If you were in Mary's shoes, and the angel Gabriel came to you to tell you that you would conceive and give birth to a son, how would you respond? Perhaps you might be excited, elated or happy and humbled to be given such honour and opportunity. Perhaps some locations of society today are more tolerant and understanding towards such a situation, and if you are in such a society, then you may experience less issues. But supposing you are in a place, like Mary, where becoming pregnant out of wedlock was unacceptable, or even a crime or a sin? How would you respond then?
In
today's Gospel, the angel Gabriel told Mary that she would conceive and
give birth to a son and his name would be Jesus. Certainly Mary would
have been fearful of the consequence of having a child in this way,
since she could be accused of adultery and stoned to death for becoming
pregnant before marriage, as she was only betrothed and not yet married.
But the angel assured her that God would take care of things and that
nothing is impossible to God, since her kinswoman Elizabeth has, in her
old age, herself conceived a son, and she whom people called barren is
now in her sixth month. When Mary heard these, she chose to have faith
and trust in God and said: "I am the handmaid of the Lord, let what you
have said be done to me."
What about us? Are we willing
to put our trust and faith in God, no matter how difficult or
challenging the situation may seem? Would we let God take care of things
and continue to do His will? May we, like Mary, remain courageous and
confident, and leave it in the hands of the Lord.
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