“God is free to disrupt your plans”
By Rev. Michael Stonhouse
Meditation – Friday, March 25, 2022
Luke 1:26-38 (Forward, p. 55) CEV p. 1055
Bible commentators have a ‘lovely’ way of embellishing the Biblical stories, adding details to make them more memorable and homey, and to make them come alive. Thus, with the story of the visit of the angel Gabriel to Mary, they suggest that it was the dream, the aspiration, of every young girl of that period to be the mother of the Messiah.
But I wonder whether this is really true, and whether it is especially true in the case of Mary. It had been hundreds of years since the last prophet had emerged on the scene in Israel, and even longer since the coming of the Messiah had been prophesied. And even though Palestine, at the time of Jesus, was awash with messianic expectations, would many Palestinian maidens really have it first and foremost on their minds? I doubt it, and this seems all the more apparent at Mary’s surprise—firstly, at the coming of the angel, and then secondly, with his message. Her son, the Son of God Most High, a king in the line of David, really? I think that she was quite frankly surprised, and humbled, by even the mere suggestion.
What is more, I don’t think that any such prospect had figured in the planning of her and Joseph. No doubt they were thinking of a home and a family, a relatively settled life back in Nazareth where Joseph could practice his trade. Almost certainly they would not have even an inkling of what lay ahead of them as the parents of the Messiah. And, truth be told, even they had known, I wonder whether they would have embraced it quite the way that Mary did. And yes, with her and Joseph’s plans for the future now in shambles at her feet, and their future together yet to be told, she was able to, humbly and trustingly, say ‘yes’ to God.
What this says to me is that we never can know just what the future holds, or what plans God has for us. And, likewise, we can never pre-guess just who God will choose to work through. I God saw fit to choose Mary, a young peasant girl of poor social and economic standing (but noble ancestry) from the backwater of the country, can He not choose any one of us. So, let us, even as Mary was, be willing to say ‘yes’ to Him. Amen.
Forward notes: “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” (verse 38).
Commemoration of the Annunciation
“As a child, I was mesmerized by trapeze artists. I wondered what they must feel in that space of time when they were airborne without support, letting go of one trapeze while waiting for the next. As I watched, I was filled with fear, exhilaration, and hope.
“The word liminal comes from the Latin limen, which means ‘threshold.’ Liminal space is crossing over space, the leaving behind of one thing before arriving at the next.
“Today’s reading in Luke leaves us in liminal space with Mary. After Mary assents to giving birth to the Son of God through the power of the Holy Spirit, the angel departs from her. She is alone. If we continue reading, we learn that Mary leaves with haste to visit Elizbeth. But the lectionary doesn’t extend that far in this reading.
“Rather, we are invited to sit with Mary in the news she has just heard. What does Mary’s liminal space mean for us? What are we waiting for?”
MOVING FORWARD: “Are you at a threshold of sorts? Reread Luke 1:26-38 and pray to be able to say, ‘Here am I, the servant of the Lord.’”
