Daily Gospel Reflection

The Power of Mary’s Question

Welcome back to Radical and Relevant. Today's reading is from the Gospel of Luke 1:26-38.

"In the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David, and the virgin's name was Mary. And he came to her and said, Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you.' But she was greatly troubled at the saying and considered in her mind what sort of greeting this might be. And the angel said to her, 'Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son. And you shall call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David. And he will reign over the house of Jacob forever. And of his kingdom there will be no end.' And Mary said to the angel, 'How can this be since I have no husband?' And the angel said to her, 'The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore, the child to be born will be called Holy, the Son of God. And behold, your kinswoman, Elizabeth, in her old age, has also conceived a son. And this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. For with God, nothing is impossible.' And Mary said, 'Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. Let it be done unto me according to your word.' And the angel departed."

What jumps out at you today? It's a beautiful reading. It's a rich reading. It's a reading we've heard many times. Some of the things that jump out at me is sort of the naming, some of the ways these readings are set up. "In the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent fro God to the city of Galilee named Nazareth to a virgin betrothed a man whose name was Joseph of the Son of David." There's a dozen prophecies being fulfilled in that first sentence. And this is why the writers of the Gospel inspired by the Holy Spirit, this is why they wrote it this way. It was to establish Jesus as a real person in a real place, in a real time, but also to reflect that he was fulfilling these promises, these prophecies from the Old Testament.

But the thing that jumped out at me the most today was Mary's question. The angel delivers the news and Mary asks, "How can this be since I have no husband?" Even the question is a question of faith. Sometimes people will ask you a question, and we see people questioning Jesus like this all the time. They are not interested in the truth. It is not a question of faith. It is not a question seeking truth or wisdom. It is a question designed to trip you up or to trip Jesus up or to cast doubt or cynicism or skepticism on the situation. But Mary's question is a beautiful question because it's a question of faith. She doesn't say to the angel, [laughter] "Angel, that's impossible. I don't have a husband. I haven't been with a man. It's impossible for me to have a baby."

She doesn't say that. She asked the angel, "How can this be?" And implied in her question, implicit, explicit in her question is faith, is the belief that it can be and the humility of Mary that she doesn't understand how it can be. She believes it can be, but she doesn't understand how it can be. And she's asked the angel, "How can this be? Angel, can you explain it to me? I believe, but can you help me understand? Can you explain it to me?" It's a beautiful question. It's a question of faith. So let's think about what are the questions we're asking of God? What are the questions we're asking of other people? And are there questions that are seeking truth, beauty, and goodness? Or are they questions that are designed to create doubt and skepticism and cynicism and then trip people up? Have a great day and remember, Be Bold, Be Catholic.