Misunderstood

Luke 1:26-38

May it be done to me according to your word. (Luke 1:38)

Mary’s words to the angel can seem easy and somewhat romantic to us. But to her they were anything but. They represented a seismic shift in her life. When she spoke these words, she was agreeing to take up a mysterious new life filled with a host of unknowns. No longer would she be a humble housewife and mother in the model of so many of the women she had known.

Instead, she would become the Mother of God, and nothing would ever be the same. She would have only one child whom she would prepare to become Israel’s Messiah and the Savior of the world. What’s more, she would go through life bearing the misunderstanding and judgments of friends and family members.

Imagine how frightening this could have been for Mary. She had no example to follow because nothing like this had ever happened before! She couldn’t ask her mother or an aunt to show her how to walk this path. Her rabbi might offer some guidance, but the idea that God even had a Son would have been foreign to him.

But as unique as Mary’s situation was, it is also very familiar. Who among us hasn’t felt at times as if we were walking a path that no one else has walked? Who hasn’t felt at times as if we were all alone, with no one to guide us? We may not have responded as sinlessly as Mary did, but just the fact that she has gone before us can bring us great comfort.

Mary knows what it’s like to have her life turned upside down. She knows what it’s like to walk a lonely road and to be misunderstood. But even on Christmas Eve, as she faced the prospect of giving birth in a stable, she continued to trust in God’s care. Now assumed into heaven, she offers us her compassion, support, and intercession, especially when we feel lost and alone. She never tires of teaching us and caring for us.

“Holy Mary, Mother of God, help me to walk the path of trust as I await the coming of your son.”

2 Samuel 7:1-5, 8-12, 14, 16
Psalm 89:2-5, 27, 29
Romans 16:25-27