Woman of Faith: Mary In The Infancy Narrative of Luke
Fr. J. Patrick Gaffney, SMM
Mary enjoys many titles. The Litany of Loreto invites us to respond with the calming, mantra-like “pray for us’ to a sparkling array of names for this woman; Mother of God, Tower of David, House of Gold, Queen of All Saints. And the list goes on. All titles given to Our Lady have this in common; they glorify God who has so freely gifted her and they inspire us to become more like her; totally centered on Jesus the Lord.
WOMAN OF FAITH
There is one Marian title, however, which is becoming more popular in these days when the foundations of our Christian faith are being challenged by the maxims of the “world.”
In the spirit of Pope John Paul’s Marian Year Encyclical, Mother of the Redeemed, we turn to Mary, the Woman of Faith. In a certain sense, this title is the most magnificent of all, for it is through her faith that Mary conceives the Eternal Wisdom of the Father; it is through faith that she is the model disciple of the Lord; it is because of this active and responsible Yes to God’s will that she is the spiritual mother of all the redeemed. Mary, the Woman of Faith, a beautiful summary of the grandeur of this woman.
When we examine the Gospel portraits of Mary, it is her faith which appears to be the one color the Holy Spirit uses in depicting this woman. She is among those “who hear the word of God and keep it” (Lk 11:27-28); her words to the servants at the Cana Wedding Feast spring from her own faith; “Do whatsoever he tells you” (Jn. 2:5). At the foot of the Cross, when all the apostles have deserted their Master, she and a tiny company keep faithful vigil. (cf. Jn. 19:25-27). The crowds jeer and spit upon her, curse her as the mother of the criminal hanging on the Cross. But she remains faithful even to the end.
LUKE’S INFANCY NARRATIVE
However, it is Luke s Infancy Narrative (Lk 1 & 2) – the overture to his proclamation of the public ministry of Jesus – which is nothing less than a treatise on faith through its description of Mary.
Five principal episodes of these chapters directly involve Mary; the Annunciation, the Visitation, the Nativity, the Presentation in the Temple, and the final section of the Infancy Narrative, the Finding in the Temple. These five events, the Joyful Mysteries of the Rosary, tell us the meaning of faith as it is lived by the first Christian., the first disciple of the Lord, Mary.
Far more appealing than an arid, speculative treatise, these Lucan episodes illumine the meaning of Christian faith through the living words and actions of Our Lady.
Meditation on these mysteries, discloses a woman ever more intensely centered on the Lord, a woman who is the exemplar of discipleship; the Woman of Faith.
LUKE CLARIFIES THE PERSON OF JESUS AND OF HIS MOTHER
It should be kept in mind that the Infancy Narrative as painted by Luke is not a forgery! It is an authentic portrait. A portrait, in contrast to a snapshot, highlights the personality of an individual through embellishments of color, scenery, posture, etc. Often – as with the literary portrait of Mary of the Lucan Gospel – it is impossible to know precisely what embellishments a portrait artist may have added to clarify the personality of an individual.
And so too with Luke – the master portrait artist – who so powerfully clarifies the person of Jesus and of His Mother. There is a linkage of authenticity between the historical person of Jesus, the historical person of Mary, and the divinely inspired interpretation and clarification of these and other historical personalities described in the Scriptures. When we contemplatively gaze at these Infancy Narrative scenes, we are privileged to stand in reverential awe before authentic portraits depicting especially the Incarnate Wisdom of the Father and His Mother, Mary.
THE ANNUNCIATION: TOTAL LOVING SURRENDER
Faith knows no limits. It is not only trust in the Lord, it is not only believing in the truths revealed by God.
Rather, it encompasses one’s entire being. It is the fundamental, foundational gift of God to us. His creative Love, always present, empowers us to respond on every level of personality to his embedded call to center all on Him. Faith is then, the lived- out response, on every level of personality to the Father, through Jesus the Lord, in the power of the Spirit.
A person of faith sees everything, judges everything, measures everything, plans everything in the light of God’s Incarnate Wisdom, Jesus the Lord. Faith tolerates no idols. Wealth, prestige, power, sex, health, career, can all take center stage and surreptitiously become our graven images. Yet, to find ultimate meaning outside of the Lord is to attribute to finite things or events an ultimacy which belongs only to God. “God Alone” was the battle cry of Saint Louis de Montfort as it must be of every Christian. For as Saint Augustine so beautifully wrote centuries ago; “Our hearts were made for you, O Lord, and they cannot rest until they rest in You.”
In a certain sense, God has played a trick on us. His love creates in us an inextinguishable yearning for eternal life, for infinite Love, for a fulfilment without end. And only He can bestow such magnificent gifts, for only He is Life, only He is Love. The more we strive to fill our hearts with the goods of this world, the emptier we become. Only the Infinite can fill the bottomless yearnings of the human heart.
FAITH UNITES HEAVEN WITH EARTH, GOD WITH MAN
Faith is, then, the living-out of the fundamental relationship of life, the relationship which must qualify all others; God is for me, and I freely surrender all to His Love. Faith unites heaven with earth, God with man, the Infinite with the finite, the Creator with the creature. Faith is to share in His Life of Omnipotent Love, as He in Christ Jesus, shares in my utter weakness.
