Divine --> Human

Nothing is impossible with God, so what will be possible for God through us?

There have been moments in my life that remain beyond my comprehension. Some of them I remember and others have been told to me over the years. All of them mystify me.

When I was four years-old I had a conversation with Jesus in the backseat of my family’s van. I cannot believe that happened. When I was twenty-three years-old and in Quito, Ecuador a charismatic preacher gave me a blessing that knocked me over. I did not think something like that was possible. When I was twenty-four years-old I and in the middle of the Easter Vigil I experienced a visceral call to serve in God’s Church. I still am trying to grasp that instant.

Each of these experiences of the Divine do not make rational sense to me. While they were all very human in nature, it is hard for this human to comprehend that these things actually happened. In much the same way I wonder about Mary’s visit from the angel Gabriel.

Today we celebrate the Feast of the Annunciation. The Church usually observes this festive moment on March Twenty-Fifth—nine months before Christmas Day. However, this year that date fell in the middle of Holy Week and so it has been transferred to the first available day when we have regular worship here at St. John’s. This is the day when we recall the preposterous story of God choosing Mary to bear God’s Son into the world—a little splash of the Nativity right here in the midst of Easter!

While the Annunciation may stand out to some as an unusual story, God does enter into the lives of humans. I do not think I am unique in my experiences of the Divine. Truthfully, I believe God knocks on the door of all of our hearts on a daily basis. Do we pay attention to how God enters into our lives?

Mary was paying attention. When Gabriel came to her saying, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.” She was perplexed and pondered what was happening, but she at least saw God’s messenger in her midst. How often do I miss God’s messengers now?

As the conversation continued, we as listeners get an inner glimpse into the heart of Mary. While she was favored, her heart was afraid. God’s messenger tried to calm Mary. Gabriel told her who this child would be—the Son of the Most High God whose kingdom will have no end. Mary’s response reveals her lovely human concern.

Mary did not get glimpses of grandeur as Gabriel spoke. Instead she had a practical concern. She wondered, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” Mary here modeled for us being open to God, but also remaining who we are. She did not think too highly of herself. Instead she aimed to humbly serve God, even if things did not make sense.

Gabriel responded by expressing how God would make unbelievable thing a reality. The messenger told how the Holy Spirit would be with her, how her barren cousin Elizabeth was with child, and how nothing is impossible with God. God provided a means, proof of God’s power, and why that was the case through Gabriel’s words. Even then though, I imagine that Mary had a million questions. Instead of getting stuck on them though, she responded by saying, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.”

Mary’s example for us stands out as magnificent. She showed us that when God breaks into our lives we may not fully comprehend it. However, we can say yes to it. Still, Mary’s model gives us something more.

Sometimes I find a certain aspect about the life of Christ Jesus difficult to comprehend. The Church teaches that Christ Jesus was completely divine and completely human. Like other mysteries of our Faith this makes my head hurt. Mary’s life though helps me to form a sort of bridge that begins to give me deeper understanding.

Mary was a mere mortal. She was fully human, we might say. And yet, she had encounters with angels. She bore the completely human, completely divine Christ Jesus within her. She was the God-bearer, or as the Orthodox say, “the Theotokos.” Even though she was a lowly human, the God of the whole universe came to dwell within her. If this is possible—for nothing is impossible with God—then of course a fully human, fully divine Christ Jesus seems possible.

While this still may be hard for us to get our minds around, Mary helps us to know that God yearns to be in our lives. The fully human, fully divine Jesus was born through the fully human Mary. What might God bear through us regular, old humans? Nothing is impossible with God, so what will be possible for God through us?