"In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God
to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to
a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And
the virgin's name was Mary. And he came to her and said, 'Greetings, O favored
one, the Lord is with you!' But she was
greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this
might be.
"And the angel said to her, 'Do not be afraid,
Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your
womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son
of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father
David, and he will reign over the house
of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.'
"And Mary said to the angel, 'How will this be,
since I am a virgin?"'
"And the angel answered her, 'The Holy Spirit
will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you;
therefore the child to be born will be called holy— the Son of God. And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her
old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was
called barren. For nothing will be
impossible with God.'
"And Mary said, 'Behold, I am the servant of the
Lord; let it be to me according to your word.' And the angel departed from
her." ESV Luke 1:26-38
Mary was young--very
young--when the angel visited her, probably no more than thirteen or fourteen.
Yet her faith when confronted by the angel Gabriel is that of a full-grown
woman. She does not complain or argue. She asks questions, but she does not deny
that God has the answers. She simply
submits herself to God as His servant, and accepts the fate that God has for
her.
It is a huge thing
that God asks of her. She must endure the scorn of a community that publicly
shames unwed mothers. It will endanger
her relationship with her fiancé, her parents, and her friends. Then, once the baby is born, she must accept the responsibility of being
the mother of the Messiah.
We each have been
given a task to do, and no matter what the task, it involves accepting
responsibility to govern our own bodies, feelings, and actions. Our tongues, feet, hands, head, and other
members are under our control. Obedience
to God is choosing to use our bodies in His service. Mary's submission to the
will of God was her willingness to let God have her body for His purposes It is
no different for us. Her acceptance of
this honor was not just a one-time act of obedience, but being willing to let
Him have her life forever.
Mary's
responsibility did not end in the Nativity. That was really when it began. When He was born, she had to feed him, diaper him,
dress Him, and love Him. Don't think for a minute that her son being
also the Son of God made any of this easier for her! Jesus may have been a divine baby, but He was
still a baby and needed a mother's care.
Her responsibilities
did not end when Jesus reached manhood, either.
His ministry no doubt brought her great pride at times, but more often
than not it created great sorrow and anxiety. At one time Mary came with Jesus'
brothers to take Him home, because they thought His ministry was too
dangerous. She was right. She had to endure seeing her son tortured,
nailed to a cross, and executed.
But to accept love
is to accept pain None of us can serve
God obediently and not feel the hurt of betrayal and persecution, either in
ourselves or in those we love. To love
is to accept the certainty of risk.
Obedience is hard
work, intellectually, emotionally, physically, and Spiritually. We cannot sit back and think that God will do
everything for us.
God sent Mary help
to bear this burden. Joseph was there
when Jesus was a child. So was Elizabeth
her cousin, the shepherds, the wise men,
and many others over the years that God sent to provide help and support. God
was ther, too, in the form of the Holy Spirit, guiding her thoughts when she
needed it.
The Greek church
calls Mary the theotikos--the "God
bearer." She bore Christ, the
incarnate Word. We bear God's word too,
in our way, to our corner of the world.
This, too is a huge responsibility, and brings us grief and sorrow along
with joy. We can refuse to do it. But by saying to God "be it done to me
according to Your Word," We have accepted the challenge.
"Father,
give me the courage to accept the responsibility that goes with being
one of You chosen people, that I may give my head, hands, heart, and future
into your service. In Jesus' name, Amen."
