If you’re “anti-Santa” songs, ignore this one.  If you’re not put off by them, listen at blog’s end.  I’m not celebrating Santa, just Christmas.)

A “wonder” is “a feeling of amazement and admiration, caused by something beautiful, remarkable, or unfamiliar” (Oxford Living Dictionaries).  If you’re a Christian, you know God does some pretty wonderful works!

Sometimes God’s wonders are like visiting Narnia—C.S. Lewis’ magical land in The Chronicles of Narnia.  (If you haven’t read them, check out  https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_c_2_15?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=the+chronicals+of+narnia+books&sprefix=The+Chronicals+%2Caps%2C447&crid=31866FBVFXH1X.)

Nothing Narnia-like about Mary visiting Aunt Elizabeth. Mary has   been promised a virgin birth, the promise backed up by the news that old barren Elizabeth was six months pregnant.  So we expect Mary to see for herself.

Of course, the message-bearer was an angel.   So, as Mary makes her visit, we’re not far from a Narnia-like Christmas story.  And, as we read about it, we realize we’re back “through the wardrobe” . . .

In those days Mary set out and went with haste to a Judean town in the hill country, where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth.

When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me? For as soon as I heard the sound of your greeting, the child in my womb leaped for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her by the Lord.”

And Mary said, “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant. Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed; for the Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name. 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 powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly; he has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty. He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, according to the promise he made to our ancestors, to Abraham and to his descendants forever.”

 And Mary remained with her about three months and then returned to her home. (Luke 1:39-56, NRSV)

When young Mary enters Zechariah’s house, she greets Elizabeth.  What happens next is wonder-full.   Elizabeth hears Mary’s greeting, her baby moves in her womb, she is filled with the Holy Spirit and answers her guest . . .

“Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me? For as soon as I heard the sound of your greeting, the child in my womb leaped for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her by the Lord.”

We expect Mary to respond something like, “Elizabeth, how did you know?”  Well, how did Elizabeth know?  Apparently nobody called on her cell phone with the news.  As far as Luke tells us, nobody but Mary knew about the angel’s visit. Elizabeth didn’t know.  She spontaneously and wonderfully spoke words the Spirit gave her.

Mary’s response, too, is wonder-full.  Author Luke doesn’t claim Mary was filled with the Holy Spirit.  Perhaps she was.  Or maybe she was filled with God’s Word, because what has been called “The Magnificat” (a Latin word meaning “it magnifies”) echoes words childless Hannah prayed when she bore a son named Samuel (1 Samuel 2:1-10).

 Look what Mary spontaneously praises the Lord for . . .

His mercy toward her in her humble condition.  “ . . .for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant.”  Mary thus takes Elizabeth’s pregnancy and words to confirm the angel’s message to her.  And she affirms that God the Mighty One whose name is holy looks with favor on the lowly who fear him. “ . . . . the Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name.”  Consequently future generations will call her blessed. “ . . .  from now on all generations will call me blessed”. 

Mary spontaneously praises the Lord for his faithfulness to his promises revealed to Abraham and his descendants.  “He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts. He has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly; he has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty. He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, according to the promise he made to our ancestors, to Abraham and to his descendants forever.”  This young Jewish girl, with no outward sign of being pregnant, believes the angel’s message that she will give birth to the Messiah.  And the Messiah will finally fulfill all God’s promises and purposes spoken to old Abraham.  So certain she is of “the great reversal” her son will bring about, she speaks of them in the past tense!

Now we might attribute Mary’s words to emotional women caught up in the moment.  Just like we unemotional people “know” there’s no Narnia-like new eternal creation waiting just “through the wardrobe” of this world.  But Luke testifies this is actual history, (Luke 1:1-4).  And, when we read the rest of the Gospel, we discover the words of these two women are true.  Mary does give birth to the Messiah.

This wonder-full meeting of these women lays before us a choice. Either to dismiss this as two emotional females chattering about their unexpected pregnancies.  (Unexpected pregnancies do happen, even to old barren women and young teenagers!)  Or to believe that these women, one old and one young secluded in a little house in the hill country of Judea 2000 years ago, are speaking Holy Spirit words about the most wonder-full work God was about to do—a “great reversal” of world order that would dethrone evil and exalt his people forever.

Well, I choose to believe the latter.  Even now, God is working toward that “great reversal”.  But you know what else?  Along the way, in Jesus’ name, God still does wonder-full works for us hidden in our little homes or church buildings.  We’re not suffering emotionalism.  God still works wonders for little people.

The video song’s chorus starts with these words . . .

“I wish it could be Christmas every day,
When the kids start singing and the band begins to play“

 One day, when Jesus comes again, it will be.

Until then, God may turn an ordinary day into a taste of Christmas by working a wonder in our little lives!