Samurai Woman: The Servant Named Mary

Most Westerners are unaware of the fact that the word "Samurai" actually means "Servant", not "Warrior". To be sure, the people we call Samurai (who would have called themselves by the term "Bushi") were among the most sophisticated and efficient warriors on the planet from about 600 - 1700 AD. But even beyond the images of sword-drawing and armor-wearing, martial practice and battlefield effectiveness, Japanese knights have left their place in our collective psyches for their absolute commitment and dedication to their Feudal Lord. They regarded their lives first and foremost an extension of the one that they served and not belonging to themselves, and, as a result, were able to respond with unflinching courage and obedience to any task, even if it required their lives.

When i read the Gospels, i find early accounts of the Heart of a Samurai in the mother of Jesus, a young Jewish girl named Mary. According to Luke 1, Mary is told of the birth of the Messiah through her as follows:

"The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. For no word from God will ever fail.” “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her. - Luke 1:35-38

Most of us have heard extensively about what a massive atomic bomb this proclamation would have been to a young, unmarried Jewish girl in 1st century Palestine, but what i love about Mary's response is the absolute and unflinching Servant's Heart that beats within her breast. By modern standards, the notion of an enigmatic teen pregnancy kept under wraps would be, at least, a colossal inconvenience if not a total wrecking ball to their worlds and everyone in their families (trust me... we worked with abandoned pregnant teenagers for two years... i kind of know what i'm talking about), but to Mary, she simply responds with the heart of a Samurai... a Servant. "I am the Lord's servant," she says, "May your word to me be fulfilled."