Favored and Full of Grace

Scripture:

Luke 1:26   In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, ²⁷ to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. ²⁸ And he came to her and said, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.” ²⁹ But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. ³⁰ The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. ³¹ And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. ³² He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. ³³ He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” ³⁴ Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” ³⁵ The angel said to 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 holy; he will be called Son of God. ³⁶ And now, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month for her who was said to be barren. ³⁷ For nothing will be impossible with God.” ³⁸ Then Mary said, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.” Then the angel departed from her.

Observation:

This time of year we focus on the arrival of the Messiah, but sometimes we miss this first part of the story. During Elizabeth’s six month of pregnancy, the angel Gabriel came to the little village of Nazarene to visit with a teenage girl. The story seems so unlikely, for if you were going to search someone out to take upon themselves such great responsibility, surely you would go to Jerusalem and find a someone with a better resume. 

The angel speaks to Mary, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.” This phrase has been translated in different ways through the years. Protestants like the word “favored” and Catholics like the idea “full of grace.” Those interpretations have led to theological debate around a concept known as the “immaculate conception” — which is about Mary, not about Jesus. But let’s leave that there and not enter into that debate, but consider what it meant to have an angel come and greet you. Whether Mary was favored, or full of grace, there was something special happening in that moment. 

The angel went on to describe what would happen to Mary. The language here regarding the Spirit is that of the hovering of the Spirit. It’s the same language found in the opening of the creation scene in Genesis where the Spirit hovers over the waters, and of the presence of the Spirit over the tabernacle in the wilderness. Here, the Spirit of God hovers over Mary in a new act of creation and sign of continual presence. 

This baby will be named Jesus, which is the Greek equivalent of the Hebrew name Yeshua, or Joshua, which means “Yahweh saves.” Therefore this boy who will be called the Son of God, will be the instrument through which God saves. 

All of this may seem completely implausible, the arrival of a baby who will have more power and authority than Caesar, but with God this is possible! Irenaeus captures the restoration of humankind well: 

So the Lord now manifestly came to his own. Born by his own created order that he himself bears, he by his obedience on the tree renewed and reversed what was done by disobedience in connection with a tree. The power of that seduction by which the virgin Eve, already betrothed to a man, had been wickedly seduced was broken when the angel in truth brought good tidings to the Virgin Mary, who already by her betrothal belonged to a man. For as Eve was seduced by the word of an angel to flee from God, having rebelled against his Word, so Mary by the word of an angel received the glad tidings that she would bear God by obeying his Word. The former was seduced to disobey God and so fell, but the latter was persuaded to obey God, so that the Virgin Mary might become the advocate of Eve. As the human race [NT Vol. III, p. 20] was subjected to death through the act of a virgin, so was it saved by a virgin was precisely balanced by the obedience of another. Then indeed the sin of the first formed man was amended by the chastisement of the First Begotten, the wisdom of the serpent was conquered by the simplicity of the dove, and the chains were broken by which we were in bondage to death. (Irenaeus, Against Heresies, 5.19-20)

Application:

Favored, or full of grace? As I read some of the historical comments, I find that I’m supposed to choose between one or the other interpretation, depending on whether I’m a Catholic or a Protestant. But, what If I don’t choose, and instead look at the concept of being full of grace as defining favored. 

Within my theological tradition we often speak of grace. We have different phrases we use including prevenient or preventing grace — that grace that goes before and reaches out to all of humanity. This is God reaching out to everyone and desiring all to return to a relationship with Him. Then, there is saving grace — which is just as it appears to be, that grace that allows us to respond to the saving work of Christ. Finally, we refer to sanctifying grace — which is the grace of God that fills us through and through with the Holy Spirit, cleansing us and making us holy for God’s use and purposes. 

Therefore, if Mary is full of grace, would she have already, in some way have experienced every type of grace — continuously and on-going? In that very moment of her life, this description of her provides us with a foreshadowing of what God wants to do in and through all of humanity. All grace is to be bestowed upon everyone through the work that God will do in and through her. All of the grace of God is to be unleashed through her obedience. 

Is Mary favored, because she has responded to that grace? Once again, is this a statement that foreshadows what God wants to do for all of humanity? When we respond to God’s grace, thereby living grace-filled lives, then we are highly favored by God. This doesn’t mean that God goes around picking favorites, but that God favors everyone through His grace. 

God’s intent is that through sending his son, Jesus — meaning, “Yeshua saves,” that God’s grace would be poured out over all the earth like a healing balm. The result is that all of humankind in being favored and full of grace. 

Prayer:

Lord, the incredible love that you have showered upon humanity is beyond our comprehension. May we live into that love and be filled to full with your grace. Amen.