The Call and the Yes: Mary's Response to God's Invitation
Part 2 of a 5-Part Reflection on Adrienn von Speyr's The Handmaid of the Lord
Mary: The Model of Public Witness
A few days ago, I shared that I have been reflecting on the book Handmaid of the Lord by Adrienn von Speyr.
I have been thinking a lot about how God approaches us. He never barges in. He simply offers. He invites. Our Blessed Mother shows us how to respond. She is the perfect model of trust with action. Her heart is ready to share Jesus.
What does it look like to say YES to Him today? What does that kind of trust and response look like in our lives?
God’s Invitation: The Incarnation and Our Response
God’s desire to save us is not distant or abstract. It is personal. He chooses not to work alone but to invite us into His plan of redemption. And He begins with Mary—the first to say yes, the perfect model of cooperation with grace. Her fiat—"Let it be done to me according to your word." (Luke 1:38)—is the foundation of Christian discipleship.
Yet Mary’s response is not passive. She does not remain still, waiting for God to act. Immediately after the Annunciation, she goes “with haste” (Luke 1:39) to share the presence of Christ with Elizabeth. The Word made flesh does not remain hidden in her; He is carried, shared, and made known. This is the essence of the Christian life: we receive Christ not to keep Him for ourselves, but to bring Him into the world.
But stepping into God’s plan often means stepping into the unknown. Evangelization is always an act of faith. Evangelization is a willingness to proclaim Christ even when we do not fully see how God’s promises will unfold.
© 2025, Lawain McNeil, Mission Surrender, LLC.