It's hard to comprehend that Mary was still a teenager when God chose her and the angel was sent to ask her to become part of God's plan. As the story of Immanuel begins a young woman - a virgin teenager - appears. Mary's encounter with the angel Gabriel is brief but the choice she makes is to say "yes" to God.
Luke 1:26-38 (NIV)
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.
Luke 1:26-38 (NIV)
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, and yet the best statement of faith
that exists.
To say, "Yes Lord", in any area of our lives is faith.
Think about it: this poor, young
peasant girl is willing to do the unfathomable.
She says “yes” to God, and so she also says yes to
"questioning", "suspicion", "finger-pointing",
"gossip", "shame".
A young virgin girl conceiving a child by God...impossible!
What would you say if someone called you with that line? Yet, here she is, this young girl, this young woman
who says "May it be to me as you
have said."
We Protestants do not venerate her (a way of honoring one called a
“saint”), but we do admire her, and we should honor her. She is a model of faith for all who would say
they want to live their lives for the Lord.
Thomas Merton said of Mary,
"Mary was as pure as the glass of a very clean window that has no other function than to admit the light of the sun."
"Mary was as pure as the glass of a very clean window that has no other function than to admit the light of the sun."
Think about it: God could have
chosen anyone of the many young girls that lived in Israel at the time, and yet
he chose THIS ONE…this young girl named Mary.
I think we must sit back and admire God’s choice.
“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
May we be as open to God, a window like Mary, to let in his light.
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
May we be as open to God, a window like Mary, to let in his light.
A Prayer: “Father as I walk
through this day help me listen for your voice.
Help me to not only hear you, but to see you in the wonder of all that
is around me. Then Lord I ask, help me
to say ‘may it be me as you have said’ and step purposefully into the place of
faith. Amen.”
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