http://www.biblestudytools.com/esv/luke/passage/?q=luke+1:26-38 (Luke 1:26-38) People sometimes use what they think is a biblical quote, but it really is not. It goes like this: “God works in strange and mysterious ways.” Though you would be hard-pressed to find this quote in Scripture, it is truth. People have been saying it about God for centuries. Years ago a man named William Cowper wrote a hymn: “God moves in mysterious way, His wonders to perform.  He plants his footsteps in the sea and rides upon the storm.” Isaiah the prophet expresses amazement at the mysteries of God, when he says,  “Truly, O God our Savior, you work in mysterious ways” (Is. 45:15). He also says,  “Who has known the mind of the Lord? Who has been his counselor?” (Is. 40:13). The Apostle Paul stood in awe of God’s mysteries and wrote, “How unsearchable are his ways!” (Rom. 11:33). Such is the case as you consider today’s story about Mary. The Lord works in mysterious ways. Just think about it. The world needed a Savior from sin, so God devised a plan, which is rather mysterious and out of the ordinary. He decided to send His Son, Jesus, as a baby, God incarnate, God in the flesh, who will eventually die on a cross to pay for the sins of the world. Mysterious. Even more mysterious is the reason why He would do that for me knowing the kind of person I am inside and the depths of my sin. This love of God is mysterious. If you were in charge of sending this Savior, where would you choose to have Him raised? Surely a kingly palace would have been a smart thing. A place where He would be safe and secure and receive the best. After all, He is the Savior. Or perhaps a priestly, educated family could fill Him with knowledge and show Him the way around through Israel’s religious system. How about a mature family who is practiced in raising children, known amongst the community for how well they do with kids? They can make Him safe and secure and keep Him healthy. It makes sense to us, right? But not to God. He instead chose Mary, a teenager – probably 14 or 15 years old – with little status in the ancient world. She was probably uneducated, from a little backwater town named Nazareth of which sophisticated Jewish folks would say, Can anything good come out of Nazareth? They’re a bunch of hicks! She was engaged to a carpenter who was barely able to eke out a living. One has to wonder how good he was at his business. After all, when they gave an offering after the circumcision of Jesus, they offered two pigeons, which is what only the poverty-stricken were instructed to give. Still God chose Mary to bring the Savior, the Son of God, into this world. God works in mysterious ways! Why, you may wonder. First of all, the response would be because He is God. His thoughts are not our thoughts. His ways are not our ways. He sometimes chooses to use the weak to lead the strong. Perhaps His grace was behind this. He wanted to show us how He can take ordinary people and use them in great ways. Or it might be about His mind. As He does His way, we learn we can trust Him, and He really knows what makes things work. We give   the glory when it goes right instead of giving ourselves the credit. Yes, God knew Mary’s heart, her faith in Him, her willingness to submit to His plan. We can’t know for certain. All we know is this – God called Mary. The rest is history. She responded with a few questions such as, How can this be? I’m a virgin. After it was explained to her, “Power from the most High will overshadow you,” she responded, “Here I am, your servant. Let it be to me according to your word.” Have you ever stopped to think of how brave those words are? She did not know what difficulties and complications lay ahead for her, but still she said “Let it be to me . . .” I love a little article in a book by Frederick Buechner about biblical characters. He writes about Gabriel the Angel who made