But all this can so easily become only speculation or nothing more than a “head-trip”. What does faith mean in “real” life? If it is the totality of loving surrender to Love Itself, what are its practical consequences? Turn to the Annunciation narrative, Luke 1:26-38. The most profound – and often cryptic – explanations of theologians come alive in Luke’s description of Mary of the Annunciation.
Madonna and Child: painter Elisabetta Sirani: 1663
Elisabetta took over the studio of her father Giovanni Sirani in 1654-1655. This painting resides in the National Museum of Woman Arts in Washington, DC.
Madonna and Child: Italian Painter: Sandro Botticelli: 1468
This is a portion of the painting. The background has been removed, focusing on Mary and the Child Jesus. This portion of the original painting was featured in the original Queen of All Hearts magazine article on the inside pages. The original also applied a pink filter for a dramatic presentation. The Queen duplicates this image using the live painting, which resides in the Louvre, Paris, France.
The core of “faith” is described by Luke in his Annunciation Mary. As we gaze upon the beauty of the portrait, we should let the word of God interrogate us, and then permit ourselves to be molded, interpreted by this effective and creative word of God. The model of Faith, Mary, is not to be put into a niche on a side wall where no one can see her. Rather, we must permit her to influence us to join in her total “Yes” so that through the overshadowing Spirit we too may have God dwell within us.
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The scene is, of course, primarily Christological, i.e. , it has as its primary purpose to tell us something about Jesus the Christ.
He is the “Son of the Most High”; “he will reign over the House of Jacob forever and of his kingdom there will be no end”. The child shall be called “holy, the Son of God”.
With a few strokes of the pen, Luke has brought us to the heart of the mystery of salvation. God so loves this world that he is sending His own “Son,” i.e., his own Life; His Word, His Wisdom, into this world so distorted by our sins. With the hindsight of the resurrection, Luke tells us that this Child will establish a “kingdom” which shall never end, the reign of Yahweh Himself. The Son of God is entering our world so that he may take upon our ruin and transform it into the Reign of the Father.
GOD BECOMES ONE . . .
God is not only visiting his people. Rather, in Jesus, God is becoming truly one with His people. Since the human person of Jesus is the Word of God, in Jesus God becomes our brother, lives our life so that we may live His. He who is Light now enters into our darkness and “the light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it”. (cf. Jn. 1:5). The primary message of Luke’s introductory two chapters is that Jesus is truly the enfleshed Son of God, for us.
But there is another side to this portrait. Yes, its principal focus is on Jesus. However, there is also a magnificent portrayal of His Mother, the one who accepts the Son of God into this world so that He may be our Redeemer and Savior. The first striking element of the portrait is the incredible condescension of our God. He does not force, he does not destroy Mary’s freedom. For “God is Love” (1 Jn. 4:8) and love lures, love attracts, love calls. Love cannot force.
. . . WITH HIS PEOPLE
God therefore through his messenger of salvation, Gabriel, whom he used in the book of Daniel to announce liberation, now requests of Mary her consent, her “Yes,” so that he may become our redeeming Brother. God enters into dialogue with Mary about this most important event in the history of creation! It is Mary whom God chooses to be the representative of this universe yearning for salvation; it is Mary who is to give her faith-consent – the consent of the whole human race – to the inbreaking of Light into our darkness. Infinite Love knocks at the doors of this creation in such need of redemption. It is this young girl of insignificant Nazareth whose faith will swing open the gates so that the King of Glory may enter into our weakness transforming it into his Life.
So often we think that Mary joyfully rushed to accept the privilege of becoming the Mother of the Son of God.
But the Lucan portrait tells us otherwise. She is perplexed, confused by the greeting of the angel. She questions. And in spite of the clarity with which the portrait depicts Jesus, Luke tells us in the final panel of his “infancy” portrait, that she did not understand. (2:50). She knows enough at the Annunciation to give her active and responsible consent. She surely does not know all the details. But her “Yes” at the Annunciation encompasses whatsoever this new life may bring, the sufferings and the joys, the Wedding Feast and the Cross.
FAITH IS NOT A RESPONSE TO A DETAILED PLAN
Faith is not therefore, a response to a detailed plan presented to us by God! Far from it. Rather, it is a relationship to a Person, a relationship accepting that we are accepted by the Lord, a relationship which entails total obedience to the mysterious designs of Love Itself, Our God. As with Mary, the Lord lets us know enough to make an active and responsible consent to his call for total surrender to His love. But the details? They remain hidden in His Love.
When a couple is married, they know enough to make an active and responsible consent to share their lives as symbols of God’s love for us. But the details? God in his mercy kindly keeps them from us! When a young man or woman enters religious life, at the time of the first profession little do they know of the details their commitment will bring. Nonetheless, in surrendering to God’s call, they are accepting all that flows from it, the joys and the sorrows, the difficulties and the pleasures. Mary of the Annunciation teaches us a primary facet of faith; it is a total surrender to the inscrutable will of God, promising to follow Him, wheresoever He may lead.
