How Can This Be Possible?: Mary’s Response to God’s Plan

The story of the Annunciation is familiar to all of us - the moment of Mary’s great YES, a visit from the angel Gabriel, the prediction of Jesus’ name Emmanuel. We take from this Scripture passage songs and prayers that shape our understanding of who Mary and Christ are. In many ways, the Annunciation is Mary’s commissioning. It is the first time we acknowledge her as the Mother of God, and the first known time she responds to God’s call for her life. 

"Mary of the Annunciation and Pentecost" by Sr. Mary Southard, CSJ. Copyright Ministry of the Arts. Used with permission. www.ministryofthearts.org

In the Gospel, it is God who comes to Mary and shares the great plan with her. We focus on the response and tend to forget the question that was never asked. I have never read a translation of the Bible in which God asks for Mary’s consent to the great plan for salvation. Rather, we see her ask about the logistics of the situation and then affirm that she does in fact agree to the arrangement. We often interpret her response as joyful, respectful, confident, resolute. We tend to glance over the fact that Mary is told this is her path, what will happen to her, her lot in life. 

As a responsible adult, I question the agency Mary has at this moment. There is an immense power dynamic at play between Mary and God, and we know that Mary was “greatly troubled” by Gabriel’s greeting to her. How terrified must Mary have been at this moment? Not only because she is approached by a supernatural being, but also because the expectation set for her is monumental, her fear is completely justified. The intense responsibility of being a parent, and a parent of the Living God at that, must have mystified her. Perhaps she was enamored by the possibility, perhaps she felt obligated to respond in the affirmative. Either way, she demonstrates incredible courage by agreeing to this fate, about which no one consulted her. 

I am reassured by the fact that Mary asks a follow-up question - How can this be possible? This relieves me, as it shows she truly is considering the reality of the situation. What the angel has relayed to her is quite absurd; an unmarried teenager will give birth to the Son of God, and by the way, her elderly, decrepit cousin is pregnant too. How can this be possible? I am similarly consoled by the positive approach Mary takes in reacting to the plan laid out for her and to her cousin Elizabeth’s pregnancy. The angel Gabriel proclaims, “for nothing is impossible for God!” Mary’s response to Gabriel resembles our psalm for today - Here I am, Lord! I come to do Your will! Mary knows she is capable of playing the role of Theotokos - God-bearer - and declares, “May it be done to me according to your word.” In spite of the unlikelihood that she or her “barren” cousin could be pregnant, she believes that this is a path she will indeed tread. 

While we don’t find reluctance in the Gospel account of the Annunciation, this story clearly connects to the line of unworthy, unprepared, and unexpected leaders God chooses throughout Scripture. From Moses to David to John the Baptist, God tends to call upon those who seem far from strength, wisdom, or readiness, relying instead on those who have a strong desire to do God’s will. Mary falls right in with these leaders - unexpected, unprepared, and perhaps unworthy, but strongly desiring to do God’s will.