Mary: The Servant of God
Video: https://youtu.be/0yE-bDoaep0
For Sunday Dec 5th
Isaiah 7:1-17 (A sign for Ahaz), Luke 1:46-56 (Magnificat), Luke 1:26-38 (Jesus Foretold)
It is likely that no single person had a bigger hand in bringing Christ into the world than His mother Mary. Her response and willingness to follow God is profound and powerful. It is no wonder that our Roman Catholic brothers and sisters lift her up to such a degree. We would do well to turn to her example, her spirit, because as our passage today says “she is blessed” and we have been greatly blessed through her.
Our gospel reading today begins with setting the context. Sixth months into Elizabeth’s pregnancy, notice Luke is already situating it in the context of a miracle. God sent the angel Gabriel. This angel is important enough to be named. Gabriel means “God is my strength”. Reminding us of who we truly need, God. He comes to the town of Galilee, a seemingly insignificant town, where later religious leaders will remark, “no prophet ever came out of Galilee”. We should remember that God often chooses the seemingly insignificant, the smallest tribe, the youngest son, the sick, the uneducated to share his strength. Yet those that knew their prophets would know that Isaiah foretells of great honour coming to Galilee. This angel comes to a virgin named Mary who was promised in marriage to Joseph a descendant of David. So she was chased, self-controlled, unmarried. When we read a descendant of David, that should immediately pique our interests that something is happening here. This context will mean more as we dig deeper into this story, but at this point it should tell us that this is a humble place with humble people that depend on God’s strength.
Now the angel speaks to Mary, “Greetings, to you who are highly favoured. God is with you”. To our modern ears, outside of the angel’s presence, these words may not be as surprising/troubling as it was to Mary. First, before Jesus Christ became present, there were very few people who were given the Holy Spirit and very few people who knew the presence of God. So much was this true that Jeremiah 31:34 could prophecy, “No longer will neighbor say to neighbor ‘know the lord’, for they will know me”. Even today with everything God has done for us and the Holy Spirit that dwells in us through baptism, it is still easy to feel like He is distant and only chooses the greatest heroes of faith, but that is not true.
In our modern era we also have this idea that we are all right and good, the superheroes of our own story, but it was different in Mary’s day for all people but especially for women. Mary was highly favoured, but to her, as she says later, she was a humble servant. This response is not about gender inequality, but it is the right response for all of us before God. We should all recognize that we are not the heroes of our own story, but God is and only through Him might we or anyone be saved. Mary will become a hero, but first and foremost this happened because she was willing to be a servant to God.
So when Mary hears that she is highly favoured she can’t imagine what has constituted such praise. So much so that words of celebration are met with fear. What had she ever done to deserve such honour. Up to this point, probably nothing as there is not even a hint, but the beautiful thing is that God knows our heart. He knows what we are designed for long before we do and it is obvious in Mary’s responses that she was living into that. Now that God was stepping in, her simple humble servant faithfulness would become the space for the light of the world to come in.
The angel comforts Mary and repeats himself, but then adds onto God’s purpose for her. “You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord will give Him the throne of His father David and he will reign over the Jacob’s descendants forever and His kingdom will never end”. Wow, what a promise, but then take into account that Mary looks upon herself as a servant to God and we see how this is a massive reversal. Including the seeming impossibility of her giving birth, it is no wonder at Mary’s question “how can this be, for I am a virgin?”
The blessings keep coming for the Holy Spirit will come to her and the power of God will overshadow her. It would do us well to take time and just recognize that this is also true for us. Close your eyes and just feel that God is present. (Pause). For each of us this presence can powerfully change us for good, if we are willing to recognize our humble servanthood. Mary was to give birth to a king, the Son of God, Jesus, which means saviour and deliverer. What are we to bear and give birth to?
Then she gets God’s assurance. In our first reading, we heard that it is not good to ask for signs, but sometimes God offers them. For Mary it was that Elizabeth was already six months pregnant, even though that also seemed very very unlikely. I remember when I was a kid trying to test God. Sitting in class, asking him to just prove he was real by making something fall or something small and inconsequential like that. Yet, the truth is that God had proven himself real in so many very significant and powerful ways, but at the time I was watching for something on my terms instead of His.
The Angel closes with saying that “No word from God will ever fail”. Once again a huge promise. The word of God will accomplish its goal and soon, as the word would become flesh, He would not fail either. God has a word for each of us and for those around us, it will accomplish its goal, but our free choice comes in when we decide which side of that goal we are on.
Mary makes the difficult, but right choice as she says, “I am the Lord’s servant. May your word to me be fulfilled”. Now I want to go back to how Luke set the scene, because this would have not been an easy choice for Mary. As an unmarried woman in a culture that practically demands purity, God’s promise to her would have meant persecution, ostracization, Joseph leaving her, as we hear in the gospel of Matthew that this almost happens and possibly the utter abandonment of her family. Yet she welcomes it. Why? Because she recognizes that she is first and foremost God’s servant. We are meant to serve God with all that we are, even our struggles can be an avenue for his glory and our love for Him. Our bodies, our relationship, our weakness can be the very way in which God’s strength, light and love come through in ways that are beyond us.
I believe it is this very willingness and faithfulness that God looked upon and highly favoured. It is definitely this willingness and faithfulness that makes room for Jesus to become who He is. What could it mean for us and those around us if we live into this profound willingness and faithfulness? How could God use our weak and humble lives to become a vehicle for His grace and love?
The last thing I want to touch on is Mary’s praise in the Magnificat. We would do well to spend more time worshipping, glorifying, magnifying the Lord, because He is truly worthy of our adoration; He is our king and creator. I have been told by a friend who is a great prayer warrior that her prayer life was transformed when she began spending 90% of it in praise. She began to see God working in such incredible ways. Three important things happen when we spend this time in praise. First, we see who we are. We see that we are lowly servants invited into the transcendent family of God and so our pride can only be in what God has done for us. Second, we see the truth in the world, as the proud are trapped in the imagination of their hearts and the rich are empty, but the lowly are lifted up. Third, we see who God really is. We see our God who is infinitely loving, powerful and faithful, who has destined even these lowly servants to become something great. As servants of God, we can be far more than when we are our own masters.