Not only does God not present us with all the details, but, judging from his call to Mary, He tears up our plans as He calls us to a total surrender to Himself. Judging from the custom of the times, Luke appears to be telling us that Mary and Joseph are already legally married at the time of the Annunciation.
MARY’S SURRENDER TO GOD
“Betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph”. Betrothal in the culture of Jesus’ time cannot be equated with the modern notion of “engagement.” The “betrothal” is the formal “I do” pronounced in the presence of witnesses. After a waiting period of about six months to a year, the groom would carry his bride over the threshold and they would begin life together.
However, even after the “betrothal” the groom had legal rights over the woman now called his “wife,” and any violation of those rights by the woman was considered adultery.
It is during this interval between the “betrothal” and the actual dwelling together, that Mary, legally the wife of Joseph, is visited by the Angel Gabriel. Her plans are clear. She is awaiting that celebration when amidst the partying of the village, Joseph will bring her to his house and they will live happily ever after.
The theological teaching which is so prominent in the Annunciation portrait is that Mary must leave aside all her plans in her total surrender to the Lord. Yahweh is a God who tears up our plans. Mary, the model of faith, must see her whole life totally at the disposal of the Lord. His plans are always greater than ours; nonetheless, it is so difficult to see our plans torn into shreds! But such is the way he calls Mary; such is the pattern of God. Without indicating to her the details of His plan, He requests Mary to leave all hers aside, surrendering to his mysterious Love.
The Annunciation portrait discloses striking qualities about this call of God to faith in Him.
MARY IS OUR MODEL
Since everything we say about Mary we are ultimately saying about ourselves as disciples of the Lord, we realize that God enters into dialogue with each one of us. Through events of the day, through others, through the Scriptures, the Eucharist, he calls, he lures, he attracts, he lets us know of His yearning to share life with us. In the Lucan portrait of Mary, we begin to see ourselves. For we too are loved, we too are called to accept the over-shadowing of the Spirit so that Christ may be formed within us. Mary, in a unique manner; nonetheless, in her we see ourselves.
It is also clear that faith in no way destroys our free will; rather it empowers us to praise him by actively and responsibly surrendering to him. In no way does God reveal the details of His providence for us; rather, requesting us to leave aside our own well-thought out plans for our life, he asks for an acceptance of His loving designs even though he does not unveil the details. Truly, our God is a jealous God!
Mary’s faith-response to this call from God to leave all aside and follow Him is illustrative of the essence of faith itself. The Angel awaits Mary’s answer. Love lures, calls, attracts, empowers.
MARY HEARS THE WORD OF GOD . . .
And Mary’s response is one of total surrender to Love, a surrender which entails discarding her career and accepting a life which she herself never expected. There is anguish hidden in the portrait of this young girl as she responds to God. What of Joseph? What of the future? Furthermore, what of the Child? What of the Gospel portraits of Mary to say that none of these questions tugged at her heart. Her sinlessness does not spare her from the struggle involved in any destruction of one’s own plans – involving others whom she deeply loves – for the undetailed designs of God.
Her response? A clear ‘Yes” to God. She is truly, the Woman who hears the word of God and keeps it; (Lk 11:27-28) no matter the cost, no matter the heartache, no matter the consequences. So strongly does Luke want to depict this total surrender of Mary to the Lord that he places on this young girl’s lips the shocking – at least to modern ear – expression: “Behold the slave-girl of the Lord”.
Our English translations flinch from using such a term and substitute a watered down version, such as “handmaiden”, “servant”, as is done also for Mary’s depiction of herself in the Magnificat; (cf Lk 1:48) where again Mary employs the term “slave”. For Luke, the expression “slave” implies no servility, no cynical or wimpish acquiescence to an extravagant request!
. . . AND KEEPS IT
Rather, it denotes the totality of Mary’s loving surrender to the Lord. She is Loved uniquely, and she so completely surrenders to that Love. Her whole personality, on every level of being, is a “Yes” to the Lord. She asks for nothing for herself, she makes no qualifications, requests no salary, no special privileges. A complete “Yes” is her full reply. She belongs
totally to the Lord. She is a woman of faith, the model Christian, the paradigm of discipleship.
But there is a final note in Mary’s response. In the Greek original of Luke’s portrait, the expression “let it be done” is in the “optative” mood, difficult to render in English. It implies that God’s will is her wish. She freely opts to merge her will with that of the mysterious Love who is God. It is not a reluctant “Yes,” or one which has a note of hurt or peevishness in it. Her final words summarize her being. “Lord, I am your Loving slave-girl, belonging entirely to you without reserve; I yearn to do your will.”
The core of “faith” is described by Luke in his Annunciation Mary. As we gaze upon the beauty of the portrait, we should let the word of God interrogate us, and then permit ourselves to be molded, interpreted by this effective and creative word of God. The model of Faith, Mary, is not to be put into a niche on a side wall where no one can see her. Rather, we must permit her to influence us to join in her total “Yes” so that through the overshadowing Spirit we too may have God dwell within us.
