1. In Luke 2:19 we read that ‘Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.’  How do you think Luke knew that?

2. What, in particular in this passage, do you think that Mary would have really ‘treasured’ and ‘pondered’?

3.  Which aspects of the story of Jesus’ birth are most likely to be neglected in the way that Christmas is celebrated today?

God might have been expected to announce the birth of his Son with a flourish: but he choose otherwise.