Mary Musings

In an unconscious response to the Catholics idolization of Mary, I tend to swing to the opposite side of the pendulum and completely ignore her life. But recently I decided to brave the scorn of the Baptist community and take a look at the life Mary the mother of Jesus Christ. What I found was a rich kaleidoscope of meaningful insights.

“And the angel said to her, Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found grace (free, spontaneous, absolute favor and loving-kindness) with God.” Luke 1:30 AMP

It’s true, right there in black and white—Mary found favor in the sight of God. She met the requirements, and God chose her, and not another, to bear the Messiah in her womb. Why her and not some other virgin? I don’t think it was for lack of options that God chose her, and it says nothing about her being any better than the other Jewish virgins.

We look at Mary as greatly honored, part of God’s magnificent plan of salvation. But was she asked to do something easy? Great, to be sure, but not easy. What did God ask of her?

• Become pregnant in a way that would make her look like a harlot
• Be looked down on and despised by her friends and family for her “fornication”
• Rejected by her betrothed
• Give birth to the Messiah, who would later be sought after and killed

I think Mary found favor with God because she was available. Her first response was that of confusion and bewilderment: “How can this be, since I have no [intimacy with any man as a] husband?” but because she had already made herself available to God, she changed her response: “Then Mary said, Behold, I am the handmaiden of the Lord; let it be done to me according to what you have said.”(vs. 38)

She simply yielded to His will. No conditions, no questioning His method, no turning back—“And at that time Mary arose and went with haste…”

Her next response, upon being greeted by Elisabeth, surprised me: she begins to quote large portions from the text of the Old Testament. She had hid God’s word in her heart, and it was so much a part of her that it naturally flowed from her lips in praise to the God of her fathers, her God.

As I ponder these thoughts, I began to ask myself a few questions:

• What is my response to the call from God? I want to do great things for Him, but am I available for whatever He asks of me?
• Is my devotion unconditional, or do I place restrictions on what He can ask me to do?
• Do I really want to miss out on the blessings He has in store for me if I obey?
• Does the holy Text flow out of my mouth in praise to Christ when He calls me to do something difficult?

Where Catholics go wrong is their assumption that only Mary found favor in God’s sight, and that somehow she was holier than the rest of us. She was merely a teenage girl, no different than you or me in her desires and tastes. God smiles on all who make themselves available, not to those who have “arrived” at sainthood.

This past year God has called me to do many difficult things, and to begin a very adventurous chapter in my life. Sometimes my flesh wants to resist and run away, rather than embrace. But Mary’s words hang over me like a refreshing aroma: “behold Your handmaid; be it unto me according to Your will.” Simple obedience is all He asks for. The rest is up to Him.

“Blessed (happy, to be envied) is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of the things that were spoken to her from the Lord.” Luke 1:45