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"Mary is No Ordinary Woman" by Hillary Harder, a senior music and Spanish double major from Wichita, Kansas
 SCRIPTURE: Luke 1: A Virgin Conceives
26-28 In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to the Galilean village of Nazareth to a virgin engaged to be married to a man descended from David. His name was Joseph, and the virgin’s name, Mary. Upon entering, Gabriel greeted her:
Good morning!
You’re beautiful with God’s beauty,
Beautiful inside and out!
God be with you.
29-33 She was thoroughly shaken, wondering what was behind a greeting like that. But the angel assured her, “Mary, you have nothing to fear. God has a surprise for you: You will become pregnant and give birth to a son and call his name Jesus.
He will be great,
be called ‘Son of the Highest.’
The Lord God will give him
the throne of his father David;
He will rule Jacob’s house forever—
no end, ever, to his kingdom.”
34 Mary said to the angel, “But how? I’ve never slept with a man.”
35 The angel answered,
The Holy Spirit will come upon you,
the power of the Highest hover over you;
Therefore, the child you bring to birth
will be called Holy, Son of God.
36-38 “And did you know that your cousin Elizabeth conceived a son, old as she is? Everyone called her barren, and here she is six months pregnant! Nothing, you see, is impossible with God.”
And Mary said,
Yes, I see it all now:
I’m the Lord’s maid, ready to serve.
Let it be with me
just as you say.
Then the angel left her.(The Message)
DEVOTIONAL:
Lately I have found myself thinking a lot about Mary. The Virgin, sweet and mild, holy and pure, the mother of God. She is praised in countless songs and hymns, depicted in art of all time periods and styles, and revered across the globe. As the Virgin of Guadalupe, for example, she acts as the patron saint of Mexico, offering strength, comfort and a sense of identity to Mexican people. Mary is one of few women featured in the Bible, and has provided a welcome space for the empowerment of women in the biblical narrative.
But underneath all this, who is Mary? What is most notable about her – her youth, her poverty, her virginity? I find myself grasping for a glimpse of a real, human woman. The lofty standard of both virgin and mother is one that women can never achieve, and can sometimes create an unrealistic ideal of womanhood. I can’t help but wonder whether Mary was more than a little perplexed by the angel Gabriel’s announcement: whether she felt fear, disbelief, or even resentment. In other words, I struggle to find a sign that Mary is someone to whom I can relate.
Yet in the face of my doubt, the text offers hints of what I am seeking. The writer takes care to note Mary’s confusion, followed by deep thought. And her initial reaction is human enough, wondering about the logistics of a virgin pregnancy. Upon closer examination, the human aspects of Mary make her resounding “yes” to God’s call that much more remarkable. What is most notable about Mary – the virgin engaged to Joseph, the young girl from Galilee – is her unflinching faith. Her profound offering of herself as a servant of God will, as we know, later be followed by a subversive and hopeful vision of the future, the Magnificat. It’s true, Mary is no ordinary woman. But she does show a powerful example of how a human life can be offered to serve God. May we honor Mary for this extraordinary act of faith.
SCRIPTURE: Luke 1: The Birth of Jesus Foretold
In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. And he came to her and said, ‘Greetings, favoured one! The Lord is with you.’ But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. The angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favour with God. And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. He will reign over the house of Jacob for ever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.’ Mary said to the angel, ‘How can this be, since I am a virgin?’ The angel said to her, ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God. And now, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month for her who was said to be barren. For nothing will be impossible with God.’ Then Mary said, ‘Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.’ Then the angel departed from her.[New Revised Standard Version]
 
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