“Then Mary said, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.” Then the angel departed from her.” Luke 1:38 (NRSV)

How many of us would respond to the Angel Gabriel as Mary does in The Gospel of Luke? In the story, the Angel Gabriel has just told Mary that she will become pregnant by the Holy Spirit.  The problem is that she is a teenage virgin who is engaged to a young man named Joseph.  And presumably, Joseph is not going to be interested in marrying someone who is pregnant with a child that is not his.  Worse yet, everyone is going to think that she slept with some random person in town.  No one is going to believe that she was impregnated by the Holy Spirit.

So, in the Gospel of Luke, the Angel Gabriel has not brought good news.  He has brought extremely bad news.  Yes, it is nice that at some point in the future, Mary’s baby will be “great, and will be called the Son of the Most High.”  But what about right now?  How will Mary explain this situation to her parents?  How will she explain her pregnancy to Joseph?  For Mary, God has presented her with a complete mess.

But what is Mary’s response? Contrary to reason, Mary says, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.” What if that was our response every time we encountered what seemed to be a difficult situation?  How different would our lives be?

It helps to break down Mary’s response. After overcoming her shock at the situation and probably thinking through all its negative implications, Mary tells the Angel Gabriel who she is.  She tells him that she is a “servant of the Lord.”  I love that response because it cuts through all the nonsense.  Mary knows who she is, and she is a servant of God.

As a result, Mary is choosing to not be defined by the outside world. The outside world is going to say that Mary is an unwed, teenage mother.  The outside world is going to gossip about her and probably say not very nice things about her.  All of that is hurtful.  (We all feel hurt when others speak poorly about us.)  But ultimately, the opinions of others won’t matter to Mary.  That is because Mary knows who she is.  She knows that she is a servant of the Lord.

How would our lives change if we knew who we really are? Think about how many people feel devastated when a marriage doesn’t work out.  They have spent years defining themselves as the wife or so-and-so or the husband of so-and-so.  How would their perspective change if they said, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord.”  Suddenly, that failed marriage would simply be what it was – a relationship that had run its course.  It wouldn’t be the destruction of their identity.

What if people had that same attitude when a job didn’t work out? So many people define themselves by their work.  I am a doctor.  I am a carpenter.  I am a receptionist.  Then when the job doesn’t work out because they either get fired or laid off, they are devastated.  Their identity has been taken away from them.  But what if they said, “Regardless of what job I do, who I am is a servant of God.”  Then the loss of their job would not destroy their view of themselves.  Their job would be what they do, it would not reflect who they are.

The second part of Mary’s response is equally wise. She says, “let it be with me according to your word.” What Mary is saying is this:  There is absolutely nothing that I can do about this situation.  So, God, I am going to trust you.

How much better would our lives be if we took Mary’s approach to our problems? What if instead of fretting and worrying, we simply said, “let it be with me according to your word.”  With that attitude, there would be no problem that could overwhelm us.

For instance, what if we have a child who is struggling or ill? This is the worst scenario that any parent can imagine.  But in that situation, what if we just said, “I am going to do everything I can for this child, and then I am going to accept the situation and let God handle the rest.”  Our approach to the situation would be more effective.  That is because our worrying doesn’t help our children.  Only our best efforts help them.  And our prayers help them.

I have spent many hours of my life worrying about situations and people. But I can tell you that none of that worry has accomplished anything.  I would have been much better off taking Mary’s approach and simply accepting each situation as it came.

That doesn’t mean that I believe in crawling under my desk and lying down in the fetal position when I have problem. On the contrary, I believe in doing everything that I can to handle any problem that comes my way.  But once I’ve done all I can, then it is time to be like Mary.  It is time to say, “let it be with me according to your word.”

Now that we are in Advent and are thinking about Mary’s journey, consider how you might adopt her attitude in your own life. How might you approach your problems differently?  Take time this week to reflect on Luke 1:38.  Consider how having a faith like Mary’s might revolutionize your life.

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