Mary Is Our Model For Life
- Deacon Dan DeLuca
- Dec 8, 2022
- 8 min read
As children grow up they often look up to someone: sort of a hero figure for them to emulate and provide an example of what it means to be an adult and to live a good life. Perhaps that person is a parent, an older sibling, or a coach. Sometimes it ends up being an athlete or an entertainer: which is maybe not always the best choice. While many of these people can be great mentors and role models, in his infinite wisdom God has given us the perfect person to look up to, Mary. Mary is our model for life. She embodies a life lived fully in the service of God. She is a focal point of the Advent season. Without her yes, there is no incarnation, no Christmas. On this Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, let us pause and give thanks for her yes and ask her to intercede for us so that we too may say yes to God.
The Birth of Jesus Foretold
In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. And he came to her and said, “Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you!” But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and considered in her mind what sort of greeting this might be. And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name 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 father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there will be no end.” And Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I have no husband?” And the angel said to her, “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 called holy, the Son of God. And behold, your kinswoman Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. For with God nothing will be impossible.” And Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her. Luke 1 : 26-38
Scriptural Analysis
The announcement of the birth of Jesus follows the pattern of birth announcement found in the Old Testament as well as the narrative of the call of Gideon, “And the angel of the Lord appeared to him and said to him, ‘The Lord is with you, you mighty man of valor.’” (Judges 6:12) As a birth announcement, this passage is about the birth of Jesus. As a call narrative, it is about the mission of Mary. The reference to the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy is intended to link Mary’s mission, with the previous activity of the announcement of John the Baptist, which is all part of God’s one plan.
The town of Nazareth is in the lower part of Galilee. It was a small village with a few hundred inhabitants. It is not mentioned at all in the Old Testament, however, the town name comes from the Hebrew, netser, which means branch or shoot. This recalls the passage from Isaiah, “There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots.” (Isaiah 11:1)
Joseph is introduced as being from the house of David. He is betrothed to Mary which is the first stage of a Jewish marriage. A written document is presented by the groom to his bride, but the bride remains in her parent’s home until the ceremony, about a year later. Mary is the same name as Miriam who was the sister of Aaron and Moses. She is presented as a virgin, a detail mentioned twice noting the importance of that detail.
The greeting of the angel shows a deep understanding of the Greek Old Testament by Luke. The word used here, chaire, means rejoice but in the Greek Old Testament it is a summoning of the people of Israel to rejoice, “Rejoice and exult with all your heart.” (Zephaniah 3:14) The reason for this joy is the presence of the Lord, “The Lord, is in your midst.” (Zephaniah 3:15) Therefore, one should not be afraid, “Do not fear, O Zion.” (Zephaniah 3:16) Mary represents Israel as the faithful daughter of Zion.
Mary is the favored one, literally, one who has been graced: in the Latin gratia plena or full of grace. The Greek makes it clear that this bestowing of grace is not something that is about to happen as a result of the visit by the angel. Rather it is something that has already taken place and whose effects continue to the present.
Mary is troubled by the angel’s visit and tries to understand the meaning of the greeting. The angel reassures Mary telling her to not be afraid. Mary is told that she has found favor with God. The word favor, charis, can also be translated as grace relating this back to the angel’s initial greeting.
The instruction that she will conceive in her womb and bear a son with a specified name recalls the pronouncement of John’s birth, “Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John.” (Luke 1:13) Both of these pronouncments mirror the pronouncement to Abraham with regards to the birth of his son Isaac, “Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac.” (Genesis 17:19) Additionally, the focus on Mary’s virginity ties this pronouncement to the prophecy from Isaiah, “Behold, the virgin shall be with child and bear a son and you shall name him Emmanuel.” (Isaiah 7:14)
Whereas John the Baptist was great in the sight of God, Jesus with be great in an absolute sense. Jesus will also possess the throne of his father David and his kingdom will never end. This recalls what the Prophet Nathan spoke to David, “And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me; your throne shall be established forever.” (2 Samuel 7:16) Recall that after Solomon, the Davidic kingdom was split into two with the Northern Kingdom eventually falling to the Assyrians. There was a long expectation of a Messiah who would reunite and restore that kingdom.
