December 12/ Luke 1:26-38
- Todd Marti
- 1 day ago
- 3 min read
DAILY READING
REFLECTION
Mary’s Grit & God’s Compassion
By Todd Marti
Two things that have always struck me about this passage. One is Mary’s courage. Not only did Mary show tremendous faith in taking on the awesome task God asked of her, she handled the very stressful encounter described here with remarkable composure. The other is God’s grace in helping her through this. Several things stand out:
1. Mary is very brave. Other accounts of Gabriel’s appearances indicate that he is a terrifying creature who incites strong, sometimes debilitating, reactions. Daniel 8:15-18, 27 and Luke 1:11-12 While Mary is “greatly troubled,” v. 29, she keeps her composure far better than the other, more mature, folks Gabriel appeared to. Maybe that’s why God chose her to be Jesus’ mother; she was going to have to go through some very tough stuff.
2. We should not be surprised that God selected someone as brave as Mary to be Jesus’ mother. His word consistently stresses that we need fortitude to accomplish all that He calls us to. Scriptures reflecting that are collected here. Those scriptures, and this passage, illustrate that the path to God’s greatest blessings/works is often scary.
3. God therefore helps us deal with the doubts that might undermine fortitude, doubts that naturally arise, when He calls us to challenging tasks. We see an example of that here in God providing the sign/proof about Elizabeth’s unlikely pregnancy. Luke 1:36-37. It follows a pattern we see regarding His calls:
a. God sometimes provides initial signs to build faith as the person He calls starts on the big, daunting, task God calls him to. We see that in the call of Gideon (Judges 6:11-40) and Moses (Exodus 3:7-4:17).
b. God likely does that because He knows our weakness/fears, Psalm 103:13-14, and gives us the help we need to overcome them. 1 Corinthians 10:13.
4. The nature of the sign God gives via Elizabeth’s pregnancy is also worth noting. It was meant as a proof of the promises He just made, but it could not immediately have had that effect because it relied on a fact Mary could not immediately verify. Its full ratifying effect could only occur later, when the existence of that fact is confirmed. We see that pattern elsewhere in scripture; God points to a future occurrence as proof of His present declaration. See e.g. Exodus 3:11-12 and John 2:18-22. What do we make of that?
a. God recognizes and accommodates the flagging nature of our faith. He realizes that the trust that immediately results from an encounter with Him will subside over time. He also knows that the work He gives us to do will outlast that initial trust. He therefore gives us something to recall in the future to revive trust.
b. It is reassuring because it illustrates that our initial lack of comprehension does not preclude our eventual effectiveness. Mary probably didn’t understand what God was talking about when He brought up Elizabeth’s pregnancy, but that did not stop her from fulfilling the mission God gave her. We see the same dynamic in the Disciples’ initial incomprehension of Jesus’ statements about his upcoming death and resurrection. They didn’t get it when those statements were made, See Mark 9:31-31 and Luke 24:1-8, but that didn’t stop them from ultimately getting done what God called them to. A similar dynamic is discussed at Fear does not equal Failure and Doubt does not equal Disqualification.
PRAYER
Father, help us to recall Mary’s courage when you call us to difficult things or put us in unsettling situations. Please extend the same sort of graces to us that you did to Mary when we are unsettled. We ask this in the name of Mary’s Son, Jesus.
Today’s reflection was excerpted from What We Can Learn From Jesus' Nativity: The Annunciation (Luke 1:26-38). The complete version of that reflection and other meditations related to Jesus’ birth are collected at What We Can Learn from Jesus' Nativity: The Annunciation through Simeon & Anna.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
TODD MARTI
I have been connected to UALC since 2000 in various small groups and as a co-manager of the UALC Community Garden. I’m married to Kelly Marti, and the proud father of Sarah Marti. I am happy to be writing these devotions.