“May it be done to me according to your word.” Luke 1:26-38
When God called Moses to lead the Israelites out of slavery, Moses tried to get out of it. When God called Jonah to prophesy to Nineveh, he fled. And when God called Jeremiah to become a prophet, Jeremiah claimed he was too young.
But not Mary. When God called her to be the mother of Jesus, she said “May it be done to me.” How was she able to accept God’s call so freely, and how can we learn to do the same when God calls us?
The Fundamental Principles provide advice to help us to say yes when God calls: be prepared, be attentive, be patient.
First, we must prepare ourselves for the possibility that God will call. Mary, though clearly surprised by Gabriel’s announcement, did not need time to ponder whether she would accept this responsibility. She was ready for the moment, and so must we “stand ready to answer.”
Second, unlike Mary and Moses and the prophets, God’s call to us will probably not be so dramatic, so we must be attentive to all the little ways God calls us during the “ordinary, unspectacular” moments of our lives.
Finally, we must be “patient with ourselves and with God.” Ryken discovered that a continual conversion is needed. We must recognize that God’s call is always there, and we must respond to it each day, little by little.
Most of all, Mary trusted. She let go of fear and trusted God’s plan for her and the world. She made herself vulnerable to God’s call and accepted both the joys and the sufferings that being Jesus’ mother would bring. We are called to trust God in the same way.
Dear God, grant us the ability to trust and to always be prepared to say “Yes” when we hear your call.
Kevin Browne