You Were There (2/21/04)
If anywhere in Scripture there is an example of the childlike faith Jesus called for, it is found here in Mary's response to Gabriel's declaration. There is not one shred of disbelief to be found in this response. Though she has been visited by a total stranger who seems to know more about her than one would expect, she is swift to recognize his words as authoritative, and reacts only with a desire to better understand what is to happen.
I think that we are given to see her innocence, inasmuch as any one born on this earth can be declared to have innocence, in her immediate acceptance of Gabriel. His visit, his presence in this place where men should not be, his knowledge of her name which he ought not to have known, being a stranger, all of these things would have fired off alarm bells in the mind of another. But, for this young child Mary, none of these things present a problem. Indeed, in her mind, they never were a problem. It was the idea of being favored, the idea of God as companion that had caused her panic, not his presence, not his knowledge of things unknowable, not even the news that she would bear Messiah!
Once more, I am led to think her reaction incomprehensible except the Holy Spirit pervaded that whole encounter. Even so, He not being the type to simply submerge one's character by His own, what we are seeing is not the Holy Spirit, but Mary in her truest form. She truly was an intelligent child, well versed in Scripture. The things that trouble her out of this whole interchange display her humility every bit as much as her final acquiescence. Gabriel does not trouble her, being highly favored troubles her. This was a threat to her very real humility, a temptation to pride, and it was this, more than anything else that caused her alarm. It was the temptation to sin present in that encounter that upset her.
Can I enter into this scene at all? This young child, home alone, is met with declarations regarding her future that are spoken with such certainty, and yet are so incredible in the magnitude of their implications as to be wholly unbelievable. Yet, she believes it. She doesn't even hesitate for a moment, simply accepts the unacceptable, with no further question than, "OK. I hear you. So, how do I proceed?"
Oh, Lord! For such a childlike faith! Oh, to be free of the calculation and consideration that seems so inescapable in every thought! How would I react, Lord? How do I react? How often do I reject what You are saying because I cannot understand it? How much of You have I missed for that very same reason? Teach me, Lord, to have that childlike heart You so desire!
New Thoughts (2/22/04-2/24/04)
This verse really ought to settle any question the scholars may maintain they have regarding the Virgin birth. They argue that the word previously used to describe her, parthenon, may mean no more than young girl of marriageable age. Mary's reaction to Gabriel's message has her reiterating this fact, though, and not by the same words. She does not, as some translations might lead one to suspect, say that she is parthenon. What she says is that she andra ou ginooskoo. She is saying that it is unequivocal fact that she has not known a man. Now, we can look at that and say that she still has not declared herself a virgin explicitly, but not with any degree of honesty. The word allows of different meaning, but not the context. In most immediate sense, it clearly means something more than to be acquainted with a man. She doubtless has met at least a cousin or two in her life. Beyond that, the subject she is speaking to is the matter of child bearing. She knows enough to know she cannot do that solo. It is in this regard that she points this out to her visitor. He apparently knows her name, but perhaps he is unaware that the marriage has not yet occurred. The sum of it is this: however much the phrasing may have been couched in euphemisms, the underlying fact remains clear to any but the most obtuse of readers. Mary was a virgin, at the time of this meeting and, as we shall see further on, Joseph did his part to ensure she remained so until the time of Jesus birth.
The critical fact is plainly established: Jesus was born of woman, but not of man. His was, indeed, an immaculate conception. Here, many have found temptation to push to a different extreme, claiming that Jesus was in no wise truly human, but was wholly the creation of the Holy Spirit. As it was the Holy Spirit's overshadowing that brought forth the seed, they will argue that He who grew from that seed was of the substance of the planter. The problem with this view is that, if Jesus is so wholly divine, and Mary no more than an incubator, then the fact of His sinless life is of no use to man, for it had nothing in common with man. Were this view right, then Jesus could as well have looked upon us in that final moment on the cross and said, as He had previously said to His mother, "what have I to do with you? What have we got in common with each other?" But this was not what He did. Indeed, in that moment, He once more fully embraced the humanity in Himself, acknowledged for the first time in many years, the bond between Himself and His very earthly mother, and saw to it that the immediate needs of her earthly existence were seen to. If Christ were wholly divine, having nothing of humanity in Himself, what call for this action?
