May it be according to your word

Luke 1:26-56 from the daily reading in the One year Bible

Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee called Nazareth, ²⁷ to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the descendants of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. ²⁸ And coming in, he said to her, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.” ²⁹ But she was very perplexed at this statement, and kept pondering what kind of salutation this was. ³⁰ The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; for you have found favor with God. ³¹ And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus. ³² He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; ³³ and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end.” ³⁴ Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” ³⁵ The angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy Child shall be called the Son of God. ³⁶ And behold, even your relative Elizabeth has also conceived a son in her old age; and she who was called barren is now in her sixth month. ³⁷ For nothing will be impossible with God.” ³⁸ And Mary said, “Behold, the bondslave of the Lord; may it be done to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.

³⁹ Now at this time Mary arose and went in a hurry to the hill country, to a city of Judah, ⁴⁰ and entered the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth. ⁴¹ When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. ⁴² And she cried out with a loud voice and said, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! ⁴³ And how has it happened to me, that the mother of my Lord would come to me? ⁴⁴ For behold, when the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby leaped in my womb for joy. ⁴⁵ And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what had been spoken to her by the Lord.”

⁴⁶ And Mary said:  “My soul exalts the Lord, ⁴⁷ And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.
⁴⁸ “For He has had regard for the humble state of His bondslave; For behold, from this time on all generations will count me blessed. ⁴⁹ “For the Mighty One has done great things for me; And holy is His name. ⁵⁰ “And His mercy is upon generation after generation Toward those who fear Him. ⁵¹ “He has done mighty deeds with His arm; He has scattered those who were proud in the thoughts of their heart. ⁵² “He has brought down rulers from their thrones, And has exalted those who were humble. ⁵³ “He has filled the hungry with good things; And sent away the rich empty-handed. ⁵⁴ “He has given help to Israel His servant, In remembrance of His mercy, ⁵⁵ As He spoke to our fathers, To Abraham and his descendants forever.” ⁵⁶ And Mary stayed with her about three months, and then returned to her home.

The angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy Child shall be called the Son of God.    Do we fully believe the account we read in today’s text? Do we without question accept that Jesus was indeed conceived by the Holy Ghost, that He was and is the Son of God? Surely those who question, doubt or try to discredit Jesus would begin here, at the beginning of His human existence. There is debate today about when life truly begins, about when a baby in the mother’s womb is a child. That debate is not rooted in faith, nor is it rooted in science. Rather, it is rooted in the rebellion and the selfishness of people.  In Jeremiah 1:5 God says:    “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, And before you were born I consecrated you.”    Jesus was conceived in the womb of Mary, but every child, conceived in every womb is formed by God and known by Him.

There are indeed many parables and allegories contained in scripture. But when we begin to view the bulk of scripture simply as an example, a story, an allegory or parable, as opposed to the truth of God’s word, we begin to rationalize and interpret all scripture through our own preferences rather than according to God. In rationalizing God’s word we create doctrines which accept and tolerate things that God does not. If we don’t believe that Jesus truly was and is the Son of God we can also rationalize the lives that God has created in every other womb. We can convince ourselves that they are neither children nor God’s creation. That doesn’t change what God and science know to be true, a life in the womb is indeed a life.  

Mary was told of God’s plan by an angel. In today’s text it says:  When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.  Faith is sometimes referred to as blind faith because it is believing in something that cannot be seen.  Like Elizabeth we do not need blind faith to believe what God says or what He is doing or has done. We too have the Holy Spirit to guide us and teach us, to reveal all truth to us. Whether we are privileged as Mary to hear God’s plan from an angel, or it is revealed to us by the Holy Spirit or simply in God’s word, the revelation of truth is available to us and for us. The choice we have is whether we will accept and believe what God says or rationalize it some other way.

Surely Mary had questions and concerns about God’s plan. She asked: “How can this be?” Mary received and believed what she was told. She went to see Elizabeth, not to run from what she heard, not to seek another explanation, but for confirmation of God’s word. Elizabeth says:   “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! And how has it happened to me, that the mother of my Lord would come to me? For behold, when the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby leaped in my womb for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what had been spoken to her by the Lord.”     If we will, like Mary, seek to confirm what God has said, rather than seeking an alternative, He will bring people into our lives who will confirm His truth.

At the revelation of God’s truth and His plan for our lives, may our response be as Mary’s. May our humble prayer be as hers:   “My soul exalts the Lord, And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior. “For He has had regard for the humble state of His bondslave; For behold, from this time on all generations will count me blessed. “For the Mighty One has done great things for me; And holy is His name. “And His mercy is upon generation after generation Toward those who fear Him. “He has done mighty deeds with His arm; He has scattered those who were proud in the thoughts of their heart. “He has brought down rulers from their thrones, And has exalted those who were humble. “He has filled the hungry with good things; And sent away the rich empty-handed. “He has given help to Israel His servant, In remembrance of His mercy, As He spoke to our fathers, To Abraham and his descendants forever.”     Amen.