“In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. The angel went to her and said, ‘Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.’ Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. But the angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.’ ‘How will this be,’ Mary asked the angel, ‘since I am a virgin?’ The angel answered, ‘The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. For no word from God will ever fail.’ ‘I am the Lord’s servant,’ Mary answered. ‘May your word to me be fulfilled.’ Then the angel left her” (Luke 1:26-38).
This passage is a passage that is very readily, and commonly, associated with the Advent season as it tells a story associated with the conception and birth of Jesus. However, as easily as it is associated with Advent, I think the above passage is just as appropriate as a Mother’s Day passage; after all, it tells the story of how Mary found out she would be our Savior’s mother. So, as I was thinking about the month of May and the celebration of Mother’s Day on May 10, my thoughts quickly turned to Mary. In light of this, I wanted to take some time with you this month to think about Mary, the mother of Jesus, and about what she represents to us.
The Scriptures don’t give us a ton of details about Mary and her life: we know that she is of Jewish origin and was a devout Jew; we know that she lived in Nazareth; we know that she was not wealthy; we know that she was pledged to be married to Joseph when Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit; we know that John the Baptist’s mother, Elizabeth, was her cousin; we know that she did, in fact, marry Joseph; we know that she and Joseph had more children after Jesus; we know that she was widowed because Joseph is no longer mentioned after Jesus is found teaching at the temple when He was 12; we know that she kept close tabs on Jesus’ ministry and even accompanied Him at times; we know that she was present at Jesus’ crucifixion; and we know that she was present and praying constantly with the disciples after Jesus ascended to heaven and before the Holy Spirit came at Pentecost. That is really all that we know about Mary from Scripture, not very much for one of the most significant people in the redemptive story.
However, it is more than enough to show us one very important detail about Mary, and that is that Jesus’ mother was just an ordinary Jewish girl who grew into an ordinary Jewish woman. There was nothing special or significant about Mary that she should have been chosen by God to be the mother of His Son. Mary was chosen by God not because she was some especially qualified woman for the task of being His Son’s mother; rather, He chose her because she was just an ordinary woman who was devout, faithful, courageous, and loved the Lord. She was chosen because her faith gave her a willingness, and the courage, to serve God in whatever capacity He required of her.
And, I think that the fact that there was nothing inherently special about Mary should be an encouragement to all of us as we try to live our lives faithfully. Too many Christians shy away from truly serving God, from truly being His ambassador, from truly following the Great Commission because they feel as though they are underqualified, or are not well-versed enough in Scripture, or are ill-equipped in any other number of ways. Too often we Christians allow our own personal insecurities to keep us from boldly following Christ as completely and totally as we should; we think, “Surely God can find someone else who’s better qualified.” We allow the fact that we feel inadequate, or not special enough, to keep God from using us to the fullest capacity to accomplish great works for His Kingdom.
But, what the fact that Mary was simply an ordinary person shows us is that it doesn’t matter how educated we are, it doesn’t matter how financially well-off we are, it doesn’t matter how long we have been Christians, or how much of the Bible we have memorized. What matters is that we love God, are faithful to Him, and are willing to serve Him in any capacity that He requires of us. If we strive to do and be all of those things, then we can be assured that God can, and will, use us to accomplish great things for His Kingdom.
I have been the pastor at Franklin Presbyterian Church for just over 2 years, but the truth of the matter is that I am woefully under-qualified for the job. There is nothing inherently special about me; I am a broken and sinful human trying my best to live like Christ in this broken and sinful world just like everybody else. However, just because I am under-qualified for the job doesn’t mean that God is under-qualified for the job; and it is through His grace, His wisdom, His love, it is through putting my faith in Him daily and being willing to serve Him as He has called me that I am able to serve you as the pastor. And guess what, because there is nothing special about me, I know that God can, and will, use each and every one of you, as well; He will use you to accomplish great things in His name if you put your faith in Him and are willing to serve in whatever capacity to which He calls you. Take heart and be encouraged, you can do ALL THINGS through Christ; put your faith in Him and have an open heart that is willing to serve, and watch what God can accomplish through you! That is the lesson that Mary’s life teaches us.
May the blessings of the Father and the peace of the Son be with you,
Pastor Keith
