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Eve Thoughts on Mary's Fiat
by Andrea Lizares-Si
When you hear Mary being praised for her fiat, don't you sometimes think, "How else could she have responded?" I mean this is God telling you what He plans for you and He's talking about a starring role in the all time great history of humankind. It's your chance for the biggest break of your life. Surely, you are going to say “Yes. Of course. Anytime. All the time. Anything for you, Lord.”
On second thought, you may be thinking, "Since when have I been ready to say 'yes' to God's will for me? I'm not Mary and maybe I don't want to be Mary." Never mind the Mary of the Magnificat.. Mary as portrayed for us is pale and soft-spoken, a subservient woman with eyes cast down and hands clasped together in a perfect picture of prayerfulness and humility. Mary is good daughter, good mother, good wife, a woman for others in relation to others. But what about her own identity? Zero!. This is the modern world! We would rather be known as women with minds of our own. We're taught to be go-getters, bold, decisive, assertive, ready to die for our convictions. We're emancipated women, not ivory saints on pedestals.
Furthermore, God has never been famous for giving enjoyable assignments to his special people. Consider Jonah sent to Nineveh. Or Jeremiah playing the prophet of doom, for 40 years, not just preaching but giving object lessons which made him look like a madman. God's special friend Moses is my favorite worst case, wasting 40 of the best years of his life tending sheep and another 40 years being nursemaid of God’s rebellious stiff-necked people. And when you think of what happened to the apostles and the first Christians.. . .
I can't help thinking that a person who says "yes," as Mary did must either be utterly without a mind of her own or she has wisdom, self knowledge, and self-control that we don't have. Was Mary without a brain? Surely, God deserves some credit in his choice of a mother. Besides, the Mary in the wedding at Cana and the Mary who stood at the foot of the cross were no fearful, unthinking pushovers. Mary must have known what pregnancy out of wedlock meant. And to consent to become mother of the Messiah in a world famous for killing Messiahs . . .. . .
Since fear has been brought up, have you noticed that almost every time angels and heavenly visions appear in the Bible, they say, “Do not be afraid?” The chance to see an angel seems exciting but a heavenly visitor marks a permanent breach in our comfortable and predictable life. From that moment on, we are contending directly with an awesome power, holiness we will never be worthy of, intelligence we will never be able to fathom, predict, or control. SCARY!!!!. It is also terrifying to think of an important role in a drama we know is too big to handle. We’re not smart or imaginative enough. We don’t act or teach well enough. We don’t have the expertise or the resources necessary for what producer God wants us to do. Like Zechariah, we say, God my wife and I are old in years, how can this ever happen?
It is absolutely not easy saying "Yes" to God. Why should anyone have authority over me? Why should I take orders from anyone? Why must I be a mere actor on the stage, not the one writing the screenplay and directing the story of my life? I want to be the one to decide how my life should go. Eve thoughts and I grew up with them. The crisis came when someone suggested that the correct guide question to ask was not, "What do I want with my life" but "What does God want with my life?," "What is Christ sending me to do?".
Mary said, "“I am the Lord’s servant. May it be to me as you have said.” Before her maker, Mary could not think of herself except as a doule, literally, a ‘slave girl. Sounds excessively and unreasonably self-deprecating until you realize that like Mary, anyone standing before the almighty creator should know in her heart that she is unworthy except to be called His slave. This means that an Eve-type is not being less liberated, decisive, and smart when she acts in accordance with the truth about who she is in relation to the God who made her. Moreover, if you really think about it, this "yes" shouldn't mean the loss of a woman's (or a man's) identity but her chance to discover and achieve the potential of her true identity. . .
I'm relieved to have been able to get this far in reconciling a "yes" to God's will with what I think an intelligent liberated woman's response ought to be. These days I no longer sense a "No!!!!" screaming behind my "yes." On the other hand, the continuing exaggerated importance given to the good of self, strikes me as incompatible with the humility and selflessness required for a fiat. Clearly still room for a change of heart but we can't wait for that to happen. Let me therefore end with a quote that gives me hope because it doesn't sound like a demand for me to stop being me to become like Mary.
Meister Eckhart, a Dominican mystic who lived several hundred yeas ago, said, “What good is it to me that Mary gave birth to Jesus in her place and time, if I do not also give birth to Jesus in my place and in my time. We are all meant to be mothers of God, for God is always needing to be born . . . " (Okay, Eckhart is not entirely orthodox, but what did Jesus say about his brother, sister, and mother? He said his brother and sister and mother are they who hear the word of God and keep it. We are all called to be mothers of God, Eve types included.)
"We are all meant to be mothers of God for God is always needing to be born." Let us pray that the word of God shall come to life in us so that through us, Christ may be born in our families, our work places, and our communities this Christmas. .
