When you, or I, read we are constantly remembering what’s gone before in the narrative, although this is quite often done at a subconscious level. Therefore if we are attentive readers we will be inclined to remember what’s been happening. We are helped in this process by the author who puts subtle hints into the story that help us recall what’s already been mentioned, while at the same time adding, or foreshadowing events that are about to unfold. This is crucial for our reading of Mary, and the other women we will encounter in this series, because Luke is assuming that his audience is familiar with the scriptures of Israel. The whole story of Jesus is based on the promise of restoration God made to Israel, beginning with Abraham!
Mary stands at the beginning of Luke’s gospel as a nascent Israel ready to embrace her destiny in God’s unfolding plan of salvation. She stands at the beginning of a new line that will be better and greater than that of Israel’s predecessors.