There's another issue with this view of Jesus: If Christ were made of the substance of the Holy Spirit, this would imply that the Holy Spirit's substance could be made. If His substance can be made, then He is a created being, and not eternal God. As we are made sure that God, in His Trinity, is One - One in essence, and One in substance, then any suggestion that the Holy Spirit in substance is less than eternal must also be a suggestion that God in substance is less than eternal. It must, then, be a claim that God is not. No, Jesus was made of the substance of Mary, the substance of mankind. In essence, however, He remained wholly God. God could not cease to be God. Eternal essence cannot change. Incomprehensible though it may be to us, we must hold to the fact that Jesus was and is, at one and the same time wholly man and wholly God.
In considering Mary, and her rather surprising reaction to Gabriel's words, it is tempting to think that her reaction is wholly due to the influence of the Holy Spirit in the midst of that situation. After a fashion, this is true, but it occurred to me that there is a deeper truth revealed in what we see of Mary. What we see of her in this verse is not an anomaly, but, as Scripture will bear out, it is typical of Mary. What I find, then, is this: It is only when the Holy Spirit has wholly filled us, filled us to overflowing, that we can be seen in our truest form. Growing up in a fallen world has taught us to guard ourselves. We have been trained into an expertise in appearances, easily blending in with whatever the surrounding culture of the moment might be. When we are fully immersed in the Holy Spirit, when we have truly made ourselves His abode, then all this pretense is washed away, and the true self is finally allowed out.
There is, after our rebirth, the seed of the new man planted in us. This is not some alien seed, but rather a replanting of the seed from which we are supposed to have grown. Corruption had reached the very seed of man, and no person born of man could escape that corruption. From Adam on down, every one of us was born in sin, and this has ever lead to a corruption of society and all its institutions. God has made it plain enough that among mankind, there is not one to be found who is good. Some may be better than others, but none are truly good. None can claim the promise of God by their own merit. That is established. Yet, there are those in whom the corruption does not seem to be so widespread, and these may well learn to hide such innocence as remains in them in the interest of self preservation.
The culture of Israel in that day, still seen in many Middle Eastern cultures today, insisted that the woman be hidden, her innocence kept from the defiling sight of corrupt man. This seems symbolic of the shell we each one of us build around ourselves, to protect our vulnerability. But, to those predestined by God, chosen by Him for salvation, there has come the Holy Spirit. He settles upon us like a shield, a tower impenetrable by the worst assault that can be mustered against Him. Our vulnerability finds in Him its perfect protection, and learns, under His tutelage, to set aside its own poor defenses. That vulnerable inner man is precisely the soil in which the seeds of rebirth have germinated, and the pure, undefiled man of God begun his growth. If we would know our progress from child to son, then this gives a measuring rod by which to test ourselves.
Have we learned to let down our defenses? Are we allowing the reborn seed within to show without? Or, are we still clinging to our old masks to hide our true selves away? For myself, I can only say that I am saddened by the answer. I know how often the public persona remains the dominant feature of my outward demeanor. There are ways I wish to be perceived, and I know myself well enough to be concerned as to how far I will go to preserve that image. Inasmuch as I am concerned with image, I have allowed culture to inform me, rather than taking my rightful place as a man of God, and informing the culture around me. This is not the way of a mature son. This is the way of a child.
God, I stand convicted by my own words, and I know it. Yet, in Your presence how dare I be less than honest with myself? Upon what defense could I possibly stand, except that which You have provided me in Your Son? Oh! To be like Him! It is my great desire, and yet my great fear. That is the truth of it. How long have I sought to live life by avoiding consequences, Lord? When will I grow up enough to live a life of consequence, instead? There has been growth. I know that, and I thank You for it. Yet, there is so much of the child still in me, that I fear never to mature.
Where, Lord, is the boldness of my Brother in me? Where is the willingness to stand firm, and declare Your truth come what may? God, can there be such a thing as a safe Christian? I think not, yet it seems I have tried for that goal. Forgive my foolishness, then, and set me firm upon the path. By my own understanding, it seems clear to me that I have not yet made myself the abode of You, Holy Spirit, but I ask that You come and make Yourself more fully at home in me today. Sweep out all that is not fitting in Your house. Make plain to me the walled tower of Your protection about me, that I may make plain to all who see me Your presence within.
God! I don't want to remain a child. You have called me son, and son I shall be. With Mary, I must ask You, though, How am I to do this? I doubt not that You will accomplish it. If, however, You were willing to give me greater understanding as to how and when, I pray You would find me willing and ready to pursue the course You reveal.
If there is one key learning to pull out of the whole story up to this point, I think it is to be found in the contrast between Zacharias and Mary. Both were met by this same messenger, come from God's throne. Both were given similar messages, and for both, the message of a child to be born to them defied the physical realities of their present lives. Both were also given to understand that these children predicted by them would be key players in the drama of Messiah and redemption. Even in their reactions, there is a certain similarity of phrase. But there are critical differences in them, differences that distinguish the doubt of unbelief from the earnest curiosity of faith.
