Saturday 22 December 2018

Psalm: Psalm 100

Background

This passage doesn’t actually say that Mary was afraid, rather that she was perplexed, as well she might be – to be greeted by an angel as 'favoured one' was at most a rare occurrence! After the greeting the angel instructs her not to be afraid, words we come across elsewhere in the Bible. You might be able to think of some examples: ‘Do not be afraid’ is the angel’s response to Zechariah, the angel’s words to Joseph, and the greeting of the resurrected Jesus to his disciples. In all these cases fear is an unsurprising response, for something was happening that was way outside the normal run of things. These are spine-tingling moments for which the word ‘awesome’ is barely adequate.

For Mary, this was a powerful experience and one that would probably help her to cope with the difficulties that lay ahead. Mary is often portrayed as being meek and submissive, but her words of acceptance in verse 38 show great courage. Later on it was Mary who challenged Jesus aged 12 when they found him in the Temple after several days of being missing, and Mary who stood at the foot of the cross as her son was executed. I wonder how often Mary thought of those words "do not be afraid", as over the years she had cause to fear though her actions showed courage.

The Jews had a saying that there were three players in the birth of every child: the mother, the father and the Spirit of God. In the case of Jesus it is the action of the Spirit of God which is most emphasised. While the Jews believed that no child could be born without the Spirit, Luke is showing God’s action in Jesus even before he was born. Much theology has grown around Mary, it is even known as Mariology! On the negative side, Mary as the virgin mother has been promoted as an impossible role model for women. Perhaps it is time we focused less on her as a meek, submissive woman and more on her courageous ‘yes’ to God.

To Ponder:

• Are we sometimes too fearful to say ‘yes’ to God?
• Have Christians over-emphasised the meekness of Mary at the expense of her courage?