Introduction
I am overwhelmed by the
beauty of this passage of scripture – my mind runs away with me with all the
remarkable features we read here. Most particularly, where Mary ultimately says
(Luke 1:38), “Here I am, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according
to your word”. A complete giving over of her life. Extraordinary! I am in awe
of Mary, and the faith and commitment exhibited here. Considering all
that had just been laid on Mary! I’m caused to think … how can I ever emulate
this level of response and faith? Well, this same text gives us an answer … in
two places. We’ll come back to this.
I think of ‘nuns’ who take
special vows … into a life of prayer and service to God. I think of my own ordination
to ministry, and the serious vows I took concerning God’s calling to mission
and pastoral care. Yet, the bible teaches that all of us are under a calling,
irrespective of our particular vocations and situations. God calls all the
disciples of Jesus to witness, encourage, pray and care. How can we say, with
genuine commitment, “Here I am, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me
according to your word”?
The ‘Favoured One”
What sort of a person was
Mary? The remarkable news, concerning a blessed baby, came to Mary completely
out of thin air! Or did it? Was Mary the sort of person, even as a young girl
(of maybe 12 or 13), that was, in some way at least, anticipating God’s
activity in her life?! We read that “the angel Gabriel” called Mary
“favoured one” (1:28). I think this indicates that Mary WASN’T just plucked out
at random, but rather chosen … chosen on the basis of character, openness and
readiness. God had to know that his Son would be in good hands. Even if she had
no idea of the specific call upon her life, Mary seems to have been
well-prepared for this angel’s visit.
At the same time, we see
God’s hand in the fact that Jesus came into a very ordinary family, indicating
God’s natural connection with the humble and poor (more so than the proud and
powerful). And Jesus would not be born with pomp and ceremony, but
rather quietly in a barn with the animals. Thus, we could consider Mary as the
most appropriate woman alive to carry the Son of God. What if an angel appeared
to us! Are we anticipating that God wants to work in our lives in very
particular ways, and draw us into something significant? If we are anticipating
this, then likely, when the day comes, we too are more ready to say, “Here I
am, the servant of Lord; let it be with me according to your word” (1:38)!
Could it be, given our particular personality and experiences, that we are most
appropriate person for a certain task or ministry?
Yet, there was understandable
concern for Mary … to work her way through (1:29). She was so young! What
was happening to her dreams of a quiet life with Joseph? What does it mean to
be a “favoured one”? Was this angel really saying what she thought she had
heard? This would all be quite intimidating. Bearing a child who be a king!
And, how could Mary be pregnant? Again, a natural question to have. Mary was
only engaged to Joseph, and although fully and legally committed to one
another, they had not begun to live together yet. The answer was that this
would be a very unique one-off conception. This child Jesus would be conceived
through the Holy Spirit, and be in reality God’s Son (1:35).
As this was a very special
visitation, Mary was reassured that she should not be afraid (1:30).
Yet, even the acceptance of this miracle birth was laden with threat. Mary would
still be exposing herself to the possibility of the contempt and rejection of
her community for having a baby out of wedlock, and even the legal penalty of
stoning for alleged adultery; and for all she knows, the possibility of being
dumped by Joseph. And, what was Joseph going to think about all this? [For the
answer go to Matthew 1:18-25]. But there just seems to be a trust in God
displayed here, Mary quickly believing that everything will be alright!
Mary’s life, which was of
great value, was going to play out as God intended, because Mary exercised her
freewill in the right way! Sometimes the hard thing to do, is actually the
right thing to do! We should never, though, downplay Mary’s feelings as a
mother, concerning all the implications of what the angel was saying.
Surely such a role in the world as this, would be tremendously challenging for
her son – she would feel for him in advance. As it turned out, Mary came to
witness Jesus suffer more and more opposition to his ministry, leading to his
eventual crucifixion. Mary did understandably waver at times about all this,
but I think she was ably reassured.
Yet, her son's crucifixion was devastating –
despite knowing who Jesus was, and what was being achieved. The burden of universal guilt laying upon one set of shoulders,
must have been hard to watch. A mother likely only sees the pain and the
torture, and has a keen sense of her own loss. Jesus himself apparently sensed his
mother’s anguish, as he asked his disciple John to take Mary into his own
household (John 19:26-27).
I think, that this young girl
Mary, that we read about at the opening of the Gospel, already anticipated some
of this heartache, and accepted God’s will wherever it would lead – “let it be
with me according to your word” (1:38). So, Mary had not only anticipated God
working in her life, but also that there would likely be some personal cost. In
the midst of all this concern, Mary chose to accept any pain, inconvenience,
false accusations or danger that came her way … in faith and commitment to her
God.
The ‘Son of God’
But what about the upside!
