In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary.  And he came to her and said, ‘Greetings, favored one!  The Lord is with you.’  But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be.  The angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.  And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus.  He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David.  He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.’  Mary said to the angel, ‘How can this be, since I am a virgin?’  The angel said to her, ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God.  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.

“Here am I, the servant of the Lord.”  Mary calls herself God’s servant, for that is what she is.  The mother becomes the servant of her son.  Her son, God though he is, deigns to obey his mother – “He came to Nazareth and was obedient to them” (Luke 1.51).  Mary was not unmoved, but filled with gratitude and wonder, for “she treasured all these things in her heart” (v 51).

I am the servant of the Lord.  That is my identity, it is who I was created to be.  I was created to serve and praise the Lord.  What shall we say of ourselves when we act as though we are the masters and our God is our servant?  Apparently Jesus anticipated that our fallen human nature is susceptible to even this level of depravity, for he warns us: “when you have done all that I have commanded, say ‘we are useless servants, we have done no more than what we have been commanded’ (Luke 17.10).

“Let it be with me according to your word.”  The most perfect example of a creature’s total submission to God’s will.  If we are to have stronger evidence that this must be our prayer as well, recall that Jesus commands us to pray “thy will be done.”  Jesus himself prayed “not as I will, but as you will, Father”.

Lord here I am your servant.  Let it be with me according to your will.  Your kingdom come, Father.  In the world and in my life.