by Ricky Chelette, Executive Director
I’ve been fascinated by the
new Netflix series “The Crown,” which chronicles the rise of Elizabeth II to
power as Queen of England. Great drama, strong characters, and lots of twists
and turns in the plot make the storyline both enchanting and addictive. And yet,
the conclusion of the show can be found in the title itself: Elizabeth will be crowned
Queen. Not only was she born into the
royal family, but centuries of tradition and protocol mandated her as heir
apparent. Everyone knew it. The choice was obvious.
Not so obvious was the choice
of God for the mother of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
Luke puts it this way, “And the angel answered her, ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the
power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born
will be called holy—the Son of God.’” (Luke 1:35
ESV)
What an
amazing passage of scripture that we often read with little reflection. Stop for a moment and look at what takes place.
1) An angel, Gabriel, appears and talks
to a young girl.
2) The girl is already engaged to be
married to a man whose betrothal has likely been planned for a very long time and
consequently agreed upon by both families.
3) Gabriel tells Marry that the Holy
Spirit will, “come upon you.” What does that even mean? This was not something she would have known
or understood.
4) The angel also tells her that, “The
power of the Most High will overshadow you.” In other words, Gabriel informs Mary that something miraculous
will consume and transform her, changing the course of her life and all
humanity.
5) This miraculous event will
include the birth of a child, an ostensible impossibility given her virgin
state.
6) The child she will birth will be
holy, a designation she understood but a condition she knew was impossible for
humans to achieve.
7) This child will be “the Son of
God.” How could this be? Mary knew God
as a Spirit, not a person.
Can you see
the overwhelming nature of such a revelation? It is mind-blowing. Nothing of
this kind had ever happened in the history of the world. No one had ever had a
child without first having sexual relations. No one had ever birthed the Son of
God. No one. Ever. Never. Yet, the angel of the Lord informed Mary that she had
been chosen. She would bring the Son of God into the world and care for Him as
His mother.
As twenty first-century
readers, we miss so much in this text because we live in a world of equality,
rights, entitlement, and respect for all. This was not the case in the first-century
world. Women were the property of their husbands. They had no rights, no voice,
and no real identity apart from the one given to them through their marriage.
But why would
God choose to bring His Son into the world through a woman?
The God of
the Bible is not a predictable deity. In fact, the most consistent predictor of
His activity is His unpredictability. He chose a marginalized people to be “His
people.” He chose unlikely—and often
seemingly unqualified—people to be his ambassadors, prophets, and priest. He uses broken people to accomplish God-sized
tasks and elevates the lowly to lofty places.
There was no
script that Mary could follow in response to Gabriel’s revelation. This is new
ground. This had never happened before, nor will it ever happen again. Yet, her
seemingly unlikely choice by God is met with an incredible faith response: “I
am the servant of the Lord: let it be to me according to your word.” (Luke 2:37
ESV)
It is easy
to think that we have nothing to contribute to God’s Kingdom. The tasks are so
great and the demands are so unattainable. However, God has a way of choosing
the most unlikely to accomplish His will. Mary wasn’t outstanding. There is no indication that she was anything
but ordinary with one exception; Mary was a woman of faith. She believed and that allowed her to be used
by God to change the world.
God may want
to choose you to do incredible things for Him.
Are you willing? Are you faithful? Like Mary, you may not understand His
plan, but your faith may just change the course of your life, or even the
world, for His glory!
