Did you ever wonder about Mary, the mother of Jesus, and the
kind of person she must have been? Was
she ordinary or someone special? We know she kept herself sexually pure, and was a virgin.
Was she in love with Joseph to whom she was engaged? Was she pretty or did she consider herself
homely and unattractive? Did she feel
“less than” her girl friends, if she had any?
Did she have an education? How
old was she when the angel Gabriel came to her and told her she would supernaturally
conceive a child?
Online research revealed that her marriage was probably
arranged. Since it doesn’t mention her
parents, I had to wonder if she was an orphan being raised by a relative much
as Esther was raised by Mordecai in the Old Testament. Were her caregivers eager to “marry her off”
due to financial constraints? Think how that would make you feel. Some believe Joseph was likely a widower about thirty years old, and Mary was between the
tender age of twelve and fourteen.
I have read that every Jewish virgin hoped to be the mother
of Israel ’s
Messiah, but perhaps Mary had given up that hope, given her lowly
circumstances. We read in Luke 1:48 that
she considered herself to be of “lowly estate,” of poor standing in the culture
of her day. However, we know God
delights to take what man considers the weak and “lesser” things of this world
and give them special honor.
Whatever her natural circumstances were, we can be fairly
certain Mary knew Israel's history: how God delivered Israel
from Egypt and all the signs and wonders He performed in their behalf. I can imagine she longed for deliverance once
again as she prayed about her beloved nation and the oppressive Roman rule her
people endured. Like Gideon in Judges 6,
perhaps as she called out to God for deliverance, she wondered where all God’s
miracles were and why God had seemingly abandoned them.
As I read Luke 1 and 2 recently, I could easily imagine
young Mary praying for her nation and herself as she went about her work. I imagine her in tears as she did the family
laundry and washed the breakfast dishes as her mind also turned to wonder what
marriage would be like. Would she be a
good wife? Would she be able to have
children? Her relative Elizabeth was unable to have children all her
life. Did that curse run in her
family?
Just as easily, I can imagine she wiped her tears on her sleeve and
bent to her tasks once again. Suddenly she heard a knock at the door. On opening it, she found a man who asked if he might come and rest a bit from his journey. Taught to be kind and hospitable, she invited him in and offered a seat. I don’t think she realized he was an angel,
because his appearance didn’t frighten her, but his words of greeting greatly
troubled her: “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”
What was this? The Lord was for her? She was highly favored? Really? He had to have it all wrong – she was a
low-class citizen, and a teenager too; surely he had to know that. What did he want from her? The shock of his greeting unnerved her. What kind of man just showed up at the door to pay attention
to her? Was he interfering with her
engagement to Joseph?
The gravity of his next words must have convinced her he had a message from God: “Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a
son, and you are to give him the name 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 the house of Jacob 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 upon 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 barren is in her sixth
month. For nothing is impossible with
God.”
I can imagine her shocked surprise at the startling news
that Elizabeth
was having a baby. Old women don’t
have babies. Impossible! This had to be God.
“I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May it be to me as you have said.” Then the angel left her.
I can imagine Mary’s head spinning with joy. She, the lowly one, was to be the mother of the Son of God! She had to go see Elizabeth. Surely if anyone was to believe and understand
what had just happened to her, it would be Elizabeth.
Mary packed her travel bags and hurried to Judea to visit her relative,
and when Mary greeted her, the baby (John the Baptist) in Elizabeth ’s
womb leaped for joy. Imagine that—babies
can receive divine inspiration from God in the womb! (Don't ever abort a baby; he/she is God's creation, no matter how he/she was conceived!) Elizabeth
was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied to Mary that she was indeed
blessed because Mary believed that what the Lord said to her would be done.
Mary responded by the power of the Holy Spirit, “My soul
glorifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has been
mindful of the humble state of his servant…” (Luke 1:46-48) I like to think it was at this point that the
Holy Spirit came on Mary, causing her to praise God and to conceive our Lord
Jesus in her womb.
Do you have circumstances in your life that seem
impossible? Believe that all God's promises in the Bible are for you. Ask the Holy Spirit to help
you find God’s promises for you in His word and declare as Mary did, “May it be
to me as You have said.” I encourage you
to give the Lord praise for who He is, and for what He has done for you, even
as Mary did. (Luke 1:46-55) I believe praise and
thanksgiving in all things is the seedbed for God’s promises to take root. Declaring what God does is powerful! Remember the angel’s words: “For
nothing is impossible with God.”
It’s always darkest before the dawn. Christmas is all about miracles and angels and
the supernatural power of God invading our world. God has not forgotten you; keep believing,
not in Santa Claus, but in Jesus Christ, the One who came to us from heaven as
a helpless little baby so as not to frighten us. The One who walked our streets, got hungry
and tired, faced every emotion, every temptation known to mankind, yet was
without sin. The One who is our Savior from the wrong path. He knows how to help you by
the power of the Holy Spirit. He is not
limited to our resources and way of doing things. Who knows? You may even entertain an
angel unawares. (Hebrews 13:2)
A blessed Christmas to you, dear reader!
*All scriptures are from the NIV translation unless otherwise noted.
Copyright © 2013
Elaine Beachy
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