Mary, What Were You Thinking?

Suddenly out of nowhere, there’s an angel beside you,
speaking words so strange, “With God you’ve found favor.”
What were you thinking, Mary?
Did you believe it could be true?
We’re told you were “troubled”,
but did a small part of you the angel’s words savor?

You’re told that you will be with child; you, who’ve never been with a man.
You ask, “How will this be?” but then you simply obey.
What were you thinking, Mary?
Did you really understand the plan?
We’re told you sang a song about God’s justice,
but is that all you really had to say?

Joseph, you learn your betrothed is with child, and you’re not the father.
You decide to end the engagement, but God intervenes.
What were you thinking?
Did you ever feel like it was all such a bother?
We’re told that you, too, obeyed,
but did you fully appreciate God’s means?

Later, God speaks to you again, telling you this time to run.
We’re not told that you ever questioned the given “why”.
What were you thinking, Joseph?
Did you recognize the importance of Mary’s son?
We’re told you stayed in Egypt until called again,
but were there days when you could only sigh?

Mary, the baby’s about to come, but there you are in a stable.
You’ve been told he’s the son of God, but God can’t even provide you an inn.
What were you thinking?
Did you wonder whether being a mother to God you’d truly be able?
We’re told you “treasured” everything,
but did you realize there was so much more Jesus would begin?

Suddenly there’s a host of angels; you were just minding your own business.
Shepherds, considered the lowliest of the low, but yet now being visited by such.
What were you thinking?
Did you ever imagine God’s son you would someday witness?
We’re told you hurried to see the baby,
but did you grasp that your worship could mean so much?

Dear Simeon and Anna, waiting so very long for this moment to come,
praising God that finally Israel would receive its redemption and consolation.
What were you thinking?
Did you know for certain this child completed your life’s sum?
We’re told you had great expectations for him,
but did you comprehend that he’d be for all and not just the Jewish nation?

Two years of travelling, following naught but a star;
known for your wisdom, you believed the ancient story, which was not even your own.
What were you thinking, Magi?
Did you contemplate what you’d find after a journey so far?
We’re told you gave gifts with certain meaning,
but did you discern the sorrow in which his birth was sown?

So absurd in so many ways, this story we hear at the Christmas season.
If true, though, then the absurdity becomes that much more amazing as I recognize its reality.
What is it I’m thinking?
Do I want to even pursue how genuine it may be, to understand with all my reason?
I’m told that “a Savior has been born”,
but as I search my heart, do I believe its actuality?

I ask what they were thinking, because, even as I question, their story tugs at my heart.
I want beauty and light, hope and joy; I am glad the season heralds the love I want to feel.
What is it that I am thinking?
Do I want to acknowledge that in their story I do have a part?
I’m told that “He is Christ the Lord”,
but will this be the year that at his manger I will finally kneel?