She Said Yes

But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God.

- Luke 1:30

​The angel said to Mary, “Do not be afraid.” This is the standard line angels use when encountering humans. If Mary only knew what was coming when she said yes to the angel’s request, she would have every reason to be afraid. She will be an unwed mother in a culture where this was not acceptable. Her betrothed Joseph will plan to divorce her when she becomes pregnant, which is only stopped by its own angel intervention. Her baby will be born in Bethlehem, far from Mary’s home in Nazareth, and laid in a manger, where cows and donkeys eat, because there was no room inside of the house. Soon she and Joseph and the baby will be fleeing to Egypt because King Herod wants to kill Jesus, so they spend the next several years as immigrants in a foreign land.

This is just when Jesus is a child. It does not include losing Jesus in the Temple in Jerusalem when he was a boy, watching Jesus face much opposition throughout his ministry, and seeing Jesus rejected, betrayed, denied, and killed. Mary stood at the foot of Jesus’ cross and watched her son die. If Mary only knew, she would have much reason to be afraid of what would unfold for her and her son.

And yet, Mary has found favor with God. The Greek word here is charis, which also means grace. This favor Mary has with God is not because she is preferred over other women. It is favor in terms of what God will do through Mary and how God will bless Mary. We often think of God’s favor as keeping us from harm. Here God’s favor places Mary and her son into great harm. Is that the way of God? For Mary and for us?

Yes, when we answer as Mary did, with “let it be to me as you have said,” we could face great harm. It may not look like Mary’s, but we will be asked to surrender our futures, challenged to move beyond safety, and required to take a journey that will stretch our faith. Like Mary, our yes will take great courage to face what may come. But in that yes, we will find great favor in what God will do through us. God’s grace and love is far greater than anything we may face.

When we think of Mary today, she is a woman held in great favor across the globe. She is revered, admired and held in great esteem, not just for being the mother of Jesus because of who she is, because of her yes. She is celebrated as a great example of faith and love. Mary’s yes, just like ours, is a yes of great favor even in the midst of great hardships. It is in that yes that God works again and again.

Clay Brantley

RH Director

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