God with a Body

Often when we focus on Mary, we tend to zero in on her youth, obedience, and chastity. All of this is, of course, part of Mary’s story. But it can be simple to resign Mary to the part of a background character in the “Baby Jesus” story.

But Luke 1 is, without doubt, the Mary story. What she says is powerful—a statement steeped in the prophetic tradition, too bold for someone so young, too radical for someone meek and obedient, too haughty for an unwed teen mother’s lips. Here, Mary speaks for herself and for all of God’s chosen people —the humble, the hungry, the poor. Far from a quiet, demure mother, blurred in the background of a creche, Mary instead provides a sneak peek of what we will come to expect from her Son. She speaks with authority, even though none was given to her by the power establishment.

Mary the God-bearer calls to us all. A pregnant, unmarried young woman who most would wish to write off, who by now may have endured whispered slurs, shame, and innuendo. Her story was unbelievable, and she knew it. Rather than let others shame her out of what God was working in her, she shouted it from the rooftops. This week, let us pray in the form and spirit of Mary. Let us proclaim with confidence what God has done for us.