Madonna Lilies

And the angel answered 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 relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. For nothing will be impossible with God.” And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her. (Luke 1:35-38 ESV).

 

Our reading today comes from the announcement of the Angel Gabriel to the young virgin, Mary, betrothed to Joseph, that she would become the mother of Jesus. Of course, she is one of the most highly revered women in history. It is no surprise that one of the oldest recognized flowers is named after her, the Madonna Lily. It is most familiar at Easter though it has been grown all over the world for thousands of years. It often symbolizes purity, humility, and devotion as a result of Mary’s powerful witness to unyielding faith. The Israelites regarded the lily as the choicest among flowers and used it as a source of perfume. In ancient Hebrew poetry, the lily was always a favorite simile as a symbol of purity. The white lily is found eight times in the Song of Solomon, it is the most mentioned flower in the Bible.

This gives us a clue of how we might draw the same kind of hope in our own uncertain circumstances. Mary’s faith was her strength in such a time. We need only put ourselves in her place and imagine an angel suddenly appearing to us. Despite her bewilderment, Mary remains composed as she listens and responds to the angel Gabriel. The message this high-ranking angel delivers is even more startling. “By the power of the Holy Spirit you will conceive God’s Son,” Gabriel tells Mary, in effect, “and you are to call him Jesus, because he will save God’s people from their sins” (v. 21). And Mary responds, “I am the Lord’s servant. May your word to me be fulfilled” (v. 38).

 

For her example of unwavering faith in the face of great uncertainty, Mary deserves our deep respect. Of course she’s not divine herself, but she provides a divinely inspired example of how we too can respond when we are faced with unsettling calls to follow Jesus, especially in a day when we are faced with uncertainty from so many sources. This year will be remembered for many reasons socially and politically. However, our response as believers should be to respond with faith and trust in the One who has designed and ordained this time for each of us. I wonder how many of our problems today could so easily be solved if we responded that way. I often wonder if that’s the simple call of God to us today. If it is perhaps we should answer the call as Mary did!