Traditional Christmas pictures of Mary show a meek, quiet woman keeping watch over her infant. But the cultural implications of Jesus’s birth suggest a very different image of Mary than most of us are familiar with. Mary wasn’t simply “sweet.” She was fierce and courageous. But we can’t fully appreciate her courage until we understand how much she was risking by agreeing to be the mother of the Messiah. By the end of this episode, you’ll see why Mary is a model of discipleship who shows us how the be the kind of people where hope can be born.