Discover The Word

Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Luke 1 and 2

Interview with Mary

HADDON: Mary, welcome to Discover the Word.

MARY: I’m delighted to be here. I always enjoy spending time with people who are followers of our Lord Jesus Christ.

HADDON: It’s interesting that you speak of him as “our Lord Jesus Christ.” You didn’t say, “My son, Jesus.” Yet you were his mother.

MARY: It’s true that God used my body to bring Jesus into this world, but that didn’t give me a privileged status in the family of God. Like you, like all who are part of God’s family, I bow my knee to him as my LORD Jesus Christ. As you say in your country, I can’t “pull rank.” I, too, am a follower of Jesus as my Lord.

HADDON: It’s interesting that you put it that way, Mary. When Elizabeth visited us at Discover the Word, she told us a bit about her story, especially about your visit to her when she was six months pregnant. She said that when you entered her house, her
first words to you were “God has blessed you above all women, and your child is blessed. Why am I honored that the mother of my Lord should visit me? You are blessed because you believed that the Lord would do what he said.” Elizabeth knew before anyone else that you were pregnant, that you were expecting a baby who was her Lord, the Messiah, the Son of the Most High. Did that take you by surprise when she called you “the mother of my Lord”?

MARY: Yes and no. I knew who this child was. The angel Gabriel had told me. He said that the son I would conceive would be great and would be called the son of the Highest. He said that God would give him the throne of his father David, and he would reign over the house of Jacob forever. So you see, I knew who this child was. But what DID surprise me was that Elizabeth knew. She knew I was pregnant even when absolutely no one else knew. How could she have known that except that God had told her?

HADDON: That’s quite amazing. But let’s go back a little earlier. Tell me about the visit from the angel Gabriel. What was it like?

MARY: What was it like . . . It was like no other possible experience. I was alone in the house and suddenly I became aware that I was NOT alone. Someone or something seemed to be in the room with me. Something about the light in the room had changed. The air felt charged with some supernatural presence. I jumped up from my stool and turned to see what was there, and as I stared at the door, a shimmering golden presence seemed to enter the room. I drew back, of course. Then I heard a voice coming from that presence, saying, “Greetings, favored woman! The Lord is with you!”

HADDON: You must have been stunned.

MARY: Yes, that’s the right word. I was stunned. I heard the words, but I could not say anything. The shimmering golden presence seemed to be taking a more definite form, and in a few moments I could make out what looked like a human form, much larger than a human person, a golden head, more beautiful than any person I’ve ever known, then the trunk and arms and legs and wings—great golden wings. I was so startled and awestruck that I hardly heard the voice. And then I knew I HAD heard the voice and the words were carved forever on my mind and in my heart: “The Lord is with you, highly favored one.”

HADDON: That’s quite a message to receive from an angel! How did it make you feel?

MARY: I don’t think I felt anything except awe that I should be in the very presence of an archangel of God. And Gabriel knew that. Immediately he spoke again, saying, “Don’t be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.” He called me by name, so I knew he hadn’t made a mistake and had come to the wrong person. Then he said, “You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus.” As I heard the words, I was puzzled.

HADDON: What was so puzzling?

MARY: Gabriel talked about my having a baby, whom I was to name Jesus. But I was a virgin. How could I have a baby? I was engaged to marry Joseph, the carpenter in our town of Nazareth. But it would be some time before we would actually be married. I would remain a virgin until our wedding night, of course.

HADDON: Yes, of course. So what did the angel say?

MARY: He said that the Holy Spirit would come upon me and the power of the Highest would overshadow me, so that the Holy One who would be born from my body would be called the Son of God. This was to be a miracle baby. God would come down and take on human flesh.

HADDON: What did you say when you began to understand God’s plan?

MARY: I could say only one thing: “I am the Lord’s servant. May everything you have said about me come true.” How could I have said anything else? This was the word of the Lord, the God of heaven and earth. He had favored ME. I could only bow in gratitude to my God and ask that his will be done in my life.

HADDON: Then what happened?

MARY: Well, the angel left. But before he left, he told me that my cousin Elizabeth had also conceived a son and was now six months pregnant. Elizabeth was going to have a baby! She and Zacharias had longed for a child for so many, many years, and now in their old age, they would have a son! With God nothing is impossible. So as I thought about Elizabeth, I knew I had to talk with her about this extraordinary thing in my life. So as quickly as I could get a few things together, I left Nazareth and began the three-day walk to the hill country of Judea in the south. I wanted so much to talk with Elizabeth!

HADDON: Elizabeth told us something about your visit, at least how she felt when you arrived.

MARY: It was wonderful seeing Elizabeth again. But what was truly amazing was that she knew all about this life beginning to form in my womb. She encouraged me so much with her words that I burst into singing a psalm of praise to God: “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior. For he took notice of his lowly servant girl and from now on, all generations will call me blessed. For the Mighty One is holy, and he has done great things for me.”

HADDON: It’s interesting, Mary, that you give praise to God. Didn’t it ever cross your mind that God had chosen you because you were a woman of faith or of great purity?

MARY: Oh, no, no. I was only a simple peasant girl. God FAVORED me. He gave me what I did not deserve. That God should choose ME—it’s beyond comprehension.

HADDON: I believe Elizabeth said that you stayed with her for three months. That’s a long visit!

MARY: Yes it IS a long time to visit. But I so needed that time with my cousin. I was a mere girl. In our culture, we are usually engaged to be married soon after we begin to menstruate. Our families arrange our marriages, of course. So I was engaged to Joseph in my early teens. There was so much I needed to learn about life. And who better to help me than my cousin Elizabeth? She is descended from the priestly family of Aaron, you know. And her husband Zacharias is a priest. Those two—they love the Lord with all their hearts, souls and minds. They know the Scriptures. They have lived long and are wise. Yes, I needed to spend time with Elizabeth!

HADDON: I can imagine that, since both of you were expecting miracle babies, you had a lot to talk about, too.

MARY: Yes, we did. But more than talk about babies, we talked about God. We talked about our ancient history and God’s promises to his people. We went over the great prophecies about the Messiah and about his forerunner. As we talked, Elizabeth verified my own vision of God’s will for me. I knew that when I returned to Nazareth, obviously pregnant and unmarried, people would talk. How could I face the accusing stares of people in my town? How could I face Joseph who loved me and trusted me? I cannot tell you how much confidence and strength Elizabeth gave me during those three months. Her insight into the plan and working of God, her godly trust—somehow she gave all that to me. God had trusted a teenage girl with a holy burden, and then he gave me Elizabeth to encourage me and prepare me for all that lay ahead. What a gift from God she was to me in those months!

HADDON: So your time with Elizabeth wasn’t filled with just talk about babies?

MARY: Far from it! Elizabeth is mature and wise. She has walked with God for many, many years. She gave me the courage I needed to return to Nazareth. She poured her strong faith into me. Together we knew that the Messiah had actually begun to assume human form. We knew that God was again visiting his people.

HADDON: It is a testimony to Elizabeth’s godly life that you should have spent three months with her, and that you drew such strength from her steady confidence in God. Thank you, Mary, for sharing a part of your experience with us on Discover the Word.