Favorites IX

Both Matthew and Luke wrote about the birth of Jesus.  Matthew did it through the lens of Joseph and Luke chose to tell it through the experience of Mary.   When the season for celebrating the Christ event comes, we always turn to Luke's story.  No Christmas Eve worship service is complete until the second chapter of Luke is read.  As wonderful as the story of that night is to read, the story of the angel Gabriel coming to Mary to announce her part in the holy birth is unparalleled in its scope and power.   

Tradition has it that Mary was just a teenage girl when the angel came to her.  The Word of the angel was too incredible for her to grasp.  She responded much as any young woman would respond to such an impossible word.  There was much to ponder from the very beginning and after everything had been said and she had time to realize in part what was being asked of her, she said, "Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word."  (Luke 1:38)  In those moments when it might seem that God is calling us to surrender too much, we only have to remember her story to know that she is the model for absolute surrender to God.   

We sometimes forget that absolute surrender is what God is calling us to embrace.  We might want our going with God to be conditional, or convenient, but it is never spoken in that context.  As a young boy I learned to sing, "I Surrender All."  Back then I never really understood that kind of surrender and while I see more clearly in these older years, the issue of my willingness to surrender all is still a struggle.  Mary, the mother of Jesus, is our model and she reminds us that most of us still have a way to go.