lowly state of our hearts. He sees our loneliness, our hurt, our struggle. He sees our afflictions, sufferings and diseases. He sees the hunger of our hearts and the emptiness of our souls. He sees us. He stops for us. He sends us his Son to fill all that is empty and remove our misery. As we see his heart on full display in his Son, may we sing along with Mary, “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior!”

Merry Christmas, my friends.