Really, how could Mary have said "No"?

[Crown_of_Stars]

Mary’s “Yes” was in these words: “May it be done according to your word.” I can’t imagine what would have happened, had She said “No.” It just seems that She just wouldn’t have. God had already known Her, chosen Her, must have known She would say “Yes,” so how could Her “No” even be a consideration, really? I know Mary was fully human, not divine, sinless, and maybe had the ability to sin but just knew She never would, nor did She ever have the desire to.

 

[Robyn_p]

Mary’s “Yes” was in these words: “May it be done according to your word.” I can’t imagine what would have happened, had She said “No.” It just seems that She just wouldn’t have. God had already known Her, chosen Her, must have known She would say “Yes,” so how could Her “No” even be a consideration, really? I know Mary was fully human, not divine, sinless, and maybe had the ability to sin but just knew She never would, nor did She ever have the desire to.

It’s true, God did know she would say yes, just like he knows what I’m going to do tomorrow. That doesn’t mean I don’t freely do it.

This question ties into the relationship between God’s omniscience and our free will, which is something theologians have written a lot about over the centuries. Because God is outside time, he sees all the choices we make, not necessarily before we do it (since there is no before or after for God), but all at once. So God knew Mary would say yes and bear his Son, and that’s why he preserved her from sin.

But - and this is key - this knowledge of God in no way took away Mary’s free will. **She **was the one who made the choice for herself. God already knowing she would say yes doesn’t change that fact. And that’s what we need to remember here. Mary was not coerced or forced to bear Jesus, she freely chose to cooperate with God.

 

[Gary12]

I can’t imagine what would have happened, had She said “No.” It just seems that She just wouldn’t have.

It’s easy looking back to see Mary’s choice as expected or guaranteed. But, there is nothing in history, Scripture or anywhere in our faith that provides the slightest hint that God would take away our free will. I know in my life, God has never prevented me from choosing to sin. I don’t think He prevented Mary from sinning either. She didn’t sin because she chose not to sin.

We don’t know what Mary knew or felt at that moment, but every other human experience in history has been marked by conflicting desires. Certainly, Mary, without concupiscence, would not have had the same desire and tendency to sin that we have, but I can’t believe the choice was easy for her. Adam and Even did not have a fallen nature when they first sinned, and yet, God allowed the sinful desire in them anyway.

If the choice was not hard, there would have been no choice. Yesterday, we discussed in our Christian Formation class with our high schoolers the dark night Mother Teresa experienced, and we looked at it from the perspective of free will. If Mother Teresa had always found joy in her work, and if her desires always led her to serve the poor, what free will would she have had? Her service to God was elevated precisely because she had to overcome the dark night. We will not know in this world the challenges, doubts and fears that tested Mary most. We can see how her experience would have tested us, but how it tempted her, we don’t know. I am confident, though, that she was tested.

What would have happened if Mary said no? More sin, pain and suffering would have been brought into the world. Despite that, I trust God would have continued to love us and would have worked through that sin for our good. Thank you Mary for your yes and thank you God for loving us!

 

[Memaw]

It’s true, God did know she would say yes, just like he knows what I’m going to do tomorrow. That doesn’t mean I don’t freely do it.

This question ties into the relationship between God’s omniscience and our free will, which is something theologians have written a lot about over the centuries. Because God is outside time, he sees all the choices we make, not necessarily before we do it (since there is no before or after for God), but all at once. So God knew Mary would say yes and bear his Son, and that’s why he preserved her from sin.

But - and this is key - this knowledge of God in no way took away Mary’s free will. **She **was the one who made the choice for herself. God already knowing she would say yes doesn’t change that fact. And that’s what we need to remember here. Mary was not coerced or forced to bear Jesus, she freely chose to cooperate with God.

Right, I don’t do the “what if”. I am thankful to Mary for bringing us our Savior. And I TRUST her Divine Son. God Bless, Memaw

 

[Mystical_Seeker]

It is wonderful and awesome that Mary said “yes” to God.

That just doesn’t seem very impressive. Why would she say anything but yes, unless she knew sin?

Of course her immaculate conception was brought about due to the actions of her Son on the cross, so it’s hard to put causality in any order that makes sense to us mortals. Had she not said “yes” then would Jesus’s actions on the cross have failed – so this is kind of a chicken or egg thing. We can’t have the Immaculate Conception, or the Cross, without the other. So it’s kind of entangled in a way that gets us confused due to our limited viewpoint of time that we only know how to experience it except as it “moves forward” without ability to go back.

But to me, any woman making a difficult decision and ultimately says “yes” to what she believes God wants her to do, is no less impressive. Maybe more so, but so far I can’t inject my mind into the time loop enough to really even know what to think about Mary (as a “person”) based on her saying “yes” nor does it give me much to compare it to.

We read into her situation all the emotional and mental difficulties that were present – the potential for scandal etc. – but that is entirely based on our own thinking which even considers these things that oppose God as salient options. Was it really so “difficult” for her to say yes? Was it an act of heroism and bravery like we love to paint it as being – or was it just a humble situation which played out according to prophecy?