What Was Mary Doing When Gabriel Appeared?

If You Believe in Christmas, It Would’ve Been in May

I decided it was a beautiful Spring Day with soft breezes blowing. The harsh Middle East winter was in the past, and March and its roaring winds had come and gone. Balmy April, with its showers, had nourished the earth and coaxed new life from old growth.

That morning she had dressed in a hurry to get outside, joyful and content in her teenage world. She was proud of her tunic, having spun and woven the fabric herself. She had another one safely stored for best wear. Breakfast of bread and figs done, she’d rushed her morning chores, eager to get away from her younger siblings.

In “my” story, Mary had three young brothers whom she loved and helped care for, but for some reason, she wanted to be alone on that day in May. Her mother had agreed that Mary could go off and do her own thing.

Brainstorming with my BFF

(aka Best Friend Forever and a Font of Biblical knowledge).

My BFF decided that Mary went to a nearby olive grove to walk. She treasured the alone time and would stroll among these ancient trees. Maybe she picked a leaf to rub between her fingers. Maybe she bent down to pick some little wildflower growing at the tree’s base.

Maybe she had a favorite tree where she would go to pray. She’d lean against the tree trunk and share her dreams. Talk about her betrothed, Joseph, how much she loved him and looked forward to marrying him.

She’d whisper her concerns about the wedding night, of which she knew so little, and her mother hadn’t said much either. She would ask her mother closer to her wedding day.

Her few belongings were packed in a brand-new wooden chest Joseph had made for her. He did fantastic work as a carpenter, and she was proud of him. She was glad that they would not live too far from her parents. She loved them and would like to see her mother often.

And as she leaned against the tree, a shaft of bright light appeared a little distance away. She shrank closer to the tree, bewildered at the sight.

Mary was scared until Gabriel spoke.

Hail full of Grace, The Lord Is with you — and later

Do not be afraid

And what I think happened

In the Bible, the account of Gabriel appearing to Mary is told in Luke 1: 26–38. We are not told what she was doing. Thus, I could give my imagination free reign.

Was she hanging out the washing? It was a beautiful sunshine day, and their linen would dry quickly. What did she have for a washing line, and what did she use for securing the washing? Did they have something like clothes pegs?

My Mary was reaching up to straighten a sheet when Gabriel appeared in a blinding light on the other side of the sheet. I decided my Gabriel was human in appearance but obviously not of this world. He glowed and shimmered, a little out of focus.

Scared witless, she cowered behind the sheet only to be reassured by the famous words –

Hail full of Grace, The Lord Is with you — and later

                 Do not be afraid

Or maybe she was working in the garden, on her knees, weeding a patch around the onion and leek bed. Or berries. They ate lots of berries!

Or planting tiny seedlings nurtured from seeds she’d harvested the previous year.

Or maybe she’d been sent to the tiny lean-to where their goat was tethered, and she was milking the goat.

No matter what she was doing, her world changed when that blinding light appeared, and those famous words were spoken –

                    Hail full of Grace, The Lord Is with you — and later

Do not be afraid

How Did She React?

Did she jump back in fright (it would have been at the washing line), lose her balance as she kneeled (in the garden), or fall off her milking stool (where she was milking the goat.)

But she was not afraid. She did not try to hide behind a sheet, lose her balance, or fall off a milking stool. She did not cry out in fright. She did not try to run away.

Already we have a clear image of Mary, our Blessed Lady and Mother of our Savior.

She was brave, self-contained, fearless. Calm and cool in the face of the unexpected, composed and self-possessed. Scared — no. Interested — yes.

A serene and poised teenager

And no BFF to share the news with. No one her age could confide in that (a) would believe her and (b) wouldn’t laugh at her.

No, she’d have to go and visit her cousin Elizabeth who, according to Gabriel, also was with child.

When did Mary go and visit? As soon as possible after the momentous news the angel brought? Before she started to show? When did she tell Joseph? When did she tell her parents?

What did our brave teenager do?

I believe that regardless of where she was or what she was doing that day, she remained in situ to dwell on what she’d been told.

And after the shock had worn off, she smiled to herself, a small smile of joy, and quietly hugged to herself the angel’s words –

You will conceive and give birth to a son