Thoughts for the Day

In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. And he came to her and said, ‘Greetings, favoured one! The Lord is with you.’ But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. The angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favour with God. And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. He will reign over the house of Jacob for ever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.’

Mary said to the angel, ‘How can this be, since I am a virgin?’ The angel said to her, ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God. And now, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month for her who was said to be barren. For nothing will be impossible with God.’ 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.

(Lectionary, New Revised Standard Version)

Thoughts

Today, on the fourth Sunday in Advent, our personal preparation for the season of Christmas continues, and we move from the Prophets of the Old Testament to the New Testament and Luke's Gospel. All that has been promised is about to begin!

Years ago I would hold a nativity play with toddlers and pre-school children, and with their Mums and Dads. We used a cassette that told the story and then allowed the children to act out the words they heard, while wonderfully exciting orchestral music was played. The tape started with the words "Mary skipped down the street" and continued with things like "she picked grapes". We dressed the children, some as young as two years old, in appropriate clothing and parents helped them to act out the story as they heard it. It was mesmerisingly beautiful.

We know little about Mary, except that she was young (which could be anything over 12 years old), and that an angel told her she would be the mother of the Son of God. This 2,000 year old story no longer speaks to us as it would have done to Mary. We have heard it too many times before. However, we can learn much from Mary's words and behaviour. The first thing she does on hearing this news is not to run away or refuse the task, instead she praises God and offers herself as His servant to do what He wants. Her humility is lovely to see, and because of this we are told, God blesses her.

This young girl, should be an example for each of us. She calls God her 'Saviour', yet it is she who will bear the Saviour of the world. It is to the meek and the lowly that God gives such a task, not to the high and mighty. True lowliness is something to which we should all seek, and we must start by praising God.

Heavenly Father,
we praise You
for choosing Mary
to be the Mother of Your Son,
and that in her humility
she accepted the task.
May we learn to be like her,
strong in faith
and trusting in Your word.
Amen.