December 21, 2012

Luke 1:26-38

"In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin's name was Mary. And he came to her and said, "Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you." But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. The angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him 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 ancestor David.  He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end." Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I am a virgin?" The angel said to 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 holy; he will be called Son of God. And now, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month for her who was said to be barren. For nothing will be impossible with God." Then Mary said, "Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word." Then the angel departed from her."

 

            The annunciation to Mary is one of my favorite passages of scripture, for tells the story of her complete and utter trust in God.  Can you imagine what it would be like to be a fourteen-year-old and suddenly be confronted face to face by an angel sent from God?  We would expect young Mary to have been shocked, frightened, and overwhelmed, but she wasn't.  Following the angel's greeting, Luke tells us that Mary "was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be."  Wow!  This teenager was much wiser than her years. Rather than being stressed out about this unscheduled angelic visit, she remained calm and pondered what was going on.  Mary was wise enough to take a deep breath and take it all in, perhaps unknowingly preparing herself to receive the incredible news the angel was about to share with her.  Then, after hearing the news that she was going to bear God's Son, she once again displayed her wisdom as she asked a simple question.  "How can this be, since I am a virgin?"  Good question!  It was not that Mary doubted what the angel said could happen, she was simply curious about the details.  Once the angel told her what God was about to do, Mary was convinced, and provides us with an incredible example of faith as she replied, "Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word."

            As we move through these final days of our Advent journey, perhaps we can learn from Mary's example and take time to ponder, to think about God's presence and involvement in our lives that we, too, might declare ourselves ready to be God's servants and willing to allow his will to govern our lives.

 

Prayer:

            Holy God, help us not to be so concerned with our own tasks and agendas that we ignore the times that you speak to us.  Open our minds and hearts to your gracious presence that like young Mary, we will be willing to "let it be according to your word." Amen.