What better place to start then the announcement of the
birth of Jesus to Mary. This passage is one of many where Mary has given to
herself to God’s will without question.
There were a couple of verses that really stuck out to me
while reading. Luke 1:28-29 starts with Gabriel’s greeting
to Mary, ‘…Hail favored one! The Lord is with you.’ But she was greatly
troubled at what was said and pondered what sort of greeting this might be.
Then the angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor
with God.’
If this happened to someone today, I think they would be
scared out of their mind. Who would ever take to a greeting like that? Or be
told that they have found favor with God? BUT this has not
happened in the modern world. For us to really understand the whole of the
bible, we have to look back at when this actually took place. This took place
in a different time and a different era, something none of us are remotely
familiar with.
To be approached by an angel, someone so great and
beautiful, to tell me that I am in favor with God would be something so
remarkable and unbelievable in a sense. I would probably have the same reaction
as Mary had, but I would feel so blessed by this greeting and would feel more at
ease after the angel has told me to not be afraid.
I just really wanted to touch base with this because it’s
not everyday that we ponder what it would be like to be approached by an angel
telling us we have found favor with God.
The biggest verse that I believe everyone is familiar with
is Luke 1:38: “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me
according to your word.” What does this truly mean to me? Why in the world
would someone say this after being told that they were to bear a child without
having any relations with a man?
Reading the few verses above Mary’s answer will help you to
understand my own. It was basically Gabriel telling Mary that she will conceive
a child and he will be named Jesus. She some what starts to question this because
logically, she cannot conceive without having relations with a man. She was
only betrothed to Joseph at this point and during those times (which most of us
still practice to this day) if a woman had a relations outside of marriage,
they were looked down upon. Of course this was Joseph’s thought when he found
out, but that’s for a different post. I digress, even with some doubt in her,
the angel assured her that nothing is impossible for God and said to her that
her cousin (relative) has conceived was in her 6th month. Elizabeth
was pretty old to be having children, but again, nothing is impossible for God!
Going back to the questions I posed… What does this truly
mean to me? The most trouble I have been having is being vulnerable with my
husband. I close myself off a lot of times, especially when we have
disagreements or misunderstandings. To see a young woman, possibly even younger
than I am today, actually give herself up to the Lord, is astounding. I think I would have a hard time with this,
but through prayer and looking to Mary’s life, I believe I could overcome it be
vulnerable to our Lord.
The second questioned I asked, I somewhat answered, but I
want to explain more. During these times, carrying a child without being
married first was seen as a sin and typically the woman was stoned to death for
it. Now, in this day and age, it is still seen as a sin, but the women aren’t
stoned to death, but you have to understand, the woman during Mary’s time did
not have much of a place in society. Yes, they were not very outspoken, nor had
a mind of their own like we do today, but that’s how it was, and they accepted
it. And Mary knew this, yet she still said let it be done. That takes
remarkable courage and strength to accept what is happening to her and to
follow through with it, but it was like she knew that God would watch over her
and protect her.
Knowing that God is there to help us, to protect us from
harm/evil, is the greatest thing to stand by with your life. Even through the
tough times that many go through, he is always there, guiding us to be better
people, to help us to become more in the image that he created us to be.
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