When you hear Mary being praised for her fiat, don't you sometimes think, "How else could she have responded?" I mean this is God telling you what He plans for you and He's talking about a starring role in the all time great history of humankind. It's your chance for the biggest break of your life. Surely, you are going to say “Yes. Of course. Anytime. All the time. Anything for you, Lord.”
On second thought, you may be thinking, "Since when have I been ready to say 'yes' to God's will for me? I'm not Mary and maybe I don't want to be Mary." Never mind the Mary of the Magnificat.. Mary as portrayed for us is pale and soft-spoken, a subservient woman with eyes cast down and hands clasped together in a perfect picture of prayerfulness and humility. Mary is good daughter, good mother, good wife, a woman for others in relation to others. But what about her own identity? Zero!. This is the modern world! We would rather be known as women with minds of our own. We're taught to be go-getters, bold, decisive, assertive, ready to die for our convictions. We're emancipated women, not ivory saints on pedestals.
Furthermore, God has never been famous for giving enjoyable assignments to his special people. Consider Jonah sent to Nineveh. Or Jeremiah playing the prophet of doom, for 40 years, not just preaching but giving object lessons which made him look like a madman. God's special friend Moses is my favorite worst case, wasting 40 of the best years of his life tending sheep and another 40 years being nursemaid of God’s rebellious stiff-necked people. And when you think of what happened to the apostles and the first Christians.. . .
I can't help thinking that a person who says "yes," as Mary did must either be utterly without a mind of her own or she has wisdom, self knowledge, and self-control that we don't have. Was Mary without a brain? Surely, God deserves some credit in his choice of a mother. Besides, the Mary in the wedding at Cana and the Mary who stood at the foot of the cross were no fearful, unthinking pushovers. Mary must have known what pregnancy out of wedlock meant. And to consent to become mother of the Messiah in a world famous for killing Messiahs . . .. . .
Since fear has been brought up, have you noticed that almost every time angels and heavenly visions appear in the Bible, they say, “Do not be afraid?” The chance to see an angel seems exciting but a heavenly visitor marks a permanent breach in our comfortable and predictable life. From that moment on, we are contending directly with an awesome power, holiness we will never be worthy of, intelligence we will never be able to fathom, predict, or control. SCARY!!!!. It is also terrifying to think of an important role in a drama we know is too big to handle. We’re not smart or imaginative enough. We don’t act or teach well enough. We don’t have the expertise or the resources necessary for what producer God wants us to do. Like Zechariah, we say, God my wife and I are old in years, how can this ever happen?
It is absolutely not easy saying "Yes" to God. Why should anyone have authority over me? Why should I take orders from anyone? Why must I be a mere actor on the stage, not the one writing the screenplay and directing the story of my life? I want to be the one to decide how my life should go. Eve thoughts and I grew up with them. The crisis came when someone suggested that the correct guide question to ask was not, "What do I want with my life" but "What does God want with my life?," "What is Christ sending me to do?".
Mary said, "“I am the Lord’s servant. May it be to me as you have said.” Before her maker, Mary could not think of herself except as a doule, literally, a ‘slave girl. Sounds excessively and unreasonably self-deprecating until you realize that like Mary, anyone standing before the almighty creator should know in her heart that she is unworthy except to be called His slave. This means that an Eve-type is not being less liberated, decisive, and smart when she acts in accordance with the truth about who she is in relation to the God who made her. Moreover, if you really think about it, this "yes" shouldn't mean the loss of a woman's (or a man's) identity but her chance to discover and achieve the potential of her true identity. . .
I'm relieved to have been able to get this far in reconciling a "yes" to God's will with what I think an intelligent liberated woman's response ought to be. These days I no longer sense a "No!!!!" screaming behind my "yes." On the other hand, the continuing exaggerated importance given to the good of self, strikes me as incompatible with the humility and selflessness required for a fiat. Clearly still room for a change of heart but we can't wait for that to happen. Let me therefore end with a quote that gives me hope because it doesn't sound like a demand for me to stop being me to become like Mary.
Meister Eckhart, a Dominican mystic who lived several hundred yeas ago, said, “What good is it to me that Mary gave birth to Jesus in her place and time, if I do not also give birth to Jesus in my place and in my time. We are all meant to be mothers of God, for God is always needing to be born . . . " (Okay, Eckhart is not entirely orthodox, but what did Jesus say about his brother, sister, and mother? He said his brother and sister and mother are they who hear the word of God and keep it. We are all called to be mothers of God, Eve types included.)
"We are all meant to be mothers of God for God is always needing to be born." Let us pray that the word of God shall come to life in us so that through us, Christ may be born in our families, our work places, and our communities this Christmas. .
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