Read: Luke 1:26-56
“I am the Lord’s slave…”
The first thing I think when reading this story is: “Would I have responded this way?”
An angel of the Lord appears to this young girl from the poorest part of the nation of Israel and tells her God has found favor with her. She is going to give birth to the Son of God! The Holy Spirit is going to come upon her and conceive a baby within her, even though she is a virgin.
Let’s pause and find the context here. Because today, sadly, being a single mom isn’t all that uncommon, or that big of a deal. So it is hard for us to understand what Mary’s situation was, even though it is still frowned upon by most Christians to have a baby before you are married.
At the time Mary was pregnant, engagements and marriages worked very differently than they do today. First the couple signed a ketubbah. The ketabbuh was a modern day marriage license. They were considered married but they would not have sex until the terms in the license were met. After the time had passed that they were to remain pure, they would consummate the marriage and tell all their friends and family it was official (awkward!). They then would celebrate the marriage with a week long party. You can imagine how things would have looked when Mary became pregnant during the time when she and Joseph were not allowed to have sex. Leviticus 20:10 says, “If a man commits adultery with another man’s wife- with the wife of his neighbor- both the adulterer and the adulteress must be put to death.” According to this law, Joseph was legally supposed to have Mary stoned. He would have been completely justified because that was the culture and they were legally married.
And Mary knew all of this the moment the angel told her she was going to have a baby.
When we see Mary in pictures she is usually beautiful, adorned in fine clothes, glowing with a halo on her head, but the picture that we get when we look deeper in the context of the Bible is very different. At the time Rome was ruling over Israel and the people were being crushed under them. Mary’s living conditions were probably very dirty and simple. The Jews had also become very laxed in their religion. We see that Joseph plans to divorce Mary quietly before being visited by the angel. This is just one of the evidences of how far the Jews had come from the original laws and their dedication to God. He never should have been able to do that since the law did not even allow that as a second option. Between all of these things, being surrounded by a people with stagnant faith, a brutal enemy army ruling over them, and dirty, possibly impoverished living conditions, Mary really had nothing going for her.
After the angel tells Mary that she is going to have a baby, she goes to her cousin, Elizabeth. The angel explained that Elizabeth was also pregnant because of a miracle that God did. Everything that we see of Zechariah and Elizabeth in the Bible suggests that they had strong faith. Mary probably sought their guidance.
Elizabeth is just the encouragement Mary needs in verses 39-46. Can you imagine how the story would have been without Elizabeth? Mary needed a friend who would encourage her. I’m sure the angel telling her about Elizabeth’s miraculous baby was deliberate so that Mary knew she had a friend who she could trust and confide in. Mary stayed there for around three months before she went home. It doesn’t say this, but I am willing to bet Elizabeth was mentoring her and helping her during that time.
So what can we learn from Mary’s story? I hope that when you hear Mary spoken of during this Advent time, you would remember this.
“I am the Lord’s slave.”
In Galatians 1:10 Paul says, “Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.” We are still called to answer with the same humility and faith Mary did when she spoke those words “I am the Lord’s slave.” It doesn’t matter what our living conditions are, or what our culture says. God wants us to trust in Him, no matter how hard things may seem, or how impossible it may sound.
He doesn’t always explain the plan, or give you direction other than your call. Did He give Mary an exact guideline of what she was to do or where she was to go? No, He only told her what the call on her life was and expected her to trust Him with her life.
We need people in our lives who we can talk to who have a strong faith and who can pour into us in times of need. Just as Mary had Elizabeth, we also need mentors in our lives who can do the same for us. If you don’t have a mentor, I would encourage you to ask someone. Find someone of the same gender as you who you feel is a godly role model and simply ask them to disciple you.
God’s call on our lives to live out the gospel is now, no matter the situation or circumstances, because we are the Lord’s slaves.
O Come, Redeemer of Mankind
Words by: Saint Ambrose of Milan
O come, Redeemer of mankind, appear,
Thee with full hearts the virgin born we greet;
Let every age with rapt amazement hear
That wondrous birth which for our God is meet.
Not by the will of man, or mortal seed,
But by the Spirit’s breathed mysterious grace
The Word of God became our flesh indeed,
And grew a tender plant of human race.
Lo! Mary’s virgin womb its burden bears;
Nor less abides her virgin purity;
In the King’s glory see our nature shares;
Here in His temple God vouchsafes to be.
From His bright chamber, virtue’s holy shrine
The royal Bridegroom cometh to the day;
Of twofold substance, human and divine,
As giant swift, rejoicing on His way.
Forth from His Father to the world He goes,
Back to the Father’s face His way regains,
Far down to souls beneath His glory shows,
Again at God’s right hand victorious reigns.
With the eternal Father equal, Thou,
Girt with our flesh dost triumph evermore,
Strengthening our feeble bodies here below
With endless grace from Thine own living store.
How doth Thy lowly manger radiant shine!
On the sweet breath of night new splendor grows;
So may our spirits glow with faith divine,
Where no dark cloud of sin shall interpose.
All praise and glory to the Father be,
All praise and glory to His only Son,
All praise and glory, Holy Ghost, to Thee,
Both now, and while eternal ages run.
Credit: Photo by Rachel K Duncan // http://www.rachelkduncan.com // Instagram: @rachelkduncan