Calling of Mary

June 18, 2020

Like Ruth, Mary is an unexpected hero. A young woman, living in a world that did not pay much attention to young women, she is surprised to find that God has noticed her. She is called by God to become the mother to Jesus – a calling she can’t fully comprehend. But she commits to the calling, famously responding, "Let it be."  

STUDY THE SCRIPTURE

Click here to read from Luke 1:26-38

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REFLECT

Hope in the Desert

By Kelsey Bacon

This is a story I've spent much time studying, thinking about, praying about, and wondering about in my life so far. It drew me first as a teenager because I saw Mary, also a teenager, and I wondered what in the world it must have been like for her to go through this experience at such a young age. And then how in the world she stood so strong, so brave, and so devoted in the face of such a scary, unknown future.

As I read this story back in the context of our current series, I see it with a new light and I think some new understanding, especially considering our current times. We all know that the story of Jesus brings hope. But thinking about what was going on around Mary in the exact time when the angel Gabriel came to her enlightens me even more.

Her world was full of political unrest and injustice, and the nation of Israel has been waiting for centuries for the Messiah to come. So, when the angel appears to her, even though I'm sure it was terrifying and difficult to process, it was also word of the hope that Mary and her people had been waiting for. Hope not just for peace right then and there, but peace for all people and all time. I can imagine that it was that hope that sparked the bravery in Mary's heart. The hope of Jesus and the strength of the Spirit.

And that is what we need so desperately right now. Whether it's Coronavirus or the recent protests or murder hornets or the fires in Australia (doesn't that seem like forever ago?!) or tropical storm Cristobal or the upcoming election or whatever else 2020 is going to throw at us, we need the hope of Jesus and the strength of the Spirit.

The hope that Mary had--that Jesus is the answer, that Jesus is the light of the world, that Jesus is the one who will bring peace and cure our world of this deep, deep problem of sin. And the strength of the Spirit to keep going in circumstances like these even though it's hard. We keep going because we know that God is bigger than all of this, bigger than the desert. Even if we're hot and tired and our feet hurt, Jesus gives us hope and strength to keep going. And we must remember that we have an oasis to help us along the way, and that the Garden is waiting for us at the end of our journey.

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