Tuesday, October 7, 2014

Not Alone Series: Mary

It's Tuesday, which means I'm linking up with Jen from Jumping in Puddles and Morgan from Follow and Believe.


October is dedicated to the Holy Rosary, so we wanted to honor Mary and reflect on her help during this time of singleness. How have you called on her intercession before? What is your relationship with our Blessed Mother like? If you don't know much about Mary or the Rosary, is there something keeping you from getting to know her?

I'm going to tweak this post just a bit, because, um, #ProtestantProblems ;) But just because I don't say the rosary doesn't mean I can't learn from Mary, so let's start with her most well-known Scripture:

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[b] 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.
Luke 1:26-38

I think my favorite part of this text is when Mary asks Gabriel how this whole conception and pregnancy thing is going to work, and the angel answers her so gently, which tells me that her question was not asked with sarcasm or disbelief. 

I'm pretty sure if an angel were to appear before me and tell me something as crazy and unbelievable as Mary's news, my response would be, "yeah, right!" But Mary trusts the Lord and simply asks how His plans are going to transpire. 

Also, I love how immediately Mary says yes to God. Gabriel tells her the what and the how, and Mary accepts it, totally and completely. Lord, let my trust in You grow to be like Mary's!

4 comments:

  1. Mary's response definitely comes from a place of trust and innocent wonder. Contrast that with Zechariah, who sees the same angel just six months earlier, also questions him, and is struck mute for his impertinence! We would all do well to be more like Mary there.

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  2. Lindsay, I've never thought about it before in such stark contrast! Mary's faith was great indeed - thanks for pointing that out!

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  3. Love this! Mary's fiat in Luke is pretty much one of my favorite parts of the Bible - so much beauty in her surrender!

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