“I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her. Luke 1:38
“When the angel Gabriel came to Mary, he told her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.” And she answered, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.” It was in this submission, this surrender and obedience, that Christ was conceived. And it is the laying down of power that is revealed in his birth.…
He was born in a stable, at the mercy of Herod and the stark elements of cold and dirt. This pattern of complete abandonment of human strength in total surrender to God’s will is of vital importance for us. It was in the surrender of herself to God that Mary became the mother of Christ.
It was in her acceptance of Gabriel’s message that the great decisive event of history took place. And in our own lives, in our efforts to do right, what is decisive is that we accept and live by and surrender ourselves to a strength which is not our own, to the piercing white light of God’s love.”
Philip Britts in Watch for the Light: Readings for Advent and Christmas (Walden: Plough, 2001) 109. Special thanks to Daily Meditations reader, Bill Crowe, for sharing this with me.
Think about what Mary surrendered. She gave up her body, her reputation, her entire future in saying “Yes” to the angel, Gabriel. And consider the generosity unleashed as a result.
Though we may not be visited by an angel, what might God be asking us to surrender the Christmas so that generous blessing can flow from our humble obedience?