In this morning’s reading from the Gospel of Luke (1:26-38) we have once again heard the words that the Angel Gabriel spoke to Mary, “Greatings, favored one! The Lord is with you.”[1] Now wait a minute, of course Mary is the favored one; after all Mary is the mother of Jesus. And while we are at this point in our time of reflection; doesn’t it also seem very obvious that the Lord would be with the mother of Jesus … after all, Jesus is the Son of God! However, to be honest, these thoughts and feelings are in reality based upon our own personal knowledge of past events, as well as the teachings of our faith over these many years.
Is it possible for us to imagine, even for a few brief moments, what must have been the reality of these precious words spoken in their original setting? Imagine for a few moments that someone, claiming to be a messenger of God, has appeared before a young woman. This Angel then informs the soon to be married woman that she has found favor with God, and that to fulfill God’s plan, she must soon be with child. She is told that if she accepts the will of God, then she will give birth to a son. What thoughts would be going through our worldly minds now?
How can it be possible for this young engaged woman, who has not yet been with any man, to have a child? If she is ever found to be pregnant, then everyone else within her family and community will believe that she has done “something wrong” – “something immoral!”
And so, we are now beginning to see what depth of faith Mary must have truly had in these promises of God. For it was her faith that gave Mary the strength to put behind her any considerations for what her family and the rest of her community – or for that matter the entire world – would be thinking or saying. Mary answered, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.”[2]
Many of us gathered together here in this time of worship have experienced the presence of God. We also know that explaining these encounters to others who have not yet experienced this presence is very often difficult, but one of our key beliefs is that with God all things are possible. Now modern day scientists have come a long way in coming to more fully understanding the physical world around us, but without faith in an Ultimate Creator they still do not have all of the answers.
And this is what it means to have faith: to trust that God will be with us. We are encouraged to trust that we will not be required to face the challenges of our physical world alone. Like Mary, if we are willing to follow the call of God, willing to be a humble servant, rather than always demanding that we alone have the power to create our own futures, then we, like Mary, can always trust that we will forever be close to God.
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