Mother Mary

Luke 1:26 Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, 27 to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin's name was Mary. 28 And having come in, the angel said to her, "Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!" 29 But when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was. 30 Then the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus. 32 He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. 33 And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end." 34 Then Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I do not know a man?" 35 And the angel answered and said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God.

It is hard to imagine the responsibility being placed upon this young teen-aged woman we know as Mary. She has found favor with God, and the ‘favor’ she has found is reflected in the personal ministry of the angel Gabriel. Reassurance. Concern. Provision.

I think back to the day Tina and I found out “we” were pregnant with James. There are a flood of emotions and challenges that overcome you in that moment – coupled with unbridled joy in new life.

But Mary’s situation was very different in a number of ways. In the first place, she was not yet married. Her pregnancy would be a shaming embarrassment in a time when unmarried pregnancy could be punished with death by stoning. At the very least, she would be shunned and made to be a social outcast. In the second place, since she has never ‘known’ a man, she has a great concern over how these things could happen to begin with? How can a woman be impregnated by the Holy Spirit? But yet – how can a woman be found in conversation with the angel Gabriel? All of this is stunning and alarming

These times in the life of Mary – and for the rest of her days for that matter – would be entirely supernatural times. Mary was about to head down a path in which she would be charged with the most important responsibility I could ever imagine. Mary is the one chosen to nurture and raise God’s Only Begotten Son.

If we were to choose an example of motherhood, how could we choose one greater than God Himself has chosen? What do we see in the life of Mary that we might seek to emulate, since what is revealed by her life is well known as being pleasing to God?

I think we may bring it down to one point, above all others: she is willing to allow God’s will to be done through her.

- Pastor Bill