As a little kid in a village, it was always a source of wonder for me that babies emerge roughly about a year after a woman and man get married. This mystery was shattered one day when I heard that there were children (twins) born to a pastor’s daughter who wasn’t married! Apparently a man was involved (enlightenment !) ; he too was a pastor’s offspring . I gathered later that that was just happenstance and was not a necessary condition. It could have been any man with the right intention and endowment.
Mary in her time, was remarkably rather more knowledgeable than I was in these matters. She was quick to answer:
“How can this be, since I do not know a man “?
Why not read the story in Luke 1?
26 Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, 27 to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28 And having come in, the angel said to her, “Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!”
29 But when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was. 30 Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus. 32 He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. 33 And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.”
34 Then Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I do not know a man?”
Good question but Gabriel was unfazed.
35 And the angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God. 36 Now indeed, Elizabeth your relative has also conceived a son in her old age; and this is now the sixth month for her who was called barren. 37 For with God nothing will be impossible.”
A truly extra-ordinary event in the life of a village girl. Yet she takes most of it in her stride – the appearance of an angel, his speaking to her, uttering amazing words….- and asks only the most relevant question. And when the answer comes, she is quite satisfied. We do not know how much she knew of the Holy Spirit or His operation in the lives of human beings but she did not raise any further questions. She was quietly assimilating the wondrous message and, as was her wont, pondered over it (Luke 1:29). The initial agitation gone, 38 Mary said, “Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.
“Let it be”
It is not clear at what point she disclosed this visitation to Joseph to whom she was already betrothed. From a reading of Matthew chapter 1 (below), it appears that she never did! Quite extra-ordinary! It was the baby-bump that betrayed to Joseph that something was remiss!
After His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit. 19 Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not wanting to make her a public example, was minded to put her away secretly.
Was this Mary’s test of Joseph’s love for her and his trust in her faithfulness to her? It would appear so. She pretty much left matters in God’s hands and never sought to explain her condition (she seems to have had an unarticulated notion that God is sovereign). This left her open to ignominy, public ridicule and possibly death by stoning. What do you call this if not “courage”?
And God was good enough to honour Mary’s faith. He announced His work in a separate visitation to Joseph in order to allay any doubts he might have had about Mary’s faithfulness.
20 But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. 21 And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”
22 So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying: 23 “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.”
24 Then Joseph, being aroused from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord commanded him and took to him his wife, 25 and did not know her till she had brought forth her firstborn Son. And he called His name Jesus.
In the meanwhile, Mary decided to follow-up on her own vision and undertook a quiet visit to her cousin Elizabeth. She received there a reassurance that something wonderful was happening to her; she broke into a rhapsody:
“My soul magnifies the Lord,
47 And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.
48 For He has regarded the lowly state of His maidservant;
For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed.
49 For He who is mighty has done great things for me,
And holy is His name.
50 And His mercy is on those who fear Him
From generation to generation.
51 He has shown strength with His arm;
He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
52 He has put down the mighty from their thrones,
And exalted the lowly.
53 He has filled the hungry with good things,
And the rich He has sent away empty.
54 He has helped His servant Israel,
In remembrance of His mercy,
55 As He spoke to our fathers,
To Abraham and to his seed forever.”
Oh, we can learn plenty from Mary. A quiet spirit, minimal chatter, a probing question, an unexcitable nature, a willing acceptance, rare courage.
Yes, for the most part Mary was passive. But her Magnificat!
What a wonderful canticle !!
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