by Clint Walker
Fowler First Baptist Church
It is easy to look at Mary in the pictures that were drawn of her in days of old and get a different picture of her than is Biblical. It is easy to think of her as this matronly woman with alabaster skin and a beautiful blue and white robe. It is easy to think of Mary as beautiful and docile. A well-behaved young woman from a working or middle class family whose father worked hard and whose mother stayed home to keep house and home school her and her brother and sisters. Or maybe it is easy to think of Mary as that girl that never speaks up in class but always gets straight A’s. She does what she is supposed to, but generally is meek and invisible and seeks to fade to the background whenever possible.
As I start to read the gospel of Luke, and as I read Mary’s song, commonly known as the Magnificat, I get a different picture of Mary. I hear a strong and bold young woman full of courage and energy. Mary asks questions for clarification of the angel of God. Mary’s life was defined by boldness and risk. She was young teenager willing to do whatever God told her to do, no matter who it confused and made angry. She was willing to say yes to God’s call to take the ultimate initiative by bringing our Savior into this world through her womb. And, God bestowed favor on her for being the kind of woman he was looking for in his kingdom.
Most historians put Mary’s age around 13. Once a young woman shows initial signs of entering puberty and being able to have children, the parent makes arrangements for the girl to get married to an appropriate man. Mary’s parents and Joseph and Mary had already made the wedding plans. They had already received the dowry that the family got from Joseph. She had already set the date for the wedding. Soon after her 8th grade graduation she would probably be walking down the aisle with her husband, who seemed to be a decent man with a good job to support her.
Then an angel named Gabriel comes to visit Mary. He tells Mary that she has found favor in the sight of God. He tells Mary that she will have a child. He tells her that she will have a son, and he will be called the Son of the Most High, that he is the promised Messiah, and that his kingdom will never end. Jesus will be his name. Then Mary has a question, and she asks it. She asks how she can become pregnant when she has never had sex. It is pretty bold to ask a question like that to an angel, but it was not unreasonable for this teenage girl to ask it. God honors bold and courageous women like Mary.
Gabriel tells her that this child was conceived not in a normal way, but through the power of the Holy Spirit. He says the child is the Son of God. He informs her that this is miraculous by proclaiming “There is nothing that is impossible with God. “
Mary responds, “Behold the maidservant of the Lord. Let it be to me according to your word.”
At first that may appear as a passive response. It is not. It is a bold response similar to the prophet Isaiah when he encountered the angels in the Temple. Mary is saying courageous and assertive words similar to “Here am I! Send me!” or “Let’s roll.” It is the response of a good soldier to a general when they are giving marching orders. The angel said it. Mary believed it. She believed in what God was doing even if the whole world thought she was an immoral woman or a fool. She had her marching orders. Now she was going forward, armed with the knowledge that she was doing the good and just and right and fair thing.
Can you imagine the kind of character it would take to be pregnant out of wedlock for nine months in a community where everyone knew everyone, where everyone gossiped and whispered about the indiscretions of everyone? Furthermore, can you imagine going through all of that anger and judgment and disappointment that people would heap upon her? What kind of teenage girl would it take to deal with all of that?
The kind of young woman it took to bear the Messiah was a passionate adolescent woman willing to do what she believes is true and right even if it means defying everyone around her. Mary is a courageous young woman that is willing to do her part to bring the kingdom of God to earth. God chose a bold and strong woman who spoke with holy conviction. Mary was submissive to the word of God. Yes. But Mary was no wilting flower.
As we remember and think about Mary we also need to remember how God has used bold, courageous, and assertive women as well throughout Scripture. In the Old Testament we see working women like Ruth supporting her family, national leaders like Deborah judging her people, prophetesses like Hilda speaking God’s Word. Esther courageously approached the king about his unjust laws toward her people with the possibility of death looming over her head. In the New Testament the first preachers of the resurrected Jesus were the women leaving the empty tomb, as were some of the church leaders, like Priscilla that followed.
We also need to remember how God used bold and courageous young people throughout Scripture as well. King David defeated Goliath in battle as a teenager even though he was too young to be in the military. Daniel was a teenage POW of the Babylonians when he boldly declared he would not eat the king’s food. Paul trained young men like Timothy and Titus to help lead their church, and encouraged Timothy not to let people look down on him because he was young.
And what God has done throughout history God is doing now. God still seeks assertive and courageous people—both men and women, young and old---to be bold leaders for his kingdom. To stand for what is right even when it hurts. God is seeking men and women who have the courage to lead for his kingdom in their communities, their churches, and their worlds. If God has given you a calling or a vision, do not let other people stand in the way of it. People will say you are too young or too old. Others might say you are the wrong race or the wrong gender to do what God is leading you to do. Don’t listen to them. Listen to angel Gabriel who came to Mary and said, “Nothing is impossible with God.”
