Mary's Response to an Angel Visitor

"The Annunciation" by Paolo de Matteis

The Magnificat, or the Song of Mary, is found in Luke 1. Here is the beginning:

⁴⁶And Mary said,

My soul doth magnify the Lord,

⁴⁷And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.

⁴⁸For He hath regarded the low estate of His

handmaiden: for, behold, from henceforth all

generations shall call me blessed.

⁴⁹For he that is mighty hath done to me

great things; and holy is His name.

(I apologize to those who prefer the more modern translations, but I like this one in the King James.)

This is famous as the response of Mary to the news that she will bear the Savior. Her song is often contrasted with the answer of her cousin's husband Zacharias, who received the news that his old and barren wife would bear John the Baptist. He said, "How can I know this is true?" to the angel Gabriel, which was a bad move on his part.

Zacharias gets struck dumb for nine months after that little breach of etiquette. Although there's no Emily Post for Angelic Visitations, it does appear that as a Levite and high priest he should have known better.

However, in re-reading the account in Luke, I noticed that the Magnificat does not in fact follow the Annunciation, but instead it occurs after the Visitation.

"The Visitation" By Edward Von Steinle

Putting that in normal language, the Song of Mary is not the Virgin's response to the angel Gabriel at all. She doesn't sing it until she goes to see her cousin Elizabeth.

She doesn't produce this beautiful song of steadfast faith until after she's had time to absorb the shock of being visited by an angel and getting pregnant by the Holy Ghost and all. Plus, it's also after Mary receives confirmation of the word of the angel through her cousin, who calls her "the mother of my Lord."

All Mary says to the angel Gabriel is, "Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word."

One could interpret that as a shell-shocked, "Um. Okay." (speaking of more modern translations...)

So although it's certainly true that Mary had great faith, greater than the priest Zacharias of course, she was not some idealized paragon who immediately spouted poetry upon hearing the most shocking news anyone had ever received. She took her time and allowed God to work through her, and when the time was right she was ready to sing her beautiful song.

In other words, the greatness of Mary's faith was not found in her own abilities, but in her willingness to allow God to demonstrate His power through her. And God was patient with her, allowing her to seek the comfort of her cousin Elizabeth and giving her time to learn to accept the strange new thing that had happened to her.

This should be a comfort to those of us who aren't quite ready to sing praises to the Lord after an unexpected turn in life sends us reeling. God understands that we need time, and He is patient with us as well. He wants us to submit to His will, but He doesn't force us.

But if we are able to respond, "Behold the handmaiden of the Lord," He'll bless our timid acquiescence with abundance.

He will take our, "Um. Okay," and turn it into poetry for His glory!