To an insignificant village of between 500-1500 citizens, an angel makes a shocking appearance to a girl who’s maybe 14 years old. She’s pledged to be married to an older man, but they’re not together yet. We find out from the angel that the girl has been chosen by the Lord for a unique task, but Mary is upset by his message and puzzled at this “choosing.” The angel reassures her of God’s selection of her—God has taken delight in you.
Then came the message that would rock science and history: Even though you’ve never had sex, you’re going to have a baby boy. Name him Jesus, because he’s going to be equal to God, and he will fulfill the prophecies of the Coming One.
This is a little much for a 14-year-old girl, but she didn’t just fall off the donkey cart, so she asks a reasonable question: I at least know enough about science to know that people who haven’t had sex can’t have babies. How is this going to be possible?
The answer was straightforward: God will do it. He has made life come out of empty places before. It’s not an obstacle or a problem.
She responds like a champion: Whatever you want to do is fine with me.
So what is of interest here for us? First of all, the intrigue that God doesn’t choose the halls of power or the people of position to make his earth-shaking announcement. He chooses a humble girl in a backwoods village—a girl who’s nothing in a nothing place, by earthly standards. Secondly, neither God nor Mary is stupid when it comes to science. They both realize there’s a “logical” obstacle here. For Mary it’s not a leap in the dark. Faith is never a leap in the dark, but an assumption of truth based on enough evidence to make it reasonable for you to make that assumption. Mary has that evidence. God gives the evidential basis on which she should believe, and Mary recognizes that it’s reasonable, given the source and the evidence. Third, she responds with the best possible response whenever we connect with God: Whatever you want to do is fine with me.