For Unto Us…A Surprise (or Two)

When heaven interrupts ordinary life, everything changes.

“Do not fear…” Yep, those words from Gabriel again.

First, it was, “Elizabeth, I know you are getting up there in years, but guess what? You’re pregnant!” Then it’s, “Mary, I know you’re still very young and not even married yet, but guess what… You’re pregnant!”*²

Interestingly, Gabriel was sent to Zacharias when John was conceived, but to Mary when Jesus was conceived. Why not Joseph first? We know that Joseph was a good man, and even when he thought his young fiancée had been playing around, he planned to divorce her secretly so as not to cause her shame.

Personally, I cannot fathom the spectrum of emotions Mary may have been feeling at this time. Excitement? I doubt it. An unmarried mother who claimed to be carrying the Son of God? They didn’t have community mental health facilities back then, and people making such claims might have found themselves wandering the tombs as an outcast, or at best, being looked after by family, away from polite society. Fear? We could maybe assume that would have been a big one, especially in one so young. What we do know from Luke 1:38 is that Mary was complicit and simply said, “OK, I’m in.” I’ve often wondered how her parents reacted to this little bombshell. “Mum, Dad, I have some news for you. It’s a little unusual…”

What are the things that hold us back today? We don’t need angels to tell us God’s plan because we have the Bible, and our command to love each other is a much lighter burden than giving birth to the Son of God. It could, of course, be argued that Mary didn’t have the option, but equally, she didn’t seem to mind too much about this decision being made for her. Mary was a young girl facing a very difficult time. Her Son was going to grow up to be a king and an outcast; He would tear families apart and bring people together. He would at once cause conflict and harmony. Her future took a unique turn. No one before, and no one since, had experienced what she was going through, and unlike so many prophets and much bigger names in the history of God’s story, it doesn’t seem that Mary asked “Why me?” and she didn’t try to get out of it. There were men of faith like Elijah who had seen so many things and still wanted out. This young woman from Israel simply said, “Behold the Lord’s maidservant.” Now that is faith!

I can’t think of many who have carried a burden greater than Mary, either before or since (other than Jesus himself), and there was no prayer meeting, nor is there any mention that she even called in to get this on the prayer chain. She didn’t go to pastoral counseling or attend a special service. She was humble, she accepted God’s will, and she bore it all with grace. This young woman had faith and humility enough to shame the legends of faith. How sad it is that a teenage girl, likely with little resources and training in the realms of teaching and theology, had a faith that I can only hope to scratch the surface of. While some in the Catholic church take their appreciation of Mary a little too far for my Protestant leanings (such as the idea that Mary is a co-redeemer), we can still learn a great deal from her submission, humility, and grace.

Prophecy footnote

² The Messiah born of a virgin — Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:23; Luke 1:34–35