Today is the Fourth Sunday of Advent. Today is the fourth Sunday of our preparation for the coming of the Messiah. Today is the fourth Sunday of looking forward and preparing for God with us. And today we hear from the ultimate preparation story, that of what is called “The Annunciation of Christ.” This is the story of the angel Gabriel appearing before Mary to announce that she will bear the Son of God.
As we prepare for the coming of the Messiah, both in the Already and the Not Yet, how might today’s gospel help us prepare for both of those events? It can help, I think, if we look to follow the good example of Mary.
Over the years Mary has been ascribed a variety of traits and characteristics that may or may not be true. I’m not here to debunk those stories and ideas about her as much as I want to challenge our assumptions and maybe give her character a little more depth.
Some of those assumptions about Mary include the idea that she was a young teenage girl, that she was passive, that maybe she really didn’t have a choice in the matter, and that she was “meek and mild.”
Mary may or may not have been a young teenage girl. There is ample evidence that she was – the use of the word “virgin” certainly implies a young teenager, along with our understanding of the social constructs of the time in which girls were married off at much younger ages than men – give evidence that she was a young teenager. Add to this that she was engaged, which in that time and place indicates this was probably a family arrangement in which she had no say. So, yes, she could have been a young teen.
But then again, she may have been a young woman, for this is how Isaiah prophesied the birth of the Messiah: Look, the young woman is with child and shall bear a son, and shall name him Immanuel. Being older, she could have matured and developed her own independent sense of self. Being an unwed pregnant woman is not an easy task, so it’s possible that Mary was older, braver, and more self-assured than a young teenage girl.
As to the claim that she had no choice in the matter, let me say that was not the case. God always gives us a choice – free will is one of the hallmarks of our faith, and we always have the choice to say yes or to say no, to follow God or to follow our own desires. Gabriel could have come to me and said, “You will become a priest of God. You will move your family thousands of miles and back again. You will leave your daughter on the east coast. You will not be close to your family again.” Had the angel Gabriel said THAT to me, I very well might have said, “No thank you.”
But Mary, after hearing all the angel’s words, after pondering them in her heart, said, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord.” Mary most certainly had a choice, and she said, “Yes.”
As for the idea that Mary was meek and mild, don’t believe that for a minute. Mary was as far from meek and mild as you could be. She was intelligent, brave, fiery, and feisty.
She is intelligent. As Gabriel is making the announcement to her, the gears in her head begin to turn. She begins to ponder what this all means. She starts to put two and two together and, rather than being dumbfounded by all this, she asks questions. She doesn’t ask for proof, as Zechariah did when Gabriel told him about his future son John, but she asks for clarification. “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” In other words, “How can this happen under these circumstances.” She doesn’t want proof, but she wants an explanation.
She is brave. She faced down an angel without fear. I’ve always told people that the reason the first words from an angel are, “Do not fear,” is because they are scary dudes. When the angel appeared before Zechariah, he was terrified and fear overwhelmed him, so Gabriel said, “Do not be afraid.” After Mary gave birth, an angel of the Lord stood before some shepherds, and they were terrified. The angel said, “Do not be afraid.”
But Mary did not cower in fear. Mary was not afraid. Mary stared down the angel Gabriel without fear. And she agreed to be part of God’s plan to actively involve himself in the world as he had never done before. This young, as-yet unmarried woman agreed to become pregnant in order to help fulfill God’s mission on earth. Young, unwed, pregnant women have a hard enough time here in the 21st Century U.S. Imagine the difficulties she would have faced in that time and place – not the least of which was a possible death sentence.
When Gabriel tells Mary to not be afraid, it isn’t in reference to the angelic presence, as it was with Zechariah and the shepherds. This “Do not be afraid” is looking forward. Do not be afraid to let God work through you. Do not be afraid of how you may be treated. Do not be afraid of what could happen. Do not be afraid, because God is with you.
Mary is fierce. She knew this pregnancy and this child would change the world. In response to this understanding, she prophesied what has become one of the most famous songs in Scripture, the Magnificat. In that song she recognizes that God will lift up the lowly, God will scatter the proud in the thoughts of their hearts, God will throw down the powerful and raise up the lowly, God will fill the hungry with food, and God will send the rich away empty. This is a prophecy of a new social order. This is the fight song of the weak, the abused, and the powerless. Mary is anything but meek and mild.
On this Fourth Sunday of Advent we hear the story of Mary. It is the story of an independent, strong-willed, brave, fierce woman of valor. Mary was Fiona, Merida, Moana, and Mulan all rolled into one real-life amazing woman. Mary was anything but meek and mild.
As this season of Advent comes to a close, we would do well to follow Mary’s example in answering God’s call and to not be afraid of where that will lead. God was with Mary, and God is with us.
And really, isn’t that what we’ve been preparing for?
Amen.
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