Luke 1:26-38
There is a legend that says Mary was not the first young woman to whom the angel came. That, in fact, the angel Gabriel had made numerous attempts to identify a young woman who would carry the Christ child. Madeleine L’Engle imagines how these conversations might have gone. Responses to the angel might have sounded something like this:
“Are you sure you mean – but I’m unworthy – I couldn’t, anyhow – I’d be afraid. No, no, it’s inconceivable, you can’t be asking me – I know it’s a great honor but wouldn’t it upset them all, both our families? They’re very proper, you see. Do I have to answer now? I don’t want to say no – it’s what every girl hopes for, even if she won’t admit it. But I can’t commit myself to anything this important without turning it over in my mind for a while and I should ask my parents and I should ask my – let me have a few days to think it over.”
Sorrowfully, although he was not surprised to have it happen again, the angel returned to heaven.”
The legend has it that Mary was not the first one visited by the angel. But Mary was the first to say, “Yes.”
It’s worth taking a moment to consider how things might have gone. What if Mary had refused the angel? What if Joseph had refused Mary? What if God had to go out in search of someone else?
Who knows how many Mary’s there were who had to have a few days to think it over?
That’s something we will never know. What we do know is the story that is given to us in the gospels, a story we piece together from Matthew and Luke, and a little bit of John. A story that draws on the Old Testament as well, particularly the prophets of Israel. A story that has never grown old, one that has inspired generation after generation to believe in love and grace. A story that has inspired hope.
What we know from this passage of Luke are these three things:
Nothing is impossible with God. This is what the angel Gabriel said to Mary. It might have been a warning, it might have been a reassurance, or it might have been only an observation. Between Mary and Elizabeth, it certainly seemed to be true that nothing was impossible for God.
And, while we often interpret this kind of statement in the context of stories like virgin births, Noah’s flood, and other things that defy the laws of nature, it isn’t necessarily the best way to interpret it. Tales of virgin birth may or may not be factual, but there is no question in my mind that God made the impossible possible when Joseph and Mary both said yes. And that was only the beginning of impossible possibilities that we find throughout the story of Jesus of Nazareth.
God chose Mary, as well as Joseph. I imagine God looked at them and saw some good raw material there. God saw potential in these two young people, the ability to bear what would undoubtedly be a very difficult journey. There would be nothing conventional about this marriage. This family would not conform to normal, respectable expectations, and I have no doubt that they were judged for it. Unmarried and pregnant. We have names for the woman who finds herself in that situation, and we have names for the child as well. And we have names, I would add, for a man who takes this woman to be his bride.
I don’t imagine that Mary and Joseph had an easy time of it. The world can be cruel. People would have been all too glad to heap shame on them. I don’t know how they would have made it without the grace of God. And that is the second thing we know.
The grace of God was with them. The angel greeted Mary, calling her “favored one.” “You have found favor with God,” the angel said. “You will bear a son … he will be great, and will be called Son of the Most High … he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” God is with you, Mary.
No matter how unfavorably the world saw this young woman, she had found favor with God. No matter how difficult the world made her life from here on out, she had found favor with God. No matter how much shame or heartache she had to bear, Mary had found favor with God.
There is nothing the world can dish out that cannot be carried with God’s grace, and the grace of God was with Mary.
And by the grace of God, Mary said yes. And that is the third thing we know.
Mary said yes. More accurately, she said, “Here I am, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.”
And in this way, the young Mary showed her own uncommon grace – but Mary is not alone in this. There are more girls and boys in this world than we know who have faced their own trials and suffering with uncommon grace. There have always been and there always will be children who live in unbearable circumstances who somehow find the resources to get up every day and take a step in the right direction. There are people who face what seem like insurmountable odds, get knocked down, and manage, again and again, to right themselves.
In these pandemic days, we know, there are children who do their best to keep up with their schoolwork while they care for younger siblings. There are children who sit in front of their computer screens attending virtual school bundled up in blankets trying to keep warm in a cold house. There are parents who take precious time out of their long days to learn some computer skills so they can be there for their kids.
And then there are the angels. There are teachers and neighbors, nurses and coaches and counselors and principals, who, by the grace of God, see these young people, and don’t turn away. They see the beautiful potential in these children; they see the glimmer of light in them and help kindle that flame.
Somehow, in a world of brokenness, in a world where shame and hate and greed rule so much of the day, God’s grace shines through. Light finds light. Someone says yes.
Because nothing will be impossible with God. Amen.
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