Gabriel begins as he always begins, as God always begins (since this is God’s message, not Gabriel’s), with the affirmation of God’s creation. “Greetings, favored one!”
Gabriel proclaims to Mary. “The Lord is with you!” Before she hears anything else, God wants Mary to hear this: She is favored… Although a teenager, Mary need not “find” herself. Her identity is a gift, bestowed upon her by God alone. Who am I? Mary may wonder. And God replies, “You are my favored one, beloved and beautiful to me.”
In truth, Mary does not stand much chance for an identity apart from God. She is too young to have had time to achieve much on which to base her identity. She is too poor to purchase her place in society.
Add to this the fact that she is female, which means that even if she did have accomplishments or social stature to her credit, they likely would have gone unrecognized because of her gender.
All of this makes Mary a most unlikely candidate for helping God save the world, which is precisely why God enlists her. Nothing about Mary suggests that she can be who she is apart from God’s favor of her.
This is an excerpt from a book The Godbearing Life by Kenda Creasy Dean & Ron Foster and Ron Foster. If you would like to buy this book please click here.