Daily Devotion – March 25, 2021 – Dr. Pat Taylor Ellison

Luke 1:26-38
1:26 In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth,
1:27 to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary.
1:28 And he came to her and said, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.”
1:29 But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be.
1:30 The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.
1:31 And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus.
1:32 He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David.
1:33 He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”
1:34 Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?”
1:35 The angel said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God.
1:36 And now, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month for her who was said to be barren.
1:37 For nothing will be impossible with God.”
1:38 Then Mary said, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.” Then the angel departed from her.

We might not usually think of this Mary story as part of Lent. Technically, it is among the readings for this week because the Church celebrates The Annunciation this week, the visit of Gabriel to Mary to announce that she will be the father of Jesus. But surely Mary’s story also intersects with Jesus’s journey toward the cross, for that was Mary’s journey, too – she is, after all, found at the foot of the cross as Jesus, her grown son, is dying.

But let’s consider the way God entered human history personally in the birth, life, and death of the man Jesus. God does miracles around birth – consider Elizabeth, who, in old age, bears a child who becomes John the Baptist. God does a great miracle in Jesus’s death – conquering the finality of death by raising Jesus to life again. As Gabriel says to Mary, “Nothing will be impossible with God.”

Well, God is God, after all. We don’t usually object to that, do we? God can do miracles. God is God. But God doing miracles in our little old lives? God intervening in our activities? Something seemingly impossible happening to me? That seems a little harder to swallow.

But here’s the thing about Mary: she agrees to God’s intervening. No matter the cost or weirdness or unusual-ness. She says, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.” Just as Abraham had accepted God’s invitation to be in relationship, Mary accepts it on faith.

May our faith be like hers.

Gracious God, Thank you for loving us. Thank you for giving us faith so that when you call on us, we will be bold and walk into God’s story without hesitation.   Amen.