Tuesday, 10 May 2016 - "Mary: a singular, miraculous call to motherhood"
Daily Scripture: Luke 1:26 In the sixth month, the angel Gavri’el was sent by God to a city in the Galil called Natzeret, 27 to a virgin engaged to a man named Yosef, of the house of David; the virgin’s name was Miryam. 28 Approaching her, the angel said, “Shalom, favored lady! Adonai is with you!” 29 She was deeply troubled by his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. 30 The angel said to her, “Don’t be afraid, Miryam, for you have found favor with God. 31 Look! You will become pregnant, you will give birth to a son, and you are to name him Yeshua. 32 He will be great, he will be called Son of Ha‘Elyon. Adonai, God, will give him the throne of his forefather David; 33 and he will rule the House of Ya‘akov forever — there will be no end to his Kingdom.” 34 “How can this be,” asked Miryam of the angel, “since I am a virgin?” 35 The angel answered her,
“The Ruach HaKodesh will come over you,
the power of Ha‘Elyon will cover you.
Therefore the holy child born to you
will be called the Son of God.
36 “You have a relative, Elisheva, who is an old woman; and everyone says she is barren. But she has conceived a son and is six months pregnant! 37 For with God, nothing is impossible.” 38 Miryam said, “I am the servant of Adonai; may it happen to me as you have said.” Then the angel left her.
2:1 Around this time, Emperor Augustus issued an order for a census to be taken throughout the Empire. 2 This registration, the first of its kind, took place when Quirinius was governing in Syria. 3 Everyone went to be registered, each to his own town. 4 So Yosef, because he was a descendant of David, went up from the town of Natzeret in the Galil to the town of David, called Beit-Lechem, in Y’hudah, 5 to be registered, with Miryam, to whom he was engaged, and who was pregnant. 6 While they were there, the time came for her to give birth; 7 and she gave birth to her first child, a son. She wrapped him in cloth and laid him down in a feeding trough, because there was no space for them in the living-quarters.
Reflection Questions:Given what we know of her culture, Mary was a girl perhaps 14 years old who learned that God had chosen her for a literally earth-shaking life mission. The mission was not to lead a great army, write spiritually radical documents (her wonderful “Magnificat”—cf. Luke 1:46-55—at first reached only a few in a small village) or move to a power center like Jerusalem. Instead, God called her in an unprecedented way to mother a one-of-a-kind child.
- What would you look for if you had to choose the Messiah’s mother—social respectability and status? A stable, established marriage? Economic security? Why would God choose Mary? Her reply to the angel pointed to a spirit that outweighed all other considerations: “I am the Lord’s servant…. May your word to me be fulfilled.” What made that so vital for Mary—and any mother? How can you respond to God as Mary did?
- The angel told Mary, “Greetings, you who are highly favored!” But that didn’t mean ease and comfort. Mary’s “favored” life as Jesus’ mother brought huge challenges—first explaining her pregnancy to her fiancé and (probably) her parents, eventually a day at the foot of a cross watching her boy die at the hands of the Romans. Do you sometimes wish God’s favor toward you meant only pleasant things? How did Mary’s life show the sacrifices God’s favor may involve?
Lord Jesus, you chose to enter our world, not as a powerful, full-grown hero, but as a child like us, at first dependent on your mother. How grateful I am that you chose Mary to be your mother, and that she did such a good job. Amen.
Insights from Brandon Gregory
Brandon Gregory is a volunteer for the worship and missions teams at Church of the Resurrection. He helps lead worship at the Vibe, West, and Downtown services, and is involved with the Malawi missions team at home.
I was not supposed to be born. My conception was completely unplanned and unexpected by my parents, who at the time didn’t have any other children. The biggest surprise, though, wasn’t just that I was conceived–it was that I survived. My mother was extremely sick in the early months of her pregnancy (before she knew she was pregnant) and had to go on some pretty powerful medicine to deal with it. She found out she was pregnant after finishing the medication. Her doctor immediately urged her to terminate the pregnancy, as a fetus was unlikely to survive unscathed by the medication. She was told that her baby would suffer severe birth defects if it survived at all. The chances of a normal life for the child were very slim.
I can’t imagine the pressure my mother must have felt. Losing a child is hard. Taking care of a child with a disability is hard, and that can also end in losing a child. Modern medicine was telling her there was almost no chance for a third option. But despite the risks, my mother prayed about it and decided to keep the child. I was born healthy and, despite a lifelong struggle with bipolar disorder, pretty normal.
This is not a morality story of defying science–it’s a story of a hard choice that a woman had to make, even though she never asked to be put into that situation. She chose what God told her was the best thing in that particular scenario, not knowing what the consequences would be, having faith that God would give her the strength to handle the outcome.
In a sense, Jesus’ mother Mary was faced with a similar decision. She had found a husband, which, for women in that age, meant security and protection just as much as love, if not more. Then, shortly before her wedding, she gets a visit from an angel named Gabriel.
