Mary and Christmas Eve

Perhaps in this context, we rediscover Mary as the living icon of receptivity to and participation in the new gospel way of life. Perhaps we also rediscover the social, political, economic, and theological foment of Mary’s Magnificat. And perhaps we re-tradition the idea of virgin birth as a decisive repudiation of the standard patriarchal systems of violent male dominance, evermore associating the saving power of God with the tender care of a mother’s love. Such a celebration would give new meaning to the title Savior as applied to Jesus—a fitting focal point for Christmas Eve: Jesus, the firstborn of a new generation of humanity characterized by love, nonviolence, and solidarity with all, comes to save humanity from what it has become.

From Why Did Jesus, Moses, the Buddha, and Mohammed Cross the Road