Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.
Today we celebrate the annunciation, or when God’s angel announces to Mary that she will be the Theotokos, or God bearer. It falls on March 25, precisely 9 months before we celebrate the Nativity. And much of the known world celebrated this day as New Year’s Day, from the 6th century until the 18th century. It wasn’t until the British empire adopted the Gregorian Calendar that our current January 1 New Year’s day was created, in the 1750’s. Before that, March 25 was the day that Christians marked as the new year. It all has to do with the feast of the Annunciation.
Mary, a very young Jewish woman is visited by the angel Gabriel. That alone is frightening, wouldn’t you think? The angel tells her she is to be the bearer of God’s son. Um, more frightening. But just how is that to happen, logistically, Mary asks. Don’t worry, the angel says. The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overpower you. What?? It’s not like Gabriel’s message is at all comforting, or that his explanation is pastoral. But in response, Mary says, Here am I, the servant of the Lord. Let it be with me according to your word. The story is that immediately after Mary’s assent, the Holy Spirit overcame her, and she was with God’s child. Wow.
This is why Christians celebrated March 25 as the marking of a new era; it commemorates a pivotal turning point in humanity’s understanding and interaction with God. For the faithful Jewish people, God was somewhere else, holy and majestic. Mary’s agreement to this weird plan was the beginning of God being with humanity, in humanity, in human form.
There are some who get hung up on celebrating Mary. To be clear, I don’t think Mary is God. But I do believe that without Mary’s agreement, my understanding and relationship with God would be very different. I am not fond of the Annunciation because of a Mary fetish, or because she is to be worshipped. Rather, she said yes. I celebrate the Annunciation because Mary, as another human being, is someone I can understand, or at least strive to model. After an extremely odd and frightening visit from an angel, Mary said yes to God. Yes, use me as you will. I worship Mary’s faith, and her absolute trust in God’s goodness. Mary had no idea how things were going to turn out. And as a mother, they didn’t turn out terribly well. I get weepy thinking about Good Friday from Mary’s perspective. It must have bene horrible to watch. But she did not know God’s plan, either on the Annunciation or Good Friday. She trusted God’s plan, whatever that was.
This morning, I’m thinking about how I can say yes to God’s mysterious plans for me. I don’t know how things are going to turn out. This pandemic drags on, and I have family and friends who’ve tested positive. My loved one remains in the hospital, and we’ve no idea how that will turn out. I want to have the faith to say, like Mary, let it be with me according to your word. I want to say Yes.
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