Friday, March 25: The Annunciation of Our Lord

And [the angel Gabriel] came to [Mary] and said, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.” But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. - Luke 1:26-38


Many things can be said about this well-known passage from Luke’s gospel writings. What speaks to me at this time is Mary’s call to discipleship and her very human, but remarkable, response. In reflecting on the writer’s words, I find that this passage can serve as a powerful model for helping us respond to changes or surprises in our lives that knock us off our feet. It is most often in these times that we receive God’s call to discipleship, which if we can respond just a little like Mary, we can come closer to knowing that we too are favored by God and that He is surely with us.

Following the angel’s greeting to Mary, the writer tells us that she was “much perplexed” by his words and she was afraid. Mary then questioned the angel, asking how his message could possibly come to be. What perfectly normal human reactions to such an event – fear, followed by questions. Change, especially when it comes quite unexpectedly, or any unanticipated event, can be very scary, and as normal, thinking people, our natural reaction is to question how and why.

But this is where Mary points us away from our fear and headlong into trusting God’s call to surrender, even when our questions aren’t answered and we don’t understand the how or the why. When the angel told Mary not to be afraid, she took him at face value. My guess is that Mary became very present to what was happening in that moment, and in so doing, she sensed in her heart that this was God’s call to something incomprehensibly wonderful, even though it surely would present many difficulties and painful times in her life.

Of course, we too are called to surrender to God’s call in our daily lives and most especially at the scariest times in our lives. We always have a choice, to let the fear take us over and respond to the situation from that constricted place, or to open up to the knowledge that the Lord is surely with us, no matter how little we can see or understand God’s providence at work. As Brother David Stendel-Rast writes: “There is grace in every package, no matter how ugly the wrapping.” Our work is to accept the package when it is delivered (even while sitting with our questions and our fear), and through faithful prayer, to surrender to the knowledge that whatever the package brings, God is with us. By opening up to God’s inexorable grace in every situation, something miraculous and truly wonderful can unfold in our hearts.

—Zonnie Breckinridge