Luke 1: 34-38
” “How will this be,’ Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?’ 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. Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. For no word from God will ever fail.’
“I am the Lord’s servant,’ Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.’ Then the angel left her.”
Unlike Zechariah who questioned the credibility of The Messenger, Mary’s question is a practical one. She correctly understood The Messenger to mean that this thing that was to happen was imminent. She already knew the who, what, when, and where. She probably knew the “why” as well. What she didn’t know was how. It was this question of “how” that led Abraham and Sarah to try and fulfill God’s promise of a child through her Egyptian slave instead of waiting on God. (Genesis 16) Mary wants to wait on the Lord but she needs to know how.
The angel graciously and patiently answers her question. In addition, the angel adds the confirming evidence of Elizabeth’s pregnancy. Finally, her question answered, Mary gives an elegant and very appropriate response, “I am the Lord’s servant. May your word to me be fulfilled.”
Q: How do you think you would respond to a message from God saying, in effect, that your world was about to be turned upside down and inside out?
That is a good question. I think He does turn our world upside down so that we depend on His resources rather than our own. Moses responded by saying, “Please send someone else” (Exodus 4: 13). I too feel that way, i suppose that is the norm. Mary’s response is extraordinary and a good role model for all of us.