Thoughts for the Day

Luke 1:28-31 The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favoured! The Lord is with you.”  Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favour with God. You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus.”

Have you had the experience of reading a child their favourite bedtime story for the umpteenth time?  You know where it is going and surely they must too, but woe betide you miss out a detail.  Somehow it remains fresh to them in a way it doesn’t to adults.  And so with this passage.  We know where the story is going, and it can be hard to keep it fresh and dwell on the details.  Reading a different version can help.  The Message version of Gabriel’s words to Mary begins “Good morning Mary” and later includes the phrase “God has a surprise for you”, which strikes me as something of an understatement.  Still, even if we do slow down and give ourselves space to consider and marvel at what took place, it remains a unique event.  So is there any application can we draw from it for ourselves?  We do not doubt God knew what He was doing, we do not question that He chose the right person, and we feel confident that Gabriel spoke to her at the right time with the right message.  But is that because of our confidence in God or simply because we know the story and its outcome?  To her eternal credit Mary recognises the legitimacy of the messenger and does not ask “How can I be sure?”  As Christians we are taught that each of us is gifted in some way for the wider good.  In all likelihood Gabriel hasn’t visited and won’t visit you or me with such clear direction, and I for one do wrestle to identify and be sure of what I am called to do.  I suspect I’m not alone!  But once we have recognised something, shouldn’t we be similarly confident that God knows what He is doing and has chosen the right person at the right time for the right thing?