Beyond Labels

“God sent the angel Gabriel to a town in
Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of
the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary.”  Notice how the Gospel of Luke introduces us
to this young woman: before he tells us her name, he tells us her hometown
(Nazareth), her marital status (virgin and engaged), her fiancé’s name (Joseph),
and her fiancé’s family background (house of the fabled king David). Only then,
does he call her by name, “Mary.” As Fran Ferder puts it, “The ordering rightly describes the significance
of a woman of her times. . . .  Mary is
labeled before she is named.”