PERFECT SUBMISSION

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

 “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her.

Luke 1:38

This ends today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

It seemed like any other ordinary day for Mary. I’m sure she was going about her daily chores as she counted down the time until she would become the husband of Joseph, a marriage arranged by their parents. A virgin, she had sexual relations with a man before. She had preserved her purity for the proper time and the proper place. Little did she know that there was to be a big change of plans.

For on this particular day, an angel named Gabriel burst into Mary’s ordinary existence with extraordinary news. Fearful at first, Mary was calmed by the angel who told her to not be afraid because she was favored by the Lord, the God Most High of Israel. He then gave her a glimpse into her future:

“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.” Luke 1:31-33

It was all too much to take in for Mary. She was a virgin and just couldn’t understand how she would come to be pregnant in the first place. Gabriel answered her wondering by saying:

“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.”  Luke 1:35

What was about to happen to marry was anything but natural. Rather, it was completely supernatural and divinely so.

Tracing back Mary’s family tree, you would find Sarah who when given news that she would become pregnant in her old age, laughed at the notion in the presence of God. As we saw in the first devotion in this holiday series, Zechariah doubted when Gabriel told him that his elderly wife Elizabeth would conceive a son. Both were far more older and presumably wiser than Mary, the teenager.

But through Mary’s response to Gabriel’s proposition, we see the spirit of a true servant of God, a spirit of perfect submission to the will of the Ruler and Maker of all things. For we see that Mary simply responded to the angel:

 “I am the Lord’s servant. May your word to me be fulfilled.”

Mary didn’t quite understand everything that Gabriel had told her. She had no notion of what her unconventional pregnancy would bring to her, the societal implications first and foremost. None of those things really mattered at that moment because all she knew was that God had a special plan for her and the only appropriate response was obedient servitude.

Friends, that’s all that should matter to us as well. We need to be more like Mary, completely submissive to the call of our Lord and Master. He calls us to do whatever He wishes and we comply with no doubting, no scoffing, and no laughing.

As the saying goes, “The Lord will never bring you to something that He isn’t going to bring you through.”

As we follow the wonderful, blessed Christmas story, we certainly see this saying come to life for Mary.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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