 We too learn can learn from Mary about how to be
a child of God and how to cooperate with God. Faith is necessary for the
blessing of grace upon a person. For grace to be effective, a person must be
open to God's action and cooperate with it. Mary as presented here is a
model for any Christian who seeks to know God and follow God within one's
life. Miracles happen because of faith. Spirits are renewed and re-created
when a person acts in faith. Those who regularly pray over the scriptures
and attend to the Spirit's presence within them, gain knowledge that faith
is one's 'yes' to the presence and action of God. Faith is trust and
confidence in God's revelation. Mary is the model par excellence for any
Christian of how to cooperate with God. Figuratively speaking, one can say
that whenever a person cooperates with God, God's life is born into the
world. Having a model (Mary) who deals with the anxiety, fear and wonder of
such a decision provides us with confidence that indeed God holds the future
in His hands. What is asked of us, like it was asked of Mary, is trust. In
the section to come on Mary the Disciple, more will be said about Mary as a
model of faith.
In the gospel of Luke Mary speaks for herself as
we noted above. The significance of Mary in Christian tradition is further
developed when we also consider that gospel of Matthew's infancy stories[5]. In
those narratives, Mary is definitely presented as the Mother of the Messiah.
The gospel begins with the genealogy of Jesus, after which, Matthew offers
us this account of the birth of Jesus.
Now this is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about.
When his mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, but before
they lived together, she was found with child through the
Holy Spirit. Joseph her husband, since he was a righteous
man, yet unwilling to expose her to shame, decided to divorce
her quietly. Such was his intention when, behold, the angel
of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph,
son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into
your home. For it is through the Holy Spirit that this child
has been conceived in her. She will bear a son and you are
to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their
sins." All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said
through the prophet: "Behold, the virgin shall be with child
and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel," which means
"God is with us." When Joseph awoke, he did as the angel of
the Lord had commanded him and took his wife into his home.
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