Zacharias heard the message, but was caught up in the impossibility of his role - so caught up that it seems the overarching news of Messiah's arrival was missed. His reaction was to seek assurance. "How am I to know this?" Thayer's lexicon suggests that his question was very much along the lines of "By what sign shall I know this?" Throughout Jesus' ministry there would be those who demanded a sign of Him. In every case, the demand was received by Him as a sign in itself: a sign of unbelief. Signs and wonders are well and good, and God promises that those who go forth in the power of the Gospel to declare His news will be accompanied by such. But, it is ever unbelief that wanders about in search of such signs. In so much as we are hunting after signs, demanding wonders, in just so much are we shouting out to God that we don't believe Him, that we require of Him more than just His word.
What Mary heard was even more impossible than what Zacharias had been told. For him, there were at least the prerequisites of man and woman bound in matrimony. For him, there was at least the possibility, however slim at his age, for nature to take its course. The weight of experience was against him, but there was at least the slim possibility that even without divine intervention a child could come from his loins. For Mary, there was no such fulfilling of the prerequisites. For her, the impossibility was much more plain. Half of the equation for childbirth was missing. Yet, she does not speak from unbelief. There is not the slightest hint of "How am I supposed to believe that?" in her response. Hers is a how of submission. In Mary, the question is "in what way is this to be done?" "How may I comply with this?"
So, the one expresses a desire to be certain, the other a desire to be taught. When God speaks of impossibilities to us, how do we respond? Do we hold Him to be true? Do we accept that all things are possible with God? Do we truly know at our very core that with Him all things are possible? This is not, by any means, to suggest that we should blindly accept every messenger that comes to us claiming to speak God's word into our lives. Many make claims to missions they have not been given. Many false prophets have ever been sent by the enemy in hopes of obscuring the true message. No, we are called to be wise in our innocence - wise, but not incorrigibly skeptical. When the True Word comes, it is likely to be even more unbelievable than the false claims of the false prophets. Our senses will scream out to us of the impossibility of what the Word says will be. It is acceptable in God's sight to have a 'how' in our heart when such impossibilities are presented to us. But, again, the heart of the matter is the matter of the heart. Which how is given voice? Do we become sign seekers, declaring our unbelief, or do we walk as servants of the Most High God, seeking only a greater understanding so as to comply more fully?
Some will step over into unbelief even at hearing His voice. Many a Christian, proclaiming himself a believer, will doubt the very idea that one could hear God today. This is unbelief. This is the spirit of the age, the unhealthy scientific rationalism of post-modern man, so fully divided from his Maker that he can no longer accept anything that his senses cannot directly explore. Many a Christian, proclaiming himself a believer, will accept the idea that God is speaking, but only if He provides the display of signs and wonders in confirmation. This is still unbelief, but perhaps dressed up a little better.
God is still very present in His creation, and He is still just as intimately involved in the slightest details of creation as ever He was. He has not changed. He still makes promises to us that seem utterly impossible to our highly trained, scientifically informed understanding. And, His promises are just as true and certain as ever they were. If we truly believe the God of Truth, if we have truly learned to hear the voice of the Shepherd, we will not hesitate to accept His instructions or His promises, however unbelievable they may be. Our only concern will be how to comply with His instruction, how to passionately pursue His purpose. Indeed, there will be a how - the impossible cannot but create a how in us, if our brains are yet active. But, the how will be a how of acceptance and submission to authority. It will be a 'how shall I comply?'
Lord, may my how always be one of these. I have come, over the course of these times with You, to be very comfortable with the fact that questions don't offend You when the heart that asks is right with You. I have also become uncomfortably aware that there is within me that which asks as Zacharias asked. There have been promises that seemed too unbelievable. There have been promises whose origins I was unclear on, because I was not well enough attuned to Your voice to decide whether the message was genuine. Forgive me my unpreparedness. Sometimes, my King, I despair of properly discerning the line between the 'wisdom of serpents' and the skepticism of fools. You and I both know my natural bent towards the latter. I trust in You to train me to remain within the bounds of the former. You alone can restore to me the innocence in which such wisdom can dwell. You alone can wash away the mental and moral characteristics of a lifetime, and bring me forth renewed of mind, cleansed of spirit, and wise in innocence. I lay it in Your hands, then, as my faithful Shepherd, to work in me these things, to create in me a heart of flesh, to attune my ears more fully to Your command. Oh, let every how of mine from this point forward be "how shall I do," and never "how can I believe!"
