So here she is, this little peasant girl. Nobody particularly special, although she was related to a temple priest. She was living in Nazareth which is presumably where she was born. We dont know anything much about her prior to the visit from the angel Gabriel apart from the fact that she was engaged to be married to Joseph a carpenter who could trace his family line back to King David.
That's it. It would appear that there is nothing to mark Mary out as special. She was just an ordinary girl living an ordinary life as far as we can tell. And yet the angel Gabriel walks into her house one day and tells her that she has found favour with God..That word favour (carij in the original text) is translated as ' the merciful kindness of God' but with a sense of joyfulness about it.
| it carries the notion of sweetness, charm, loveliness, joy, delight, like words of grace, Lu 4:22, growing grace, Eph 4:29, with grace, Col 4:6. The notion of kindness is in it also, especially of God towards men as here. |
so perhaps a better translation would be something like ' Dont be afraid Mary, God delights and rejoices in being kind and He wants especially to show His merciful kindness to you'
God's favour is something I have pondered many times over the years. I think it is something we cannot earn and do not always experience. But there are times in our lives when we know we are living in a place of His favour. His kindness is over everything. We sense His sweetness and charm and loveliness permeating our decisions and relationships and circumstances. I distinctly remember a time in my life when I was working as a Social Worker in Scotland. I was driving to work one day along the Edinburgh City Bypass and I had such a strong feeling that God has His hand on my head - blessing me - and that I was living in the realm of His favour. I felt that everything I touched, asked for, did at that time was being mightily blessed. It was truly wonderful, undeserved and precious.
I often pray that God will give people favour for me. That He will take some of the delight and sweetness which is His nature and drop it into a specific person's heart towards me. I have got a couple of jobs on the strength of praying this before job interviews :-) I have also avoided potentially damaging conflicts by praying this. God's favour, His mercy and kindness, can change people's hearts towards us.
Lord, thank You that you delight in being kind and showing mercy. Thank you that you chose Mary - a simple girl who as far as we know was nobody special - and lavished your favour on her. Help me to believe that in just the same way You want to show your favour to me. All the time, every day. I pray for all those I know who are struggling in the run up to Christmas and ask that your grace and favour would abound to them and that they would have the sense of Your mighty hand resting on every aspect of their lives. And as your favour brought to birth the Saviour of the world in a young girl 2000 years ago, may Your favour bring to birth all Your purposes for me today, this Christmas and all the days of my life Amen
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