Day Thirty-Three
Merry Christmas! I pray that today is the most wonderful day of the year, a time to congratulate yourself for having made it through the year, faith intact and growing!
I think it’s fitting that on Christmas Day, we take a moment today to reflect on the faith and courage of Mary, as we celebrate the day she gave birth to the Son of God.
The first thing I feel is complete gratitude that she accepted the mission given to her by God himself to carry and nurture His Son. I can’t even imagine the whirlwind of thoughts racing through her mind, her heart beating out of its chest as she tries to come to terms with the fact that there is an angel in front of her, addressing her!
Luke 1:28-38
28 Gabriel appeared to her and said, “Greetings, favored woman! The Lord is with you!”
29 Confused and disturbed, Mary tried to think what the angel could mean. 30 “Don’t be afraid, Mary,” the angel told her, “for you have found favor with God! 31 You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. 32 He will be very great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David. 33 And he will reign over Israel forever; his Kingdom will never end!”
34 Mary asked the angel, “But how can this happen? I am a virgin.”
35 The angel replied, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the baby to be born will be holy, and he will be called the Son of God. 36 What’s more, your relative Elizabeth has become pregnant in her old age! People used to say she was barren, but she has conceived a son and is now in her sixth month. 37 For the word of God will never fail.”
38 Mary responded, “I am the Lord’s servant. May everything you have said about me come true.” And then the angel left her.
I just want to highlight two things, it says that Mary was confused and disturbed, that is completely understandable and makes her human! Sometimes we don’t see God’s plan coming and it takes us by surprise, its okay to feel confused, its okay to be uncertain and take a moment to take in what is happening. “This isn’t exactly what I had planned for my life” is something I’m sure we’ve all said or felt at times.
What matters though, is her response once she’s had time to process. It is a response of complete surrender, and trust, “I am the Lord’s servant. May everything you have said about me come true.”
What an incredible response! She must have known what this assignment meant, whispers behind her back of impropriety, damage to Joseph’s reputation, her family’s reputation, marriage without a honeymoon and with the immediate responsibility for a child. Her childhood was over! And yet she is already a servant of God, already submitted, already trusting. She did not know what lay ahead but boldly embraced it with outstanding faith in God. You and I have no way of knowing what lies ahead, but my prayer is that we can embrace God’s plan with trust, humility and surrender like Mary did.
Scripture to meditate on: Luke 1:1-38