“Mary the Mother” Part 1

With Mother’s Day just behind us, it seems appropriate to begin a short series of blogs about Mary the mother of Jesus. It’s not truly a break in our Lessons from the Gospels series – just a special focus.

Let’s get one thing straight before I get into this blog series. I do not believe in worshipping Mary, the mother of Jesus. She was fully human – like you and me. Only God the Father and His Son, our Savior, Jesus, are to be worshipped.

However, I believe that she was an extraordinary human being, a one-of-a-kind woman who faced a once-in-all-eternity opportunity. As an unmarried woman, Mary accepted the call of God to bear His son – a call that changed her life (and all of ours) forever.

I also believe that we all can learn something from this pillar of faith, who, it seems, began this incredible journey as the human mother of God when she was just a teenager.  

We can learn a lot, in fact, from Mary the mother. And so, I begin this series, titled “Mary the Mother”, looking at the faith it took to accept this singular call to not only carry, but also to raise the Son of God. We will try to walk beside her in her journey as the mother of Jesus until we read the last scripture that mentions her and the closing days of her life.

Let’s begin in the book of Luke, as he provides the most detailed description of young Mary’s encounter with an angel sent by God and to announce to her an incredible destiny.

Luke 1:26-38 [NLT] 26 In the sixth month of Elizabeth's pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a village in Galilee, 27 to a virgin named Mary. She was engaged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of King David. 28 Gabriel appeared to her and said, "Greetings, favored woman! The Lord is with you!" 29 Confused and disturbed, Mary tried to think what the angel could mean.

Confused and disturbed. I’d be scared spitless if an angel just showed up at my house to talk to me.

The Greek word used here means “to disturb wholly, e.g. agitate (with alarm): trouble”. I’ll say! An angel shows up and calls you “favored woman”. What do you make of that?! Favored woman? Mary is barely a woman – closer to the age of a child in our minds. Of course she is thinking, “what are you talking about?”. Or maybe, “what have I every done that warrants being called “favored woman”.

This is the only time in the Bible that we find this word used. I wonder if God inspired it to be so because what other incident held the impact of that meeting or that greeting? It does remind me of Gideon of the Old Testament.

In Judges chapter 11, Gideon is threshing wheat in a secret place to hide from the Midianites. In verse 12, and angel of the Lord appears and says, “The Lord is with you, mighty man of valor.”. At that point in his life, Gideon must have felt like anything but a “mighty man of valor”.

But God calls it like He sees it – not like we see it.

Please note that while the greeting reminds me of the angel showing up to talk to Gideon about what God would make of him – the kind of life and purpose God was calling him to – God sent an unnamed angel to Gideon.

However, when it came to what might be the weightiest news of all time, God send an archangel, Gabriel to speak to Mary. Gabriel (“man of God”) was also sent to Zacharias to bring the news that the one who would pave the way for our Savior would be born to him and his wife, Elizabeth.

Gabriel appeared twice to Daniel as well. In both incidences, Gabriel came to give Daniel understanding about a vision he had received. The latter vision included the coming of the Messiah.

I love the connection of that. Gabriel, an archangel, is specifically named in three incidents of bringing the news about the coming Messiah.

The weight of this news is HUGE. And Mary, our young woman (maybe just a girl, really) is rightly disturbed, alarmed and troubled by Gabriel’s appearing in front of her.

Also, please note that there is only one other incident that I can find where an angel came and spoke to a woman. Even in the case of the announcement of John the baptizer, Gabriel went to Zacharias, not Elizabeth.

The other incident is when God told Manoah’s wife (we are not told her name) that she would carry Samuel – another rescuer of Israel – but in a physical way. In both of these cases, the angel also spoke to the husband after having told the woman.

We find the interaction with Gabriel and Mary in Luke 1:26-38 [NLT] 30 "Don't be afraid, Mary," the angel told her, "for you have found favor with God! 31 You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. 32 He will be very great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David. 33 And he will reign over Israel forever; his Kingdom will never end!" 34 Mary asked the angel, "But how can this happen? I am a virgin." 35 The angel replied, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the baby to be born will be holy, and He will be called the Son of God. 36 What's more, your relative Elizabeth has become pregnant in her old age! People used to say she was barren, but she has conceived a son and is now in her sixth month. 37 For nothing is impossible with God." 38 Mary responded, "I am the Lord's servant. May everything you have said about me come true." And then the angel left her.

One of the most incredible things about Mary’s faith is that she was a teenager when this happened. If she was at the top of the age range that scholars estimate, she would have been 16. Some say she was younger. I say that even if she’d reached 21 (what we think of as adult these days), it was still a huge responsibility and commitment.

So, our first three points in this study of Mary the mother are:

1.      When God has a big ask for us, He will be sure that we are sure it comes from Him. He may not send an angel, but He certainly will be patient if we ask for confirmation in some form. [See the stories of Gideon and Ahaz.] We should pray and meditate, seek counsel in the Word of God and others if we feel God is calling us to something big – unless, of course, an angel shows up to give you the news.

2.      We need to be spiritually, mentally, and emotionally ready for God to call us to great things. That means always being close to Him. Studying and meditating on His Word daily. Working on our personal growth. Relying on faith in and trust. Staying obedient in the little things.

3.      Let God decide if you are ready and up to the task. Don’t doubt His timing and plans for you, and maybe miss out on an opportunity to do something big just because you don’t think you are ready.

Sweet sister, you are not too young, or too old, or too sick, or too rich or poor, or too much of any other thing for God to use you in a big way. God has a plan and purpose for you. Get ready for it by staying close to Him and being open to opportunities. Then, when it comes, you will be ready to walk by faith.

Thank you for joining me in this study of Mary. We aren’t finished learning from this young woman who bore and raised the Son of God.

You can write me now in the chat, or any time at Nancy@DymanicChristianMinistries.org.