Luke 1:35-38
Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?: The angel said to her, “The Holy spirit will come upon you, overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of god 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. For nothing will be impossible with God.” 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.
Mary asks the Angel, “how can this be?”
She asks not because she is unwilling.
She asks because she wants to know more
About this power
About this God
That causes a Virgin to give birth to the Savior.
She does not question whether this is possible.
Rather she searches for meaning in the God intervention into her life.
Mary’s only question is to seek clarity on what she is to say and do given this impossible and miraculous event.
Mary, like the prophets before her, is simply finding her voice in the world. She asserts herself before God with the response “here I am.” There is no arrogance, only holy wonder. Only anticipation in what can be.
Like Mary, often we are called to make commitments without fully understanding. Often, God calls us to step out into places where we do not know the way.
When god’s consciousness bursts forth into our lives,
Are we virgin enough to respond with our truest, deepest selves and say something new?
Are we willing to say yes to something that will change our lives forever?
Are we willing to say yes to the impossible possibilities of God?
In this season may we be open to the new things, the new ways and may we ponder the new possibilities God has for us.
