From ZM

"'O little child of Bethlehem,
descend to us we pray,
cast out our sin and enter in,
be born in us today.'

In these few lines we see articulated the perpetual rebirth of Jesus in the new Christian's heart. Mary was, in fact, the first Christian. She opened her womb to the Messiah, accepting, quite literally, the Christ. Interestingly, she does not accept this weight with a mere 'yes'. Rather, she says, "Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word." Her acceptance is in the form of a declaration that she is and will be a servant of the Living God. One might argue that the acceptance of Christ is much more complicated than a simple agreement to live as the servant of God, but I'm not convinced that it is anything more than that. Of course, there is the forgiveness of sins going on somewhere in the background, but, in essence, Jesus' gospel is a call to enter into the Kingdom of God as a servant, to have the will of God played out in one's life and to bring about the will of God in the lives of others. Thus, Mary's acceptance of the Messiah is a physical symbol of the spiritual event that takes place in a new Christian. Christ is born in the heart of a man or woman and then matures and grows in him or her till He bursts forth from them as light, love, and truth. Christ's birth and growing in a Christian is not parasitical, being a kind of possession or take-over, but rather synergistic, uniting God and man mysteriously resulting in the new, complete Man. Christ's explosion out of a person is seen in the self-actualization of the person and his or her highest expression of innate self for the benefit of others and the glory of God. Mary is the physical symbol for this event, but, in being so, she is also more. In the same way the story of those who have experienced this ultimate spiritual event serves as testimony and a call to others, so does Mary stand as a physical testimony and a call to all men and woman—will you too 'prepare Him room' in your heart and accept the call to enter into the Kingdom of God as a servant"