Here am I, the Servant of the Lord

The last two posts on this blog have centered on faith. Actually, every post in this blog is related to faith. Truly, Christianity can be neither understood nor lived apart from faith.

With that said, I’d like to hold up Mary, the mother of Jesus, as a beautiful example of faith. It is written in the first chapter of Luke that Mary “found favor with God” and that the angel Gabriel said to her, “And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”

Of course, this is a curious thing to say to a virgin. Mary thus responds, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” The angel says, “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 holy; he will be called Son of God.”

Gabriel’s announcement to Mary that she will bear Christ to the world has been referred to by the Church as “The Annunciation.” What I’d like to highlight especially is Mary’s response, which is a wonderful example of faith:

“Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.” (Luke 1:38)

Mary is told the Word of God, and her response is simple. Her response is to believe the Word, to trust in it. In other words, Mary entrusts herself to the Word that is spoken to her. It is through such faith that Mary bears Christ to the world.

God’s Word to us is just like God’s Word to Mary: we are called to bear Christ to the world. How do we do such a thing, which seems as impossible as a virgin giving birth to a child? Let us be like Mary, whose words signify simple faith and obedience to God’s Word. Let her words be ours: “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.”