But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart — the contrast between the amazed crowd and the pondering Mary is the verse's theological work. Treasured up (syneteērei, kept carefully, guarded) and pondered (symballousa, placing together, weighing) communicate active, ongoing reflection rather than passive reception. Mary is processing the extraordinary events of the past months — the annunciation, the Magnificat, the birth in the manger, the shepherds' report — against each other and against the scriptural promises she has received.

COMMUNITY REFLECTIONS

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