Mary: servant of the Lord

and Mary said, "I am a servant of my God....."

What if she had said, "OK, I'll take the job"?  Would that shift the way you imagine Mary?  Would that help you understand that she had a voice?  That she made a decision?  That she willingly became a partner with God in the great human drama called Jesus?

Would it help you give up this false image of Mary: Meek and Mild?  Because at her core, Mary was a revolutionary: she signed on to this great adventure because she thought it would change the world.  It would lift up the lowly and put the haughty in their place.  It would feed the hungry and send the rich away empty.  It would cut the arrogance of the proud and protect the downtrodden.  Mary signed on because she thought .......just as the Hebrew scriptures had taught throughout the centuries........that finally the world was going to turn.  The coming Messiah (the anointed one, the Christ: they all mean the same thing) would finally bring justice to earth and that was her objective. (see Luke 1.46 ff)

Don't believe me?  Well, read on in Luke chapter 1 and listen as Mary declares her praise and thanksgiving.....not because she is going to become the BVM (Blessed Virgin Mary) but because the people of Israel, who had long waited for God to right the wrongs of this world, would realize the great promise of YHWH.

Mary's wonderful song known as the Magnificat (from the Latin for the first words "my soul magnifies the Lord") sets out this agenda.  The coming of this promised one was never, ever about Mary; it was always about God's promises to Israel and the coming of peace and justice to the world.

Mary was the human agent in this drama.  She was not necessary for God's plan to come to fruition; if Mary had said No, someone would have said Yes.  But that is how God works in this world, through human agents whose actions further the coming of the kingdom.  God brings justice in this world through all those, who having come to know Our Lord Jesus, now act out the peace, forgiveness and justice they have experienced in him.

We are all servants of someone or something....our family, our boss, our jobs, our health, our hobbies.  Mary chose to be a servant of her God and the Cosmic Plan God was about to unfold.

It's time for Mary to stand on her own two feet in our story just as she did in God's.

A blessed Christmas to all who take the time to read my passing thoughts here at Word this Week.  I pray you can hear the angels and know the strength and faithfulness of Mary as you walk into your unknown this year.  PW