“There’s Something About Mary” is a 1998 rom-com film. It begins in 1985 in Providence, Rhode Island, when 16-year-old high school student, Ted Stroehmann, is about to go on a prom date with his dream girl, Mary Jensen. Ted misses the date because of hospitalisation and loses contact with Mary. Thirteen years later he is still in love with her and discovers she is an orthopaedic surgeon living in Miami. Ted hires a private detective to find Mary, but this all goes wrong resulting in a further three or four men falling in love with Mary. Hence the title, “There’s Something About Mary.” No one could really put their finger on it, but there was “something about Mary.”
This reminds me of Mary the Mother of Jesus. Within the Catholic and Orthodox tradition, many believers tend to venerate her, even pray to her. Some have statues in their churches but also in their homes. In contrast, many within non-Catholic traditions are usually just not sure what to do with Mary! There is “something about Mary” but many are not quite sure what or how to respond. Matthew Henry, a great theologian of the 18th Century, righted noted that she was ‘… the mother of our Lord, of whom he was to be born, whom, though we are not to pray to, yet we ought to praise God for.” And certainly, Mary is centre stage in the nativity accounts of the Gospels.
Take a moment to read Luke 1:26-56.
What do we learn about Mary in this passage? She was probably just a teenager, engaged to Joseph, an up-and-coming carpenter. She is looking forward to married life, planning her future with Joseph. As any young woman, she no doubt had her ambitions for their life together. She is living in obscurity and probably in a level of poverty.
One day she gets a visitation from one of God’s top angel messengers, Gabriel. In verse 30, Gabriel’s opening words are to tell her she is “favoured” (ESV). The NIV and KJV translates as “highly favoured.” Kenneth Wuest’s Expanded Translation of the New Testament says “Be rejoicing, because you have been encompassed with favour.” Mary is already troubled before Gabriel gets to the main point! This declaration of being favoured reminds me of how at Jesus’ baptism, the voice of God is heard saying “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:17). God’s grace and favour are never predicated on our performance.
Without looking at the further words of Gabriel (you can read them), I draw your attention to Mary’s response in verse 389: “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord: let it be to me according to your word.” I am sure that in the intervening moments between Gabriel’s appearance and departing, much runs through Mary’s mind: ‘How long will I be able to hide this? How am I going to tell Joseph? What am I going to tell Joseph? Will this be the end of my relationship with the love of my life? What will people in my village say? How will they react? What will they think of me? Might they stone me, thinking I have been unfaithful to Joseph? Will there ever be another relationship with a man?’
And yet, she is still willing to accept the assignment from God: “Let it be according to your word.”
There is much more that could be said about Mary, but I will say this: if nothing else, Mary is an example for us to follow.
What can we learn? Our current level of obscurity and poverty (lack of knowledge, ability, experience or resources etc….) is no hindrance to God’s call on our lives or the magnitude of the assignment God may have in mind for us. God’s grace and favour towards us precede the calling and assignment, and yet also accompany them. May we be ready to give up our own vision for our lives and our ambitions willingly and readily to embrace the call of God, whatever that may entail even as it changes our future and affect our reputation or is cause for being ridiculed, threatened or slandered.
We have the privilege of carrying the world’s saviour into our communities, our workplaces or places of education etc… through the words our mouth and through how we treat our neighbour and this cause for great rejoicing! Later, during Mary’s visit to her cousin Elizabeth, Mary says “My spirit rejoices in God my Saviour.”
May we rejoice in Him at this Christmas time.