READ: Luke 1:26-35; 38
26 In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, 27 to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28 The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”

29 Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. 30 But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. 31 You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”

34 “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”

35 The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God… 38 “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her.

REFLECT: Luke tells us of the birth of Jesus in two short sentences: “The time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger.” (Luke 2:6-7) As it is for most mothers, Christmas Day was just the beginning for Mary. In the coming weeks, months and then years, she would watch her firstborn son grow up; she would see his first steps, hear his first word, and clean up his first skinned knee. Of course with Jesus there would be so much more including his first sermon and first miracle (for which Mary was present).

But for Mary, the day Jesus was born also marked the culmination of a journey that began when the angel visited her nine months earlier. The news she received that day was astonishing. “You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus.” It was so unexpected that Mary at first couldn’t believe what she heard. “How will this be,” she said. “I’m a virgin.”

Then the angel gave her an answer I doubt she ever fully understood; “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.” Her response? “May your word to me be fulfilled.”

We know from what the angel told her that day that she was, “highly favored.” And it was true. But we also know that this “favor” included great hardship as well. Because of the nature of her pregnancy, there was a cloud over her that lingered perhaps for the rest of her life. And her life would not be an easy one, included an unexpected relocation to Egypt and watching her son emerge as God’s Messiah only to see the authorities turn on him, executing him on a Roman cross.

RESPOND: So what does this have to do with us? Well, sometimes God has something difficult he wants us to do. In other words, his will for us in the moment may not lead to fame, wealth and glory, but to inconvenience and hardship. We often ask God to show us his will for my life, and it’s an important question. But sometimes the question is not, “what should I do?” but “will I obey?” – a much more important question. So when God asks you to do something hard, how will you respond? Will you start bargaining; see if you can get out of whatever it is God is asking you to do? Or will you say as Mary did, “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Is God asking you to do something hard? Are you willing to trust him and obey?