The gospel passage of today gradually brings its focus to Mary. It starts with wider focus from God (heavens), moves to a town and then to a small house and rests on a young girl named Mary (Mariam). This is also the journey of Angel Gabriel – the beginning of human salvation – a restoration.
That was the time, when Israel was in deep trouble. That was the time, when they faced political, spiritual, and physical poverty. At that same time, the messianic expectations were sky high. But the rest of the world was immersed with its mundane things – buying and selling, eating and drinking, weeping and laughing, waging war and conquering, dominating and subduing … Suddenly, God wanted to intervene into the life of the people – in silence, far away from the buzz, revealing the mystery kept secret for long ages to a little peasant girl.
That is how God does His business – nobody notices.
God chooses Mary from Nazareth to be the mother of His Incarnate Son. In return, Mary offers to God her virginity. For the Hebrews, virginity had a derogatory meaning. It indicated uselessness of woman and the hopeless state of her existence. When Jerusalem was defeated, destroyed, humiliated, and reduced to nothing, prophet Jeremiah calls it “the virgin of Zion” (Jer. 31:4).
Mary humbly accepts her lowliness and offers herself to the Almighty God.
Then Luke mentions that Mary accepted God’s invitation by saying “I am the handmaid of the Lord”. This was an unconditional acceptance. Did she know, she would be homeless at the time of her child’s birth and would give birth to Him in utter poverty away from her family and friends? Did she realize that her yes to God would cause her to flee to Egypt as a refugee just to hide her Son from the wrath of Herod? Did she know that she would never live a normal life after that?
She probably knew it meant trouble, but she believed in the mighty presence of God to be with her. The Angel had greeted her with a new name “full of grace”. She would be the new Ark of the presence of God. The Spirit of God will overshadow her. The messiah to be born from her, will bring salvation to her and the rest of humanity.
Mary gave herself to God that we may all live in God.
-Fr. Ranjan D’Sa OCD