In our last episode, we read about the events leading up to the birth of Jesus. Mary’s cousin Elizabeth and her husband, a priest named Zechariah, were experiencing a miracle. They were an elderly couple with no kids, but an angel named Gabriel visited Zechariah and told him that they would have a son. Despite their age and Elizabeth’s barrenness, Elizabeth became pregnant! However, Gabriel wasn’t finished delivering messages. He visited Mary and told her she was going to be pregnant too, and that her son was going to be called the Son of God! Let’s pick up where we left off:

Mary asked the angel, “But how can this happen? I am a virgin.” The angel replied, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the baby to be born will be holy, and he will be called the Son of God. What’s more, your relative Elizabeth has become pregnant in her old age! People used to say she was barren, but she has conceived a son and is now in her sixth month. For the word of God will never fail.” Mary responded, “I am the Lord’s servant. May everything you have said about me come true.” And then the angel left her. (Luke 1:34-38)

How about that? Mary understood how things work, so she replied, “But how can this happen? I’m a virgin!” Gabriel explained: “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.” How do you like that explanation? Do you think she understood that? I’m not sure she did. Nothing like this had never happened before! But to encourage her that God could accomplish His word, God had Gabriel share an additional piece of information: Elizabeth had become pregnant in her old age. Elizabeth, who had been barren and too old to have babies was now six months pregnant. Even if Mary didn’t understand how this could be, she chose to believe. Let’s listen to her response again: “I am the Lord’s servant. May everything you have said about me come true.” I like that, don’t you? Becoming pregnant was challenging enough, but it also meant she would have a lot of explaining to do the next time she saw Joseph. Even so, she still said to God, whatever You say, I’ll do.

Today, let’s humbly consider our own response when God calls us to do something, something we might be afraid to do. Something we can’t understand. Maybe you are in such a time right now, all of us are at one point or another. But let's agree together to respond like Mary did: “I am the Lord’s servant. May everything you have said about me come true.”