Overcoming fear with Mary of Nazareth: Women’s experience alongside Luke 1:26–56

Abstract

Luke 2:26–56 narrates the journey of Mary of Nazareth from the Annunciation by the angel and Mary’s consent to God’s calling to the Visitation with Elizabeth and Mary’s prophetic song, the Magnificat. The portrait that emerges is far from the static and meek picture of Mary that dominates popular imagination. Instead, we find in Mary a woman who, like many women today, experiences fear related to her calling, finds strength and empowerment in her relationship with other women, and is emboldened to prophetically proclaim a message that inspires fear in the patriarchal powers of the world.