“Greetings, you who are highly favored!” Those were his first words to Mary. Now, I know from my time working in an office that when the boss stops by and says something like that, you’re about to get handed a huge assignment, whether you like it or not. Mary also knew this, as she was “greatly troubled by his words.” And the angel goes on to say that she’s going to become pregnant before her wedding, and her fiance will not be the father.
In her time, while a pregnancy outside of marriage was not uncommon, it probably meant the end of her relationship with Joseph. She was, legally, damaged goods. She was saying goodbye not just to Joseph, but to most potential husbands, and the security and protection that marriage offered women in that time. She was also potentially inviting the scorn and rejection of her family. In other words, in accepting this assignment, she was willing to give up any and all earthly support for the rest of her life.
“I am the Lord’s servant. May your word to me be fulfilled.” That was her succinct, amazing response. Certainly full of fear, but without hesitation, she accepted her assignment.
Thankfully, God had a similar message for Joseph and they went through with their marriage. But that wasn’t the end of unexpected disappointments. Mary gave birth not in her home surrounded by family, but in a stable surrounded by animals, in a town where she knew no one. She was immediately forced out of her country to live as a foreigner to protect her son. She would one day watch her son get killed in the most brutal method ever devised by man. But, even though it’s not explicitly stated in Scripture, I’m sure she faced each of those challenges with the same faith and resolve that she showed when she first accepted her assignment.
What this means for us isn’t that every seemingly impossible situation will be rectified by God. Bad and unexpected things happened to Mary, and they will happen to us too. What this means is that we should face those seemingly impossible situations with courage and resolve to do good, no matter what. Life will get rough. Life will toss us around and present us with really difficult choices. Press on anyway. You may find later in life that the best thing you’ve ever done is not given up and, through faithfulness, brought about something amazing and miraculous.
Download the GPS App
The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection
13720 Roe Avenue
I was not supposed to be born. My conception was completely unplanned and unexpected by my parents, who at the time didn’t have any other children. The biggest surprise, though, wasn’t just that I was conceived–it was that I survived. My mother was extremely sick in the early months of her pregnancy (before she knew she was pregnant) and had to go on some pretty powerful medicine to deal with it. She found out she was pregnant after finishing the medication. Her doctor immediately urged her to terminate the pregnancy, as a fetus was unlikely to survive unscathed by the medication. She was told that her baby would suffer severe birth defects if it survived at all. The chances of a normal life for the child were very slim.
I can’t imagine the pressure my mother must have felt. Losing a child is hard. Taking care of a child with a disability is hard, and that can also end in losing a child. Modern medicine was telling her there was almost no chance for a third option. But despite the risks, my mother prayed about it and decided to keep the child. I was born healthy and, despite a lifelong struggle with bipolar disorder, pretty normal.
This is not a morality story of defying science–it’s a story of a hard choice that a woman had to make, even though she never asked to be put into that situation. She chose what God told her was the best thing in that particular scenario, not knowing what the consequences would be, having faith that God would give her the strength to handle the outcome.
In a sense, Jesus’ mother Mary was faced with a similar decision. She had found a husband, which, for women in that age, meant security and protection just as much as love, if not more. Then, shortly before her wedding, she gets a visit from an angel named Gabriel.
“Greetings, you who are highly favored!” Those were his first words to Mary. Now, I know from my time working in an office that when the boss stops by and says something like that, you’re about to get handed a huge assignment, whether you like it or not. Mary also knew this, as she was “greatly troubled by his words.” And the angel goes on to say that she’s going to become pregnant before her wedding, and her fiance will not be the father.
In her time, while a pregnancy outside of marriage was not uncommon, it probably meant the end of her relationship with Joseph. She was, legally, damaged goods. She was saying goodbye not just to Joseph, but to most potential husbands, and the security and protection that marriage offered women in that time. She was also potentially inviting the scorn and rejection of her family. In other words, in accepting this assignment, she was willing to give up any and all earthly support for the rest of her life.
“I am the Lord’s servant. May your word to me be fulfilled.” That was her succinct, amazing response. Certainly full of fear, but without hesitation, she accepted her assignment.
Thankfully, God had a similar message for Joseph and they went through with their marriage. But that wasn’t the end of unexpected disappointments. Mary gave birth not in her home surrounded by family, but in a stable surrounded by animals, in a town where she knew no one. She was immediately forced out of her country to live as a foreigner to protect her son. She would one day watch her son get killed in the most brutal method ever devised by man. But, even though it’s not explicitly stated in Scripture, I’m sure she faced each of those challenges with the same faith and resolve that she showed when she first accepted her assignment.
What this means for us isn’t that every seemingly impossible situation will be rectified by God. Bad and unexpected things happened to Mary, and they will happen to us too. What this means is that we should face those seemingly impossible situations with courage and resolve to do good, no matter what. Life will get rough. Life will toss us around and present us with really difficult choices. Press on anyway. You may find later in life that the best thing you’ve ever done is not given up and, through faithfulness, brought about something amazing and miraculous.
Download the GPS App
The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection
13720 Roe Avenue
Leawood, Kansas 66224, United States
913.897.0120
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