The Manger Reimagined- Advent Week One: Hope

These Manger Reimagined Family Advent Devotional posts are written by the Down the Hobbit Hole Blog team in November & December 2020. This Advent week one post contains affiliate links, you can find out more on our policies page or in the disclaimer at the bottom of the blog. 

The theme of Advent week one is hope. I can think of no better way to start this advent season than with a note of hopefulness. 

What is Advent?:

The word “advent” comes to us from a Latin word that means “coming”. Never heard of an advent devotional before? It’s basically like a Christmas countdown calendar, but with a Jesus devotional focus. Each of the four Sundays before Christmas begins a different theme for the week. It has been celebrated by Christians for over a thousand years. It marks the coming of Jesus in three ways – His first coming 2,000 years ago, our hope for His second coming, and His coming daily into our hearts. It’s a season for us to acknowledge the hope we have in Christ while acknowledging that everything has not been set right yet.

Why Reimagine the Manger?:

When we read the story of Mary and Joseph in the Bible, we typically read it through our shiny Christmas lens with our pretty nativity sets in mind. But after doing some historical and cultural reading, we can see that our interpretation of what happened at the manger is just a shiny reflection of some pieces of the event. So during these four weeks, we’re going to dive into each of the characters and their settings a little more. For advent week one, let’s dive into Mary’s story. Specifically how Mary responds to God with faith and hope. 

Advent Week One:
Reflections on Mary’s Hope

Mary Receives the News:

I knew that Mary was a teenager, but it’s not often pointed out that she was probably around 13-14 years old when the angel visited her and she was betrothed to Joseph. And while she is sometimes pictured as serene and shy- her story shows us a tough and brave girl. When the angel comes to visit Mary; she is poor, she’s a virgin, and she’s faithfully betrothed. Whether or not an unwed pregnancy was a source for extreme shame is debated, but she was already looked down upon in society for her social status, and this pregnancy probably would not have helped that. She is unsure if what she’s hearing from God will bring her physical and social pain, or how her fiance will respond, but sure of God’s faithfulness. Instead of responding in shame and fear, Mary responds with faith and hope.

Mary’s Brave, Hope-filled, Speech:

Not only is Mary not a quiet figure in the Scriptures, her words are the most we hear from any female in the New Testament. In what is now known as ‘The Magnificat’, Mary shares her awe and hope at the amazing things she believes God will do through her son with her cousin Elizabeth. It’s good news. And not just for a poor Jewish girl living in a tense age of oppression, but for everyone. Dietrich Bonhoeffer calls it the most revolutionary advent hymn.

God in the “humble state” — that is the revolutionary, the passionate word of Advent. First, Mary herself, the wife of a carpenter… insignificant and in her humble state as we might see it, she is significant to God and appointed to be the mother of the Savior of the world. Not because of some remarkable human trait in her, not because of some great piety, not because of her modesty, not because of any particular virtue in her, but apart from any of these characteristics, only because God’s gracious will is to love the humble and lowly, the insignificant. He chose to make them great…

This song of Mary’s is the oldest Advent hymn. It is the most passionate, most vehement, one might almost say, most revolutionary Advent hymn ever sung. It is not the gentle, sweet, dreamy Mary that we so often see portrayed in pictures, but the passionate, powerful, proud, enthusiastic Mary, who speaks here. None of the sweet, sugary, or childish tones that we find so often in our Christmas hymns, but a hard, strong, uncompromising song of bringing down rulers from their thrones and humbling the lords of this world, of God’s power and of the powerlessness of men. These are the tones of the prophetic women of the Old Testament: Deborah, Judith, Miriam, coming alive in the mouth of Mary.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer: Christmas Sermons

We find this revolutionary hymn at the end of Luke 1. Something to reflect on throughout the first week of advent.

Mary said, with all my heart I glorify the Lord!
In the depths of who I am I rejoice in God my savior.
He has looked with favor on the low status of his servant.
Look! From now on, everyone will consider me highly favored
because the mighty one has done great things for me.
Holy is his name. He shows mercy to everyone,
from one generation to the next, who honors him as God.
He has shown strength with his arm.
He has scattered those with arrogant thoughts and proud inclinations.
He has pulled the powerful down from their thrones and lifted up the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things
and sent the rich away empty-handed.
He has come to the aid of his servant Israel, remembering his mercy,
just as he promised to our ancestors, to Abraham and to Abraham’s descendants forever.”
Luke 1: 46-55 CEB

Reimagining Mary’s Manger

The census being taken meant that there would have been a lot of family members around. And most modest homes of that time would have had the stable connected to the house. The image below is of a basic house during that time period. Taken from the book ‘Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes’. Mary likely wasn’t giving birth in a manger because they couldn’t find anywhere to stay, but because a lot of family was staying together.

So I think of a pregnant Mary, meeting a ton of in-laws for the first time, out in the stable so that she could have room to give birth because there wasn’t enough space in the family room. There were likely many people around to help her, it probably was not just her and Joseph in the stable like our nativity scenes depict. But that does not make the scene any less harrowing or hope filled, just a little more crowded, awkward, and not as picturesque. 

God sent his Son to the world through a poor family, with a neat and foretold lineage, to change and save not just the world, but you and me too. The circumstances of His birth were hope filled because of the brave faith of Mary and it’s still a hope filled story for us now.

Bible Passages to Read Together for Advent Week One:

*Luke 1:2-56

*Matthew 1:17-23

*Isaiah 7:14

Discussion Questions for Advent Week One

**Questions specifically targeted for a younger audience have two asterisks**

1. **Try to put yourself in Mary’s shoes.  How would you be feeling if you were told that you were soon to be the parent of the Son of God?
2. **Mary and Joseph may have had access to lots of family in her time of need.  When you are going through difficult times, which family members do you reach out to for help?
3. Have you ever heard the full Magnificat? Why is it so revolutionary? Why do you think we typically hear it cut off after the first few lines?
4. **What helps you to feel hopeful?
5. Talk about the last time you felt unsure, but God was faithful.

Prayer for Advent Week One:

Dear Father in heaven
We humble come to you
As we reflect on the journey of your Son.
During this season
We pray for the bravery of Mary
To do what is right
Even when it is hard.
We pray for the strength of Mary
To joyfully persist.
And we pray to feel You near this week.
That we would be able to hope,
And to bring hope to others.
Amen.

Resources We Used for This Post:

-Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s Christmas Sermons
–The Message of Women: by Derek and Dianne Tidball
–Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes: By Kenneth Bailey
–Meditations on the Magnificat: A Patheos Article
–Mary’s Revolutionary Magnificat: A Washington Post Article

**For more of this series: Week 2, Week 3, Week 4, Week 5**

Advent Family Resources:

– Unwrapping the Greatest Gift or the Calendar version by Ann Voskamp.
– Watch for the Light: A collection of Advent readings.
– Keeping Christmas: 25 Advent Reflections on A Christmas Carol.
– A Better Than Anything Christmas: Includes journaling space and short entries for younger kids.

You Might Be Interested in These Other Posts:

–Hope is Coming! Our movie and music Advent devotionals from last year.

-25+ Christmas Movies to Stream & Where to Stream Them

-Our Family Christmas Quiz & Game Bundle for $1.50.

-Our Favorite New Christmas Books and Read Alouds

-10 Socially Distant Family, Holiday, Activities!

Please take a second to share this post! Thanks for stopping by, we hope that you have a warm and encouraging Advent season.

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