Men and women throughout the ages—poets, philosophers, theologians—have sought to put thoughts on paper, expressing the inexpressible, trying to parse the inscrutable. Mary herself asked of the angel Gabriel as he disclosed her impending motherhood: “How will this be, since I am a virgin?” Her answer came, as a gradual revelation, through:
FAITH
Mary’s faith-filled response to Gabriel was, “Here I am; let it be…according to your word.” She believed, had faith, and accepted her role.
FAMILY
On seeing Mary, her cousin Elizabeth exclaimed, “Blessed are you,…and blessed is the Child you will bear!” Mary then voiced the beautiful song of praise we call The Magnificat.
WITNESSES
Angels: proclaimed that Mary’s Son had been born: “the Messiah, the Lord.”
Shepherds: hurried to tell Mary all they had heard and seen from the angels. “…and Mary treasured all these things and pondered them in her heart.”
Simeon: had long awaited the Messiah. Seeing the Child brought to the temple to be consecrated to the Lord, Simeon took Him, saying, “Lord, my eyes have seen Your salvation,…and the glory of Your people, Israel.”
Anna - was a prophet in the temple who, at the sight of Jesus, gave thanks to God and spoke of the Child to those who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem.
EXPERIENCES
12-year-old Jesus was found by anxious parents, listening to—and asking questions of—the teachers in the temple. Jesus returned to Nazareth with them and was “obedient to them, and His mother treasured all these things in her heart.”
In these instances from Scripture, we see how God answered—and even expanded on—Mary’s struggle: no bright-shining, blinding light, but a gradual enlightenment as Mary attempted to imagine the unimaginable and to wrap a finite mind around the infinite.
I, too, see in my life a gradual revelation. Yes, I still “see through a glass darkly,” but each time I worship, pray, read the Bible, sing, interact with others, and live another day, God is able to reveal more to me—if, and when, I am attuned and receptive to the Holy Spirit.If you know me at all, you will not be surprised to hear me say that music speaks to me. I grew up singing and playing the piano, and I always loved it! The first time I recall that God literally spoke to me through music, I was a child, about seven. The second stanza of the invitation hymn had just begun: “Just as I am, and waiting not…Oh, Lamb of God, I come.” By those words, I was compelled to give my life to Jesus