Mary questions how it is possible for her to give birth. On the surface this looks similar to the question Zechariah asked the angel when John’s birth was announced, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.” (Luke 1:18) The difference is that Zechariah asked out of a sense of unbelief. Mary believes the angel but wanted instructions. Is there something she needed to do to make this happen?
Of course, the reason for the question is that Mary had not yet had relations with a man. Now, this is a curious question from Mary. She was already betrothed so within a year the wedding would be complete at which time she would move in with her husband and normal marital relations would ensue. So, after this delay, the angel’s words would be fulfilled. That leaves two options. Either one, Mary interpreted the timing of the events foretold of in the angel’s message to be immediate and without delay. The other option, which some Church Fathers have argued in favor of, is that Mary planned to have no relations with Joseph at all: that she already dedicated herself to God as a virgin. While this appears on the surface to be a Christina ideal being imposed onto a Jewish context (since the Pharisees emphasized marriage) there were some Jewish sects such as the Essenes that practiced celibacy.
The angel explains that a virginal conception will occur through the power of the Holy Spirit. This child will be called the son of God. The Davidic king was considered to be an adopted son of God upon his coronation, “I will be his father, and he shall be my son.” (2 Samuel 7:14) The angel’s explanation points to the divinity however as this is different.
The verb used here, overshadow, comes from the Greek episkiazō, and the only other place it is found in the Gospel is at the transfiguration. It also recalls how for Moses, a cloud settled down over the tent of meeting, “The cloud abode upon it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.” (Exodus 40:35) This implies that Mary, about to become pregnant with Jesus, is the new living tent of meeting filled with God’s presence.
Mary is given a sign, the pregnancy of her cousin Elizabeth who was considered barren. The announcement ends with an act of faith by Mary. She states that she is the handmaid or the Lord, a female servant, or a slave of the Lord. She humbly expresses her consent to God’s plan, “Let it be to me according to your word.”
Daily Application
There is so much in the birth announcement of Jesus, so much rich theology and amazement at the culmination of God’s plan for salvation. Since the fall of Adam, this moment had been expected, prophesied, prayed for, and hoped for. It was finally here. The Messiah was on his way. He would right the wrong of Adam. However, God needed a vessel through which the Messiah could enter the world: a young woman who, through her obedience, would right the wrong of Eve. That young lady is Mary, the Theotokos, the Mother of God.
Mary is the model of many things for us. However, during Advent, there is one that in particular rings out. Her yes, Mary’s Fiat, shows us exactly how we need to respond to the promptings of God. Note that the angel did not present Mary with the full plan of what was going to happen. The angel mentioned nothing about the journey to Bethlehem, giving birth in a stable and placing the baby in a manger, the visit from the wise men, or Herod’s attempt to kill the baby. The angel presented Mary with the first step, the annunciation, the conception of the Lord. That was enough for Mary, enough for her to give her full consent to God’s plan.
This is how God works. He never presents us with the complete picture, of all he has planned for us if we say yes to him. He unfolds his plan for us one step at a time and waits for our yes to each step. I think he does this for three reasons. First, if we knew just what marvels God has in store for us, we would always say yes and that, to some degree, would negate our free will. Second, human beings are notoriously bad for wanting to do things their way. If we understand the end state, would we follow God’s plan to get there or would we try to make the plan our own? Finally, and perhaps most importantly, he wants to know that we truly trust him, that our faith is strong. It takes trust and faith to say yes when stepping off the ledge into the unknown but that is the faith demanded of a disciple.
So often we miss those moments that God has set before us to say yes to him because we don’t understand the full picture. In our limited purview, what God is asking of us doesn’t make sense. Or, we are afraid: afraid of what awaits us when we do say yes. That causes us to delay, to wait until he reveals more. The error in that thinking is that without the initial yes, God won’t reveal more.
As we near the end of this second week of Advent, let us ask God for the faith to say yes to him when he calls us. Let us also not forget in those moments of uncertainty, those moments when we are tempted not to trust, to turn to our blessed mother. Mary is our model for life. She will show us how to say yes to her son if we only allow her to.
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