I have been thinking a lot about Mary this Christmas season, especially after the amazing new videos put out by the Church about the birth of Christ (visit lds.org to view these clips). What really stuck out to me was the visit of the angel Gabriel to Mary to tell her she would be the mother of Jesus the Savior of the World. I think of how I myself would feel if I had received such a calling. The fact that she was only 14 years old at the time adds to the tremendous respect I feel for her response. In those time infidelity when espoused could mean at best rejection by society and future spouse and at worst death by stoning. I am sure she feared what would happen to her as she faced the community as an espoused women now pregnant. How many would believe her? What would Joseph do? Ultimately her fate rested in his hands and in his belief or unbelief of her claim to be the mother of the Christ. And even if Joseph believed her what would her family, friends, neighbors, community say? For the rest of her life she could be marked as an adulterer and scorned and regarded as a fallen and degraded youth. Besides all of these challenges I can think of more; what would it feel like to know you would raise the perfect Son of God? I think of my first day in the mission field and how overwhelmed and unprepared I felt. There are few more frightful and uncomfortable feelings than those of inadequacy and the sense of being overwhelmed with things we feel we are not up to performing. I am sure being told I would raise the Savior of the World would be far more overwhelming than anything I have ever been asked to do for the Lord. And ultimately I can only imagine the pain of being a mother watching a son go through what Christ would go through, scorned and hated of men, rejected by his own, and ultimately, to watch him bleed and die on the cross, suffering for our shortcomings, sorrows, and sins, knowing that just hours before he had bled from every pore under the pain and pressure of performing the infinite and all powerful Atonement. I am not a mother but I can only imagine how that would feel to watch the man I raised and cared for for 33 years go through what the Savior went through. And yet, Mary did not let these doubts, fears, and feelings of inadequacy stop her from performing what the Lord asked her to do. I am sure she had a deep seeded testimony of our Heavenly Father and the wisdom of His will, His callings, His commandments. She knew the Lord knew she could do it and would do it. She knew that following the Lord's will brings blessings that far exceed any sorrow or ridicule the world can bring. She knew that ultimately we must all "trust in the Lord and lean not unto our own understanding". She knew that God would be with her every step of the way, and understood the honor and blessing of her calling, that she Mary, would be considered "blessed among women" (Luke 1:28). She may have understood the pains and struggles she might have because of her calling, but she also understood the amazing experience and blessing raising the literal Son of God would be. She understood who Christ was and the "glad tiding" the message of His coming really was. In short, she trusted God and his words. May we all learn to do as Mary did when we are called to do. Great blessings await those that do so, and as we seek to understand who God and Christ really are, we will gain the ability to trust
all his words, and we will have the strength to say as Mary did ""Behold the handmaid of the Lord;
be it unto me according to thy word" (Luke 1:38).
1-What can we learn from Gabriel? I think that we can learn that when we are asked of the Lord to open our mouths and teach/talk to people we are to do so. I am sure Gabriel was both excited and nervous for the news he brought; he knew the joy of the news but I am sure he also worried how Mary would react to it. I am sure he knew it was truth and something that would bless her life but it would also be hard to carry out. We, like Gabriel, must open our mouth still and focus on the blessings the gospel brings to people who hear it and not focus on the changes they will have to make and how hard it is. If we truly understand the blessings of the Lord through His restored gospel then sharing the message will be good news and not hard to hear. We will WANT to share it because we see the positive and the blessings rather than the "obligations". President Urchtdorf said "the gospel of Jesus Christ is a pathway not an obligation". Let us remember that as we share it with all who will hear us.
3-The angels brought unto the shepherds "glad tidings of good joy". Christ IS the glad tidings of good joy. Let us, like these angels, proclaim Christ to "all" (Luke 2:10) so that they too may come unto Christ. When we seek to truly understand who Christ is and utilize the Atonement in our own lives we will realize how wondeful the message of Christ truly is, and we will seek to share this message with all we can. "How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings; that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good; that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth;" (Mosiah 12:21 or Isaiah 52:7)
