Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word

Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word. 

Mary and St. Juan Diego probably never imagined that God would give them a major role to play in his plan of salvation.   Neither of them had any special training or standing in society.   But look what a difference they made. They changed history!

Mary was a young girl from a poor family living in the backwater town of Nazareth.   On the day the angel Gabriel appeared to her, she was probably doing what she did every other day:  helping her family with household chores.   She must have been shocked that God had chosen her to bear God’s son.   And yet despite her surprise, Mary said yes.

Fifteen hundred years later, Mary appeared to a peasant named Juan Diego.   She asked this humble Aztec Indian to go to the bishop and request that he build a church in her honor.   Juan immediately obeyed, but the bishop asked him to return another day.   The next time Mary appeared to him, Juan Diego told her about the failure of his mission and urged her to find someone more influential.   But Mary said, “My little son, there are many I could send.   But you are the one I have chosen.”

So Juan Diego returned to the bishop, who then asked for a sign that the apparition was real.   Mary told Juan Diego to find roses growing on a hillside in winter.   He gathered the flowers in his tilma and returned to the bishop.   When he opened the tilma, he found an image of Mary dressed as an indigenous woman imprinted on the cloak.   Convinced, the bishop built the church, and the miracles associated with these visions brought nearly nine million Aztecs to the Lord.

God could easily turn hearts and change minds by simply calling out from heaven in a big booming voice.   But that’s not how he works.   Throughout history, he chooses humble people to make his message heard and to change the world.

So don’t be surprised if God calls you.   You may not feel qualified, but God thinks otherwise.   Just keep following him, and you will change the world.

Word Among Us