In the Christmas story of Luke's gospel everything begins with Zechariah, Elizabeth, and Mary. Mary's encounter with the angel Gabriel is brief, but makes clear her response is one that chooses to believe.
Luke 1:26-38 (NIV)
1:26 In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee,
27 to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin's name was Mary.
28 The angel went to her and said, "Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you."
29 Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be.
30 But the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God.
31 You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus.
32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David,
33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end."
34 "How will this be," Mary asked the angel, "since I am a virgin?"
35 The angel answered, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.
36 Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be barren is in her sixth month.
37 For nothing is impossible with God."
38 "I am the Lord's servant," Mary answered. "May it be to me as you have said." Then the angel left her.
"May it be to me as you have said". That might be the most simple, best statement of faith that exists. "Yes Lord" is faith. This young poor peasant girl is willing to do the unfathomable. She says yes to God, and she also therefore says yes to "questioning", "suspicion", "finger-pointing", "gossip", "shame". A young virgin conceiving a child by God...impossible. What would you say if someone called you with that line. But, here she is, this woman who says "May it be to me as you have said."
Thomas Merton put it this way:
"Mary", he wrote "was as pure as the glass of a very clean window that has no other function than to admit the light of the sun."
May It Be to Me As You Have Said
It was the whisper
of a young woman's ready response to God
that opened to the miracle of saving grace
entering our world in the person of Jesus, Our Lord.
- Jack Hayford
"To You, Today, A Savior..."
May we be as open to God, a window to let in his light.
Luke 1:26-38 (NIV)
1:26 In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee,
27 to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin's name was Mary.
28 The angel went to her and said, "Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you."
29 Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be.
30 But the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God.
31 You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus.
32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David,
33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end."
34 "How will this be," Mary asked the angel, "since I am a virgin?"
35 The angel answered, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.
36 Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be barren is in her sixth month.
37 For nothing is impossible with God."
38 "I am the Lord's servant," Mary answered. "May it be to me as you have said." Then the angel left her.
"May it be to me as you have said". That might be the most simple, best statement of faith that exists. "Yes Lord" is faith. This young poor peasant girl is willing to do the unfathomable. She says yes to God, and she also therefore says yes to "questioning", "suspicion", "finger-pointing", "gossip", "shame". A young virgin conceiving a child by God...impossible. What would you say if someone called you with that line. But, here she is, this woman who says "May it be to me as you have said."
Thomas Merton put it this way:
"Mary", he wrote "was as pure as the glass of a very clean window that has no other function than to admit the light of the sun."
May It Be to Me As You Have Said
It was the whisper
of a young woman's ready response to God
that opened to the miracle of saving grace
entering our world in the person of Jesus, Our Lord.
- Jack Hayford
"To You, Today, A Savior..."
May we be as open to God, a window to let in his light.
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