The Son was like the Mother: They Said “Yes”

She said “yes” so the God Man could say “yes.” The mother modeled the behavior for the Son . . . who was God, but also man.

Today for Western Christians is odd, because two great holy days happen at once. Today marks the moment when Mary heard the voice of Gabriel who said:

“The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born^e will be called holy—the Son of God. And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. For nothing will be impossible with God.”

Mary replied:

“Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.”

Just over thirty years later, her Son faced a horrible moment when He realized that traitors, angry men, and politicians wanted Him dead. He prayed:

“Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.”

The “yes” at the beginning of the historical record of the life of Jesus from His mother is echoed in the “yes” near the end. Mary was cut through her heart by seeing her miracle baby murdered. Jesus faced all the might of the Roman Empire, highly skilled in torture.

God is good and because He is good He wishes goodness for all His creatures. He makes us to be like He is, because He is good. One of the best qualities God has is freedom. If God wills a thing, then that thing will be. He combines a good will with the power to act. God’s only “limits” are His own will and nature. He is good, so by nature He cannot will evil. He has made humans like He is, so God cannot make us less than He has made us!

The gifts and call of God are irrevocable.

We can say “no” to God. We should not, but we can.

That doesn’t sound like much since God is the source of all goodness. If we say no to God, aren’t we doomed to be cut off from goodness? Yes. This is so. You cannot choose badly and do well. However, the choice is not so simple in practice. In life may good choices contradict. If I go for a jog, then I cannot “not jog” at the same time. There are activities that jogging cuts out. . . given my limits. Sometimes I have to choose between goods knowing one choice eliminates the other. Will it be the grape or cherry Popsicle was a tough call in childhood!

When God comes and says: “Here is my will,’ then we can be sure that after history has ended, that will is best, but the problem is that this is not the end of time. When God calls me to fast, I miss out on feasts! This is always so I can enjoy a better feast to come with greater joy, but this is hard to feel at the moment of choice. Faith gives me reason for the hope that obedience will work out well, but the “sacrifice” is immediate.

If a boy passes on buying the cheap Popsicle today so he can save his money for the better ice cream cone tomorrow, the hard part is immediate and the pleasure is later. It is worth it, he knows this with his reason and past experience, but still it is hard.

Both Mary and Jesus faced much harder divine reality than merely choosing to delay a frozen treat. Mary faced the pain of being the Mother of God in a broken world. Jesus would experience the broken trying to break Him, the one whole man.

Mary did what many mothers do. She modeled the right choice for her Son. She said “yes” and set the pattern that would help carry her only Divine Son through the horrors of Garden and Good Friday.  The Angel came (the Annunciation), Holy Thursday came, but only so Christmas and Easter could happen. Mother and Son said “yes” so we could holiday for eternity.

God help me say “yes” and so model that for my children. May I be as Mary was and so give a Christmas gift to my family. At an even deeper level, may I be as You are and say “yes” to the Cross so that I can live forever with God.

The goodness is forever, the pain is temporal, yes, yes, yes.