The Brown Book Commentaries

“Blessed is she who Believed, for there will be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her
by the Lord.” ~ Jesus (Luke 1:45)
This verse becomes Truth only in those moments when our Belief becomes a verb – only when we set aside
merely thinking faithfully about God‘s love for us and start acting Faith-fully by extending Love to others (see
Matthew 7:21, Matthew 24:12-14, Matthew 25:35-40, John 13:15-17, John 14:12 et al) … This means that the
blessing of Mary -- the woman referenced here -- was not guaranteed via her mental faith or her verbal
allegiance, nor was it assured merely because of the child she carried or the song of praise she sang thereafter.
No, the blessing so promised accrued because Mary chose to heed the Call given to her – she chose to hear a
Divine Summons and then act accordingly -- by raising Jesus with the requisite knowledge to enable him to Do
what was needed to fulfill his subsequent ministry. Indeed, by all indications Mary fulfilled her requirement
quite courageously, if for no other reason than we later see Jesus become a ―laborer‘s‖ son (the Greek word
commonly translated as ―carpenter‖ in Matthew 13:55 was not specifically tied to wood-workers – see the Greek
tektonos, Strong‘s #5045) who was extremely well-versed in Hebrew Scriptures (see Luke 2:43-47, and also
Matthew 4:4-10, Luke 4:17-19, Matthew 5:21-38, Matthew 10:35-36, Matthew 11:10, Matthew 13:14-15,
Matthew 15:3-9, Matthew 19:4-6, Matthew 19:17-20, Matthew 21:13-16, Matthew 21:42, Matthew 22:31-32,
Matthew 22:37-40, Matthew 22:43-44, Matthew 23: 38-39, Matthew 24:15-16, Matthew 26:31, Matthew 27:46,
John 10:34, John 13:18, John 15:25 et al) – a highly unusual occurrence for any child from a working class
family in Jesus‘ day …It is also worth noting that Jesus did not fulfill the prophecy desired yb the angel who
spoke to Mary in this chapter of Luke. For the ―angel Gabriel‖ told Mary that ―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.‖ (Luke 1:31-32) … True to form, Mary did name
her son Jesus, and true to form, he was a Great Man who many errantly worshipped as the Son of the Most High.
And yet one thing he never was – indeed, one thing he openly & wholeheartedly & repeatedly rejected was ―the
throne of his ancestor David‖ Indeed, Jesus wanted no part of being revered as a Savior of the people (see
Matthew 16:20, Matthew 22:41-45, Matthew 24:1-2, Matthew 24:23-27, Matthew 26:63-64 + Matthew 16:28,
Mark 1:24-25, Mark 3:12, Mark 8:27-30, Mark 10:17-18, Mark 12:14-17, Mark 12:35-37, Luke 4:5-8, Luke
4:41, Luke 9:18-21, Luke 18:18-19, Luke 22:70, John 5:41, John 6:15, John 7:16-18 + John 14:20, John 8:50-54,
John 12:44-45, John 12:49 & John 13:13) – instead coming to offer them a Way they could attain salvation for
themselves by serving others (see Luke 17:20-21, Matthew 10:7, Matthew 16:28, Matthew 24:12-14, John
13:15-17 et al) … And this Way remains a Truth for us all to this very day. For we are all Blessed when we see
to it that others have the tools & the knowledge required to blossom into a Life that serves others in harmony
with their own unique gifts & talents – a Life that ―fulfills what is spoken [within them] by the Lord.‖.
―With great power comes great opportunity.‖ ~ anonymous
On the superficial plane, this statement mirrors the age-old myth that only those of cultural influence (i.e.
fame or status) or intellectual influence (i.e. intelligence or knowledge of dogma) or material influence (i.e.
monetary wealth or an abundance of possessions) or psychological influence (i.e. great beauty or charming
charisma) have ―great power‖ – and that these are the ones who thereby also have the greater opportunity; the
greater opportunity to control their lives & the lives of others; the greater opportunity to live long and prosperous
lives; the greater opportunity to be happy and find love … Of course, nothing could be further from the Truth,
for in actuality, it is just those such as these who have the least likelihood of knowing true Power – the Power
that comes from sacrificing for others; the Power that comes from forgiving competitors & enemies; the Power
that comes from serving the downtrodden; the Power that comes from giving past the point of comfort … Indeed
Jesus said it best – ―It is more difficult for a rope to pass through the eye of a needles than it is for a wealthy man
to enter the Kingdom of Heaven‖ (Matthew 19:24 – with the Aramaic word for ―camel‖ being almost identical
with the Aramaic word for ―rope‖) … This is why I actually have immense compassion for those who are
actually burdened with the aforementioned ―curses‖ of fame or political power or religious influence or material
wealth or physical beauty or athletic talent – and an enormous respect for those who are so burdened and yet
choose to live the loving Way of Christ anyway … P.S. On a more important note – for the rest of us ―normal
people‖ – while we may not have any of the aforementioned superficial powers, we do all always have access to
real & true POWER – namely, the Power to
LOVE, especially when we least wish to do
so, and especially those people in our lives
―least deserving‖ of the same.
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