Her son Jesus, had been identified to her, by the angel, as the
long-hoped-for Messiah (Luke 1:31-33). The very name Jesus means
‘salvation’. Jesus is really God’s Son! Jesus is the One who is rightly placed
to take David’s throne over God’s people. Jesus would also become part of a
family which had descended (through Joseph) from David, thereby fulfilling the
Hebrew prophecies concerning the origin of the Messiah. Jesus will fulfil the
promises made to the patriarchs, that God’s kingdom will stretch beyond the
Jews deep into the Gentile world.
People of faith and insight
like Mary, would have understood, that God’s Messiah would NOT have been that
conquering hero (that so many had hoped would crush the Romans), but rather be
the suffering servant that Isaiah spoke about so often. People don’t need a
political liberator, so much as a spiritual liberator. [It is through spiritual
liberation that we will more ably address society’s problems and rampant
injustice]. The text makes it clear (for those ready to hear) that this was
most assuredly God’s long-awaited anointed One (1:32-33) – so why did the
people of the day largely reject Jesus??
The broken are likely to
respond when Jesus comes to town. However, self-contented people don’t want to
be challenged about their life.
What happens in our outer
life is so much controlled and destined by what is happening on the inside. And
on the inside we need a Saviour. So no wonder Jesus is so often rejected! Who
wants to be confronted with the necessity of major change on the inside!?
In Isaiah 7:10-14, we read of
King Ahaz, who only wanted to hear what he wanted to hear, not so much
what God wanted to tell him. So given the opportunity, King Ahaz would rather not
ask, than get the wrong (or non-preferred) answer for him. Ahaz should NOT put
his trust in political alliances, but rather in “Immanuel” (Isaiah 7:14).
Someone to wipe my problems aside … ‘that’s what I want’! No! Jesus came to do
a work on our inside, so that we would be transformed inside-out toward doing
His will. Then our new selves would see the problems and challenges around us
in a new light. But you have to be ready for this.
The “Immanuel” – meaning ‘God
is with Us’ – that King Ahaz heard about seven centuries earlier has turned up.
The baby conceived in Mary is the Son of God; and given the name Jesus … he
would save people from their sins. Jesus is still and will always be the
Saviour of the World. This was God’s way of cleaning up our lives, and this is
the grand provision that we celebrate at Christmas!
The Blessed Assurances
So in Mary’s predicament, or
in any faith or commitment challenge that comes to us, what is the way
forward … where is our reference point??
For Mary, she heard, right at
the beginning, “The Lord is with you” (1:28b). Then as the particular calling
upon Mary’s life was unveiled, and concerns or doubts were expressed, she heard
that, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will
overshadow you” (1:35a). This is a reoccurring biblical reassurance, that
wherever God’s people are given a challenge, there is the accompanying promise
of God’s presence. When Jesus pointed his disciples toward the mission-field,
he said to them, “And remember, I am with you always to the end of the
age” (Matthew 28:20b).
And just in case anyone
remains unconvinced … that this is God bringing about the remarkable, and
underwriting the whole process – we are given the example of Mary’s relative
Elizabeth. This Elizabeth was elderly and believed to be “barren” (thus
incapable of bearing a child), but here she was in the sixth month of her own
pregnancy – a seemingly impossible outcome! Mary could, and did, check this out
for herself; and found it to be true. Whether it be Mary, or the original
readers of Luke’s Gospel, or us … the only conclusion possible, is that nothing
will be impossible for God (the Creator of the universe and all life
within) – 1:37.
The call to faith and
commitment to God comes with assurances. Not ease, often the opposite. Not
status, but rather service. Not comfort, more often inconvenience, and
sometimes danger. But in all this, the assurance rings loud and clear, “The
Lord is with you” (1:28b), and, “The Holy Spirit will … overshadow you”
(1:35a).
Conclusion
Like Mary, we can have faith
and commitment, because it will always be supported by the close and supportive
presence of God. Mary’s experience of God in this scripture is so personal, so
comforting, so affirming. May our experience of God be so personal, comforting
and affirming! God is so close, he is like the clothes we wear next to our
skin. God “overshadows” us, which suggests a complete covering of our lives and
our movements.
In fact, so much of Mary’s
experience here is as a faithful and open channel. God is actually doing it
all! We live under “Divine agency”. When we talk about being an ‘agent’ or
representative of Jesus, it is not as scary as it sounds! Jesus is not
remote, but close by. It’s not like God is at a distance with a
long-range remote-control. Rather, God dwells close and is right at hand.
There is something special
about a God who enters into the reality of human life through the gateway of
everyday birth, yet at the same time remains the God who can all-powerfully
deal with all the tragedies and difficulties and brokenness in our lives … with
transforming power. Jesus was able to understand and involve himself in human
dilemmas, yet was also able to lift people up toward new possibilities. Happy
Christmas indeed!
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