Mary is Word, grace, and dabar.

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The Announcement: Mary and the Word

Having briefly outlined what the Word is, we can now begin to understand how Mary’s person relates to the event of the Word. We all know that many texts in the New Testament, while touching on the Marian question, are primarily Christological.The author who provides the most direct information about Mary is Luke. In his account of the Annunciation, *Luke* 1:26-38, he introduces statements that pertain directly and exclusively to Mary:a) the *full of grace* in v. 28,b) the *servant of the Lord* in v. 38,c) or the words about the *Holy Spirit* and *Mary* in v. 35.For this reason, we will explore the pericope of *Luke* 1:26-38, the narrative of the Announcement. Initially, this presents the presence of the angel, which directly refers to the Word as the narrative is presented as a exchange of words and silences, proposals and responses.The term that qualifies Mary here is not the Word, but *grace*, *charis*: Mary is described as *full of grace*, *kecharitomene*, as one who *found favor with God*. Certainly different, the two terms are not alien to each other: grace is a personification of that God who is “*merciful and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love and faithfulness, keeping mercy for thousands of generations*,” and refers to his nature as God who is “*abundant in mercy and love*.” Even the Word is a personification of God that designates his action and his communication.John will explain that the fullness of grace, of which we all receive, is found in that Son who will indicate how the Word, as the Word who “*became flesh and dwelt among us*.” In practice, *hesed* and *dabar*, *grace* and *word*, are two theological personifications of one and the same God. Therefore, the fact that in Luke’s text the *Word* is at the service of *grace* does not seem to be an obstacle to our theme, but rather a particular of extreme importance.The intertwining of the two terms has the advantage of forcing us to return quickly to the primary meaning of *grace*, that which speaks more of God than of Mary, that which gives the grace than that which receives it, because this is what qualifies the Virgin Mary, the one available to receive the free and gratuitous gift of the Trinitarian God. Without this precision of language and Marian clarification, *grace* may insensibly end up indicating its opposite, that is, the gain, the quantity, the benefit of divinity, rather than the intimate dialogue of the event that is revealed as the Word manifests itself.

The Annunciation: A Story No Longer Individual

The Luke’s narrative begins with the angel addressing, to a young woman, «a virgin, betrothed to a man of the house of David, named Joseph. The virgin’s name was Mary». The angel’s intervention in this private matter of these two young people takes an unexpected turn in their story: their story is inserted into a broader, communal context demanded by the angel’s presence.This is the fulfillment of God’s messianic design: hence, Mary is asked, in verses 28, in terms that recall the *Daughter of Zion* (Dictionary Mariological: Daughter of Zion), to be the personification of Israel. In itself, the gift of divine salvation rests solely on the goodness of a God who is love and does not need human contribution. However, it is part of God’s way to use righteous men. So, when this plan reaches its highest point with the sending of the eternal Word in human form, then the human mediation of Jesus needs to be historicized, it needs a birth *of a woman, under the law* (Gal 4:4). Yet, one must keep in mind that Mary cannot be the cause of what is happening, but only a freely chosen condition by God and a sign of the profusion of a new beginning.Mary is that unique figure who makes possible the ‘becoming flesh of the Word’. At the same time, as representative of the *Daughter of Zion*, Mary is the apex of Israel’s faith and the beginning of the people of the kingdom. Thus, she represents both humanity that refers to God through Israel’s law and worship and those who approach God through the blessings and faith in that Jesus who made divine life truly available to all.In this context, there is no direct focus on Mary’s femininity. Although her being a woman is naturally present, the theological focus centers on the universality of a relationship determined by her connection with that divine paternity that is solely defined by her relationship with the Son. Mary is also, therefore, included in a salvific process that is universal, concerning all.The role of Mary is entirely contained in the angel’s words: “You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you shall name him Jesus.” Both Matthew and Luke return to this conception in the work of the Spirit. That is, this motherhood is not primarily the work of a woman and her freedom, but is entirely qualified by the Son whom she gives life through the Spirit. Only by understanding this Son and the mystery of his birth will it be possible to understand who is the mother.While Matthew and Luke will interpret this conception and birth as a messianic and virgin motherhood, Paul will frame it within the concept of *kénosis*, or that particular condition from which the birth from a woman serves as a sign. Traditionally, *kénosis* is derived from the verb *kenóo* and read as emptying, as renouncing. Perhaps it is time to read it positively as revelation, as the fullness of a love that makes dispossession the most evident sign of giving.In a different way, Saint Irenaeus will argue that, as the first Adam was born without being conceived from human seed, it was fitting that the second Adam should also be born in this manner. The sense of these indications is to draw our attention to the fact that there are many patterns of reading this motherhood, many ways of understanding it: what matters is that they all refer to the concreteness of a singular motherhood.However, it can be said that the mother-son relationship that binds Mary and Jesus goes far beyond human design and seems to be the personal act of the Word who, while maintaining a deep relationship with the other divine persons, makes his *becoming* as flesh the gift of himself from the Father and the creative love of that Spirit, to bring forth a life totally dedicated to God.In reality, it is not Mary who makes Christ her son, but Christ who makes Mary his mother. Her singular motherhood comes from the Word she received. The humanity of Jesus is generated and exists only when the Word assumes it and makes it his own, and that moment, which constitutes and contains the salvific mystery of the Incarnation, belongs only to God.To deepen reflection on Mary and the Word of God in the biblical perspective, consult Pope John Paul II’s encyclical *Redemptoris Mater*, which illuminates how Mary welcomed the divine word with total faith and full grace.For further study: explore Mariology, Marian theology, Marian apparitions, and Postgraduate Studies in Mariology.