Grumpy Advent Reflections #5

In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the House of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. He went in and said to her, ‘Rejoice, so highly favoured! The Lord is with you.’ She was deeply disturbed by these words and asked herself what this greeting could mean, but the angel said to her,
‘Mary, do not be afraid; you have won God’s favour.
Listen! You are to conceive and bear a son, and you must name him Jesus.
(Reading from Mass)

Here she comes . . .Mary!

Mary? Pretty hard to have the Christmas story without her.

Mary? The reason people most often gave me as to why I should NOT become a Catholic.

Mary? Do I really understand her, see behind the history, see the woman?

I chose to write about this today because Mary doesn’t have much of a place in my theology or my spirituality.

In Catholic tradition though Mary features fairly prominently – but Marian devotions (Eg the Rosary) have never done much for me.

I’m not anti or aggressive. More ambivalent.

After selecting the reading today, I dug out my commentary and tried to get in behind the text.

Nazareth was a town of about 150. Talk about small. Talk about insignificant.

Talk about an insignificant fifteen-year-old girl in an insignificant place being propelled into the big league of changing the world!

Mary then is the model believer who says “yes” to God, despite her circumstances and her physical/social/political position.

And (I love this bit) she is the beginning of the rogues gallery of believers, like sinners, women, little people, the outcasts, who no-one of that time would have considered suitable to respond to Gods revelation.

Perhaps then Mary can be become a starting point of inclusiveness for me.
If God can include Mary in his plan (and we rightly remember her for this) then maybe I can really believe that God can include me too – and those other who give me the whoops!

Hail Mary!