Holy Family by Rembrandt, 1645
Anyone else grow up hearing “you can be anything you want to be?” In my experience, these platitudes were always paired with stories of people defeating the odds to become something remarkable. At the time, those stories were deeply inspiring. Looking back, however, I have doubts about their cumulative effect. This idea of being anything I wanted to be created a drive but gave no direction. I don’t know where I’m going, but it—or rather, I—better be great when I get there.
Longing for greatness in itself is not bad, but our definition of greatness can be a problem. If being remarkable is defined by things that you do, then there is some kind of threshold out there we cross into greatness. An arrival point, and you have either arrived or not. If you have, then this can create a lot of self-righteousness and arrogance. For most of us, however, that arrival point is like a mirage in the desert—always a little further off. It becomes a point of shame instead of motivation as we wonder if and when we will ever get there.
The ancient Israelites could certainly relate. Not to the idea that any of us could be remarkable if we try hard enough, but to the part where the bar seems high.
The Law gave the Israelites a very clear list of things to do and not do to be “good” enough. Pure enough. Holy enough. If you achieved the standards, then God would bless not only you but the whole people. If you had been lucky enough to be born an Israelite man then there were additional blessings for you, as you could go further into the temple, closer to God. And if you were extra lucky and born a priest, then you could go into the inner parts of the temple where God dwells.
Mary was none of those things. Well, she was an Israelite, but she wasn’t a man nor a priest. In fact, the most remarkable thing about Mary is her unremarkableness.
Luke gives us almost no background on Mary. Just a few sentences before he tells her story Luke writes a whole paragraph of context about Zechariah and Elizabeth—the miraculous parents of John the Baptist— including the lofty description that they are “blameless and righteous.” With Mary, however, the story jumps right in with Gabriel showing up and calling her “highly favored.”
His greeting really surprises Mary, which probably has something to do with the fact that an angel just appeared out of nowhere, but what he says about her should surprise us too—highly favored?! What did she do to merit that? Even priestly Zechariah doesn’t get that kind of reception.
I could point out the way she believes God, or that the Magnificat in chapter 2 shows us that she really knows God’s Word. We could do some fancy work with the stories about her being blessed in chapters 8 and 11 and argue that Luke wants us to see her as someone who hears and does the Word, but the most important reason for her remarkableness has nothing to do with her at all, and everything to do with God.
The greatest role in (mere) human history was played by an unremarkable teenage girl. She was a real human, which means that she had real traits and flaws. Idiosyncrasies and virtues. Certainly Luke could have said something about her—but he doesn’t.
When we look at Mary we see that the path to true greatness is not found in how you define yourself, but in how God defines you.
Well, you say, not everyone can be the mother of God! She might be highly favored, but what about the rest of us? That is true—but Mary is highly favored not only because she is unique, but because she is first. She first experiences what the rest of us can receive when we trust in God: Christ dwelling within us. At Christmas we remember and celebrate the shocking fact that the God of the universe came to the world through Mary’s body and with her DNA so we could see Him with our own eyes. Then, in a few months at Pentecost, we will celebrate that through the Spirit, God continues to take on humanity. Who can receive God? Anyone. God is still in the business of dwelling on earth, now through us.
In this day and age we can get caught up in defining ourselves with personality tests, enneagram memes, and disorders abounding. And many of us are trying to be great and remarkable this holiday season, trying to achieve some standard that seems to move ever further off. I’m not sure who set that bar you are trying to hit, but it wasn’t God. The most important recognition you can receive is God’s definition. In the womb of a pregnant teenager and her infant lying in a manger, He defines you as worthy, loved, and highly favored.
"She first experiences what the rest of us can receive when we trust in God: Christ dwelling within us."
This sentence stuck out to me today. I had not pondered all these things in my heart from such a perspective before...thank you.