Virgin

³⁹ At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea, ⁴⁰ where she entered Zechariah’s home and greeted Elizabeth. ⁴¹ When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. ⁴² In a loud voice she exclaimed: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! ⁴³ But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? ⁴⁴ As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. ⁴⁵ Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!” 

MAYBE I am the only one who feels like this; but around Christmas time I become empowered by a part of myself that can be hard for me to love at other times. Suddenly being a virgin is no longer a joke or a symbol of shame. It is beautiful.

THIS summer I wrote a post on Facebook as a little satire of the prominence of sexual identity in our post-modern culture. Topics that were "brushed under the rug" in past generations are hoisted on the clothesline of today's society. We literally have parades so that people can say how they like to have sex. So I wrote in celebration of my virginity. I meant for it to show how ridiculous it is to take private matters and display them; instead I received almost 200 likes and a series of comments condoning my bravery and courage to remain pure.

THAT was when someone asked an amazing question, what if a person wasn't a virgin? Can they still be pure? Without hesitation I dove into what I had been learning about my own purity, which does not come from my virginity.

PURITY AND VIRGINITY ARE NOT THE SAME.

WHEN evangelical Christians talk about purity there is this insinuation of Sexual Purity, which is in the exclusive intimacy between a husband and wife. What we neglect is the spiritual nature of Purity. Purity is completed by physical actions but it begins in the heart and spirit. If we are telling our sons and daughters that if they are not virgins they can't be sexually pure than we've missed the point of purity, a refining fire. When gold is being refined it starts out impure and becomes pure. no one is born pure, everyone must become that way or become more impure. I might be a virgin, but if I watch pornography or lust after men while I am alone in my room than purity is far from me. I might as well be a harlot because those sins are just as impure and defiling as the physical actions that my virginity protests.

THE poet Tennyson once wrote concerning Sir Galahad, "My strength is the strength of ten, because my heart is pure." This is a purity of intentions, a nobility in presence, and a gallantry not only to women but to humanity itself that Sir Galahad possesses. I cannot repress the image of his insurmountable Samson like biceps when reading these lines of Tennyson, yet in context "strength" has another meaning. Here is the concept of fortitude, the strength of a stronghold, mighty in his battles and unconquered. At the culmination of the poem he is the only knight of Arthur with the strength to complete the quest for the Holy Grail.

HAVE you ever considered Joseph's virginity? Here was a man of G-d, in love with Mary, his betrothed, with the Jewish culture (which if unaltered to this day) has a high regard and expectations concerning marriage; here he finds his "virgin" bride pregnant. The Luke account unflinchingly continues with Joseph taking Mary to be counted with him in the City of David. The purity of his love for her supersedes any slander toward them against their virginity, in a way he is taking on this perceived shame.

CHRISTMAS reminds me to stay strong, and that even though I am not the idealistic married Christian woman, I don't have to wait for my husband before serving G-d.  When reading about Mary, or watching the Christmas dramas of her holding the Messiah, I think "Wow, she was a virgin like me. How beautiful is that?" Suddenly I no longer feel insufficient or like I belong to a greater kind of pure. I am humbled by the thought of my impatience, I am crushed by knowing that this same G-d who chose Mary to bear Himself asks me to bear His image. I have committed to be a reflection of Him on earth. An Image-bearer.

BEARING Christ wasn't easy for Mary, it won't be easy for me either. there were days when her purity was questioned, mine will be too. There were days when she was scorned by the implications of this child, I hope I will be scorned for Messiah as well. There came the day she and Joseph were no longer a virgins, her purity only increased when Joseph married her.

SOME great burdens that might be unbearable by our own strength become a delight under the pure strength of faith. Faith relies on the power of G-d to vanquish all impossibilities, we are given the strength of ten and can answer as Mary did to Elizabeth's affirmation:

⁴⁶ And Mary said:

“My soul glorifies the Lord
⁴⁷     and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
⁴⁸ for he has been mindful
    of the humble state of his servant.
From now on all generations will call me blessed,
⁴⁹     for the Mighty One has done great things for me—
    holy is his name.
⁵⁰ His mercy extends to those who fear him,
    from generation to generation.
⁵¹ He has performed mighty deeds with his arm;
    he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts.
⁵² He has brought down rulers from their thrones
    but has lifted up the humble.
⁵³ He has filled the hungry with good things
    but has sent the rich away empty.
⁵⁴ He has helped his servant Israel,
    remembering to be merciful
⁵⁵ to Abraham and his descendants forever,
    just as he promised our ancestors.”

And as this season can attest, the whole world calls this pregnant virgin blessed. 

All quotations: NIV