Years ago, I remember watching a famous singer being interviewed by Oprah. Oprah asked her how it felt to be experiencing so much success. The singer replied, "It feels like God's favor." That phrase stuck with me.
That is what we think God's favor looks like, don't we? Success. Money. Big houses. Kids that obey. New cars. College graduates. Health. Teenagers that don't rebel. Sometimes, maybe it is the way God's favor looks. Who am I to say it isn't? But sometimes, maybe it looks a little different.
Today I read in Luke 1 that the angel came to Mary and said, "Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!" Mary was scared. So the angel again said, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God."
She had been chosen to carry God in the flesh in her womb. Holiness personified inside her body. He was the King of Kings, Lord of Lords, Holy God Man. Sounds pretty distinguished. We look back on Mary and think she was important, and highly honored. And she was.
But what did this favor actually look like in real life? I think it looked an awful lot like shame. She was, in fact, an unwed mother. A teenage, unwed mother. I mean, Mary almost lost her fiance. An angel had to come to Joseph to convince him to stay with her. I wonder what her parents said. Was Mary ever able to convince her parents of the truth or did their scorn always follow her? Heaven knows the townspeople had a heyday! How people love to talk! Then, when she was very pregnant, she had to go on a long journey. Can you imagine? When I was almost due, I didn't even like to walk from the living room to the kitchen! She gives birth in a stable because there was no room for her in the inn. I'm pretty sure if I were Mary I would question God on that one. Her life was not easy. There was no wealth. Her husband was a carpenter.
We know the people of Nazareth continued to look down on Jesus because we have record of that in Mark 6. Jesus says, "A prophet is honored everywhere except in his own hometown...He was amazed at their unbelief." Then Mary had to watch the boy, who was now a man, die the most shameful of deaths. Naked, on a cross. The only thing that is comparable to the shame of that these days is death by the electric chair. Full of shame from eyes looking in, but Mary knew the truth. She knew her innocence and she knew Jesus' innocence. I think of the verse in Luke 2 that says, "Mary kept all these things in her heart and thought of them often." She knew she was highly favored, even when the whole world scorned her.
So maybe favor looks very different than we think it should. Maybe it's less like the singer dripping in diamonds with wealth untold. Maybe favor looks more like a woman who lives in a small house in a humble neighborhood, far away from most of her friends. Maybe she's surrounded with loved ones who have ADHD, so she feels forgotten a lot. Maybe she has three special needs children. Maybe most of those special needs are misunderstood and often mistaken for bad behavior. Maybe she struggles with her weight. Maybe she makes lots of mistakes. Maybe she has a driveway that's hard to get the van up in the winter. Maybe money is tight. Maybe she is the one who's highly favored. Maybe she is the one who's deeply loved. Maybe she is the one who has much to ponder in her heart and be grateful for.
Yes, I believe so.
