VII.
Mary says,
“Here am I, the servant of the Lord;
let it be with me according to your word.”

How is she able to manifest such submission – obedience – faith?

VIII.
Luke 1:36-45, 56 (NRSVue)

“And now, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month for her who was said to be barren. For nothing will be impossible with God.” Then Mary said, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.” Then the angel departed from her.

In those days Mary set out and went with haste to a Judean town in the hill country, where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me? For as soon as I heard the sound of your greeting, the child in my womb leaped for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her by the Lord.”

And Mary remained with her about three months and then returned to her home.

IX.
Did she need to hear from Gabriel,

“For nothing will be impossible with God”?

Or maybe that,

“… favored one! The Lord is with you…. Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.” (Luke 1:28, 30)

Did one or both of those assurances from the angel to give her the spirit she needed to reply with “… here I am”?

Or, was it something already in her spirit? After all, it seems she was already favored by God.

What in your spirit has God already recognized and is waiting for you to recognize?

charles
{ubi caritas et amor, Deus ibi est}