I am always
interested in what my fellow Latter-day Saints write when they touch the topic
of Mary (see my book, Behold the Mother of My Lord: Towards a Mormon Mariology [2017]). Lisa Halverson, in the
chapter, “Mary, the Mother of Jesus Christ,” wrote the following about Mary as
an example of one who humbly listened to God and obedience to his words:
As a young woman—not much more than a girl—Mary,
daughter of Anna and Joachim, heard and saw the angel Gabriel. He spoke these
words to her: “Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee;
blessed art thou among women” (Luke 1:28).
Mary “was troubled at his saying, and cast in
her mind what manner of salutation should be” (Luke 1:29). Her confusion is
understandable. Though of the line of David, her family held no great position
or wealth. They lived in Nazareth, the backwaters of the Roman Empire, in a village
of two hundred to four hundred people, where everyone knew everyone else. By
order of the Jewish queen Salome Alexandra one hundred years before, the boys
were literature. But their families were farmers and stonecutters (translated
as “carpenters” in the King James Version of the Bible), finding work an hour’s
walk away in Sepphoris, the opulent Greek-style regional capital being built by
Herod Antipas. In her circumstance, Mary may not have felt particularly
favoured or blessed. In any case, it was clearly an unusual “manner of salutation,”
and she was confused and even a bit afraid.
Seeing Mary’s confusion, Gabriel added: “Fear
not, Mary, for thou hast found favour with God. And, behold, thou shalt
conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shall call his name JESUS”
(Luke 1:30-31).
Still confused and expressing “How shall this
be, seeing I know not a man?,” Mary continued to listen and was told that “with
God nothing shall be impossible” (Luke 1:37). Her ready response to hearing
Gabriel’s incredible message was faithful and trusting: “Behold the handmaid of
the Lord; be it unto me according to thy world” (Luke 1:38).
Many have wondered how she, not much older
than a child, could have such faith. It may have come from her close listening
to Gabriel’s words. Remember what he said:
Hail, thou that art highly favoured,
the Lord is with the . . .
Fear not, Mary: for thou hast
found favour with God. (Luke 1:38, 30; emphasis added)
First, her fears were assuaged as she heard
that the Lord was with her. And if He was with her, she could not fail!
Additionally, the assurance that she was “highly favoured” had meanings beyond
simply being a favorite. It also meant to be graced and honored with blessings
and to be made acceptable. Before Gabriel delivered the most earth-shattering
news she would ever hear, he told her that God would make her acceptable.
Hearing these words, she knew that the Lord would indeed magnify her for this
sacred and holy calling. He loved her, and through His grace, she was enough.
By the time Mary saw her cousin Elisabeth,
she had let the words she heard sink deep down into her very being: “My soul
doth magnify the Lord,” she exclaimed upon seeing Elisabeth! (Luke 1:46).
In the passage that follows (often called the
Magnificat), Mary testifies of the
same grace she heard from Gabriel:
[H]e that is mighty hath done to
me great things; and holy is his name.
And his mercy is on them that fear
him from generation to generation.
He hath shewed strength with his
arm; he hath scattered the proud in the
imagination of their hearts.
He hath put down the mighty from
their seats, and exalted them of low
degree.
He hath filled the hungry with
good things; and the rich he hath sent
empty away.
He hath holpen his servant Israel,
in remembrance of his mercy. (Luke 1:49-[54])
This beautiful testimony grew deep during the
three-month period that would have included morning sickness; derision, shame,
and exclusion from many of her small-town neighbors; and nearly the end of her
betrothal to her beloved Joseph. Surely she was a woman of immeasurable faith.
Still, how was she so certain of God’s goodness when her own life was so
tumultuous? Because she had listened closely when a messenger from God spoke to
her, telling her that there was no need to fear because God was with her and
would “favour” her—as He favors all of His children who come upon him!—by magnifying
her and making her equal to the assignments that lay before her. (Taylor D.
Halverson, Lisa R. Halverson, and Tyler J. Griffin, Hear Him: Listening to the Voice of God in Scriptures and in Our Lives
[Line of Sight Publishing, 2020], 80-83; the names of Mary's parents are not provided in canonical scripture but appears in extra-biblical texts such as the Protoevangelium of James)