Let It Be
Psalm 24
Isaiah 7:10-14
Luke 1:26-38
Luke 1:26-38 may be my favorite story in all of scripture. I never tire of reading it. I'll point out two things that stir me this Advent as I listen to the story yet again.
First, Gabriel announces to Mary that she is the "graced one" and that "God is with her." The usual translation, "favored one" misleads us. The idea of "favor" implies that some are not favored. The Greek word used twice in the passage is the root word for "grace."
Mary is the graced one. I have heard sermons about how beautiful Mary was, how innocent, how childlike . . . all products of fertile contemporary imaginations. In fact, some within the Christian tradition have built elaborate theological systems around Mary's sinlessness and virtue, suggesting this is why God chose her.
I'm not saying any of those things are untrue; however, if any of these imagined virtues become the basis for God choosing her, then this is not longer grace. It becomes merit and earning.
Grace is God's bestowal of God's self upon the world, with no regard for who deserves and who doesn't deserve. In fact, in the economy of grace, there is no such thing as deserving or undeserving.
(If it is God and grace you are talking about, you cannot even say, "God comes to the least deserving." There is no category of deserving or undeserving with God . . . only imperfect people who need to return to their grounding in God.)
Grace is the Farmer scattering seed on the entire field, broadcasting it wildly, freely, wastefully, and extravagantly, without regard for the state of the field . . . whether the soil is rocky, weed-filled, hard-pan, or tilled. (Mark 4:1-8)
So yes, Mary is graced and God is with her. But this isn't an announcement of something new. Rather, these words remind Mary -- and us -- of what is true always and everywhere. The words of grace and God's presence are true just as much of you and me as they are true of Mary. For this reason, the Christian spiritual life is not about acquiring something new, but about seeing, opening up, and receiving what God has already said and done . . . seeing ourselves as graced and knowing always that God is with us.
Second, Mary's response to Gabriel's announcement is simple acceptance, a quiet "Yes!" . . . "Let it be to me as you have said."
In my imagination, I often wonder if Gabriel visited other Galilean girls with the same greeting, only to be told, "No, I won't do it." Mary said "Yes."
"Let it be" is not a statement of resignation. Rather, the words declare an openness to join in and to partner with God in this world-altering event. They signify Mary's willingness to go to a place she had never been before, to explore whatever lay beyond the bounds of her imagination, and to trust God. She willingly steps into the unknown with God.
For decades I assumed that Sir Paul McCartney's "Let It Be" remembered this Mary, the mother of Jesus.
When I find myself in times of trouble,
Mother Mary comforts me;
Speaking words of wisdom:
Let it be.
Only recently I heard Sir Paul say in an interview that "Mother Mary" was his own mother. She died when he was young, and in a time when he was particularly despondent over her death, she appeared to him one night in a dream to comfort him. "Let it be," she said.
"Let it be in me" . . . that's pretty good counsel, whether from Mary, mother of Jesus . . . or Mary, mother of Sir Paul.
For Reflection:
** Hear the message Gabriel spoke to Mary as if the angel spoke it over you: "Behold, graced one; God is with you." Meditate on those words as you hear them spoken into you.
** In what ways do you need to say to God today, "Let it be in me as you have said"? Consider one or two specific areas of your life right now. If you are honestly able to speak these words to God, do so.
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