Luke 1:39-56
First, Mary is blessed in a manner that no one else is. We all are blessed by our Lord’s undeserved mercy, grace and forgiveness, to be sure. But Mary is blessed in a unique way; she is blessed with a unique gift and task. Elizabeth says, “Blessed are you among women,”—blessed more than anyone else. Somehow by the Holy Spirit, old Elizabeth knew and proclaimed this remarkable blessing.
But what did that mean for Mary? And did she understand that this would be a blessing through which other people would be blessed? These two women had come to the focal point and climax of God’s centuries-long plan and promise. As St. Paul would write: “When the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law” (Gal. 4:4). God would send His own eternal Son. The Son of God would come among us as any other human being. This is the marvelous, incredible thing that would happen through this young lady, a woman so humble, poor and lowly. This is the first blessing. Other young ladies would probably say, “No thank you! Not for me!” But Mary had said, “I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word” (Lk. 1:38).
What else does it mean that Mary is blessed? Second, it means that she is blessed for our benefit. She is a blessing for us and the world. If none of this had happened, if Jesus had not been born, we would still be in our sins. He existed in eternity, begotten of His Father before all worlds, very God of very God, begotten not made. And now He would be like each of us, true man, sharing our human nature, born of the Virgin Mary.
So Elizabeth asks, “Why is this granted to me?” Of course, she was wife of a priest. She was much higher on the social ladder than young Mary. Yet here she honors this young mother of low estate. Why should the mother of her Lord come to her?
The Greek word for “Lord” is kyrios. It also translates the Hebrew name for God, “Yahweh.” “This is God’s mother, the mother of the Lord Jesus Christ, coming to me,” Elizabeth confesses. And don’t let that term—“God’s mother”—bother you. Jesus is true God, begotten of the Father from eternity, and also true man, born of the Virgin Mary. The Greek word used for centuries is theotokos. It means, “God bearer,” or “mother of God,” the Son of God, that is, the Word become flesh. “Mary conceived and bore not merely a man and no more, but God’s true Son. Therefore, she also is rightly called and truly is “the mother of God” (FC Ep VIII:12).
The Son of God took up the very same human nature that Adam had. Now the climactic battle of the great cosmic fight would be fought. Now He would fight against the tempter, Satan. And Satan would try to get rid of this Second Adam just as he successfully got rid of the first one back in the garden.
So Mary is God’s mother. She herself is not God, but she carries God’s Son in her womb and in her heart. But it would be no easy task. She takes on a mother’s duties to love Him, educate Him and nurture Him; feed Him, change His dirty diapers and wipe His runny nose. It would be no easy task, especially in little backwater Nazareth. But she faithfully took it. It was her vocation given by God. When she gave birth to the Son of God, she treasured up all of those events and pondered them in her heart (Lk. 2:19). Then she heard that a sword would pierce her own soul, because her Son was “appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is opposed” (Lk. 2:34). When her Son was twelve years old in Jerusalem, she did not understand why He stayed behind in the temple to listen to teachers and ask them questions (Lk. 2:46). Then Mary had to do the hardest thing a mother can do. She had to stand there all day and look on as His enemies tormented Him, mocked Him, and put Him to death by nailing Him to a cross. That certainly was no easy task. Nor was it glorious. What human being, let alone a caring mother, would say they were privileged to see that?
This, though, is not what made her more blessed than other women. What made her blessed was the fruit of what happened to the Fruit of Mary’s womb. That was the blessing for us and for the whole world. The Son of God took on our human nature to rescue it from sin and death. Our Lord became one of us to redeem and restore each and every one of us. God became man so that we might restored to the image of God.
And now we come to the third thing. How could young Mary be blessed? What made it possible? Elizabeth also proclaimed, “Blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.” Belief, or faith—that’s what is greatest about Mary. She teaches us what faith is all about. And what did she believe? She received and believed what the Lord said to her. Belief holds on to what God says no matter how impossible or inconceivable for us humans. “For nothing will be impossible with God” (Lk. 1:37), the angel had told her. The Lord had said it. Mary believed it. “I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word”(Lk. 1:38). Thus she was blessed.
Now to be blessed is not something that always feels warm and fuzzy. Think of the beatitudes our Lord would teach. Being blessed can mean being poor in spirit, mourning, being humble, hungering and thirsting for righteousness, and even being persecuted. All this describes Mary quite well. She was blessed to cling to God and His promises even in the darkness. She was blessed to know His saving will and purpose for her. She was blessed to receive and hold onto His gift of life through the Word made flesh.
This, dear saints, is the greatest message of all—the Gospel that makes no rational sense, the message that the world either ignores or mocks. The Word became flesh, dwelt among us, was crucified and was raised for us sinners, for all sinners. It’s foolishness for some and a stumbling block for others. “But to us who are being saved”—and that includes Mary—“it is the power of God” (1 Cor. 1:18).
It happened only once, but it changed all of history. It changes you. It reveals the meaning of your life, so that you may be truly human. God’s Son, born of a woman, placed under the law, faithfully emptying Himself, and being obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. That’s Mary’s great blessing, and it’s yours as well. “His mercy is for those who fear Him from generation to generation.” He fills you who are hungry for forgiveness and real life with the good things of His Body and Blood.
Why is this granted to you that the mother of your Lord should come to you? For you to receive Him who comes to you in the flesh; for you to receive Him who comes in water, words, and bread and wine. Mary is blessed to be the mother of God, and by the Fruit of her womb, you are blessed to be His sons and daughters—exalted from your humble estate both now and forever. Amen.
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