This is one of my favourite Christmas songs.
I’ve loved it since I first heard it many years ago.
Lately I’ve noticed that it gets some criticism, which I don’t believe is warranted – accusations that it treats Mary as ignorant, or that the writers must have never read the Bible…
Let’s face it – of course she knew!
She was told of what was to come by an angel; that word was confirmed by Elizabeth. She was inspired to sing a prophetic song of what God was doing, and then received further prophecy from Simeon and Anna!
Mary was far from ignorant, and she thought deeply.
If the intent of the song were to mock Mary for her perceived ignorance, then I could understand the criticisms. I have never heard it that way. To me, it seems like someone in awe of the unfolding magnificence of the story, asking Mary how it was possible to conceive of such a truth. It invites us to really enter the story, and marvel. There’s a line that says, “When you kiss your little baby, you kiss the face of God”…and – I just don’t know what to do with that! Every time I hear it, it feels new and amazing – God in flesh, helpless and vulnerable, in the arms of a young first time mother. Surrounded by animals and shepherds, tired and hungry and probably a bit bewildered.
All for us.
A song not born from a lack of Bible reading.
Just a writer (and listener) struggling to really take in all of the good news!
1000 Fields of Roses 