"Other than baby Jesus, the central character of the Christmas story is a woman named Mary. At Christmastime we remember that an ordinary, young, poor, oppressed woman was chosen to play a significant and breakthrough role in the redemption of the world. It is no mistake that a woman gets to be a part of all this, and that her voice, her questions, her fears, and her actions matter. Mary's faith and her wisdom form an astonishing aspect of the story of how God became a person for the love of this world. And in our weary world that is waiting and longing for light, meaning, peace, and love, we can do as Mary did when she "treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.""--