Day 6: The Promise of Faith
Scripture to meditate on: Luke 1:26-38 Mary’s Faith-Filled Response
In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”
Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”
“How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”
The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. For no word from God will ever fail.”
“I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her.
Devotional:
Have you ever received a greeting that scared you? Many of us may have never come face to face with an angel, better still, one with such an awkward greeting. “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.” … “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus.”
Mary, a teenager betrothed to be married, responds to troubling news in two ways; 1) with realism – how will this be? and 2) with devotion – may your word to me be fulfilled.
To understand Mary’s response, we may need to review Zechariah’s response in Luke 1:18… “How shall I know this? For I am an old man and my wife is advanced in years.” (ESV) vs Mary’s response – “how will this be”?
Zechariah’s response is one of doubt while Mary’s response is of humble confusion not doubt. Zechariah hears and acknowledges what the angel is proclaiming to him, but he wants a sign that it will happen since he’s an “old man” and his wife is “advanced in years.” Mary’s question is legitimate, she’s unwed, engaged to be married and a virgin – it’s physically impossible for her to become pregnant as a virgin.
She had learned about women in the Bible like Sarah, Hannah, and others who had received miracle babies in old age but never heard of a woman becoming pregnant as a virgin. The angel later explained to her how it is possible (1:35), and then her response was that of acceptance (1:38). Mary’s heart is in the right place, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” Mary is not questioning if the angel’s proclamation will happen, she wants to know how it will happen. On the other hand, Zechariah as a priest is not asking how it will happen, but rather he wants to know will it happen when he asks for a sign.
When Jesus is presented to us throughout the gospel, what’s our response? Do we like Zechariah ask for signs before we can believe, or do we in total surrender, like Mary, submit to the Father’s will?
Doing God’s will may not always be easy. Like Mary, may our response be that of faith and not fear – “May your word to me be fulfilled.”
Questions to ponder:
- What does this passage say about God?
- What does this passage say about me or my relationships?
- What should I do in light of this passage?
