I was listening to an old Beatles’ song the other day, “Let It Be”, and as I thought about the words I wondered if the Beatles actually understood the Biblical message contained in their words: “When I find myself in time of trouble, mother Mary comes to me, speaking words of wisdom, let it be.”

Those words of Mary are taken from Luke 1:38 after she had received the message from the angel Gabriel that she was to be the mother of the Messiah.  Mary could not fully comprehend all that it meant, but her response was, “I am the Lord’s servant.  May it be to me as you have said.”

While there was much Mary could not have understood, one thing she would have known for sure was that it would be very difficult for her.  The community would not believe that she had not become pregnant by sleeping with someone prior to her marriage.  Indeed, even Joseph who was “a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace” (Mt. 1:19) had in mind to divorce her quietly once she was found to be pregnant.  It needed a visit from an angel to convince him that Mary’s story was true.

Mary sets before us a powerful lesson: wherever God leads us, and whatever we are called to do, however difficult it may be, our response should be: I am the servant of the Lord—Let it be to me as He wills.  Thinking of it in this way, I am reminded of Christ at the end of His life as He faced the agony of the cross: “If it be possible, let this cup pass from me.  Nevertheless, not my will but thine be done.”

So indeed the words of the Beatles’ song are true: in times of trouble we need to turn to God and seek His will.  In the hours of darkness we need to hear the words of Mary: I am the servant of the Lord—Let it be to me as You will.