“Gabriel appeared to her and said, ‘Greetings, favoured woman! The Lord is with you!’” (Luke 1:28)
We are first introduced to Mary when Gabriel addresses her as “favoured woman”. We might wonder what does this all means about Mary?
Some Christian denominations would say this means she was without stain or blemish of sin. Some believe Mary did not physically die, but was taken up into heaven, likened to Jesus. Then there have been centuries of reported appearances of the Virgin Mary sometimes described as, ‘dressed in white, shining brighter than the sun’. Churches often have statues of Mary and think it’s okay to pray to her.
With Protestant Christian thinking, by contrast, the extraordinary thing about Mary is precisely her, ordinariness. She is just like the rest of us, yet powerfully used by God. When Gabriel showed up, Mary was just a high-school girl. Given the usual age of marriage in Galilee she was somewhere between the ages of 13 and 16. Joseph would have been a little older, around the ages of 18 to 20.
Now just before Gabriel came to Mary, he stopped by to visit an older chap named Zechariah… to inform him… that he and his wife Elizabeth are going to have a bouncing baby boy, now known as John the Baptist. But Zechariah voices his doubts and uncertainties of this foretelling. The messenger then says to Zechariah, “You will now be unable to speak, until the day these things occur” (Luke 1:20).
Though Mary questions Gabriel, unlike Zechariah, she does not challenge what she is being told.
There are a few things we can take from Mary. For one thing, it is noteworthy that she is completely accepting of the prediction of the angel, despite her lack of understanding.
She wonders how events will unfold, not quite knowing what to make of it all. Yet Mary fully agrees to play her small part in serving God. As we read: “Mary responded, “I am the Lord’s servant. May everything you have said about me come true.” (Luke 1:38)
Then she carries on with her life and chooses not to speak of the impending birth. Doesn’t broadcast it to the world. Instead, she quickly joins her cousin Elizabeth, the wife of the temporary mute Zechariah, in seclusion for three months. She is in a quieter waiting mode.
To some, especially those who greatly value always being busy and productive, if they were around Mary they might think she needs to ‘get going!’ ‘Don’t you think you should tell the whole world..?!’Mary can seem passive…
But sometimes we need to be, more still, quieter. We don’t tend to be too good at this stuff.
Blaise Pascal once said, “All of people’s problems come from not knowing how to sit quietly in a room” (He said this a long time before radio, T.V. and Internet came along).
One message in all this -- for all of us -- is: don’t speak so soon.
Have you ever been so focused on the thing you were waiting to say that you didn't hear the important words someone else was sharing? It's happened to all of us. Have you ever said something you wished you never said or offered advice too soon to someone? I have. I wished so badly that I could take back those words. It’s hard for us to just to listen or be silent.
Sometimes our anxieties cause us to speak too much and too quick. Sometimes we are fixated upon cheering somebody up when what they really need from us is intent listening.
The messages from Mary’s life are don’t speak and also to be peace. Her deep surrender allowed God to work through her life as a mother, a caregiver and a channel of peace. She embodies peace.
Jesus beckons us all to be peace. He who intentionally brought together people who were outsiders and sworn enemies. Amongst his twelve disciples was a former tax collector who worked for the Roman occupation and a former rebel who fought against the Roman occupation. Inside God’s Kingdom, they’re called to reconcile and to live in unity.
May we embody God’s peace in our lives. Others will be blessed by it, as well as the person we see in the mirror. Merry Christmas!
