It’s unlikely that anyone associates the television crime drama “Breaking Bad” with the Annunciation. The connection usually does not occur in casual conversation, and I doubt that you’ll find it in any catechetical material. The former tells the story of Walter White, a mild-mannered high school chemistry teacher who breaks bad and begins applying his chemistry skills to manufacturing methamphetamine, creating havoc for everyone around him. The latter is the announcement to a young virgin that, having been preserved from the stain of original sin, she would be the mother of the Prince of Peace and Savior of the world. But two scenes from “Breaking Bad” do indeed resonate with the interchange between St. Gabriel the Archangel and the Blessed Virgin Mary. And improbable as it may sound, these scenes may teach us something about St. Mary’s assent and our own Christmas faith.
In Season 4, Episode 2 of “Breaking Bad,” a contender for Walter’s position as cook for a major meth distributor has been eliminated from consideration. Even though Walter is now the only viable person for the job, he is not satisfied that the situation is secure. Walter expresses his lingering doubts about the security of his position to another central figure, Mike Ermentraut. Mike responds, “You won, Walter. You got the job. Do yourself a favor and learn to take ‘yes’ for an answer.” But, for reasons that may or may not have been reasonable, Walter would not take Mike’s advice. “Yeah, I got the job,” he replies, “but for how long?”
No doubt recalling this exchange with Mike, Walter goes on to use the identical line in later conversation. In the eighth episode of Season 5, Walter agrees to a business deal with a character named Lydia. After Walter readily agrees to the terms of the deal, Lydia launches into a speech justifying the arrangement. “Lydia,” Walter wearily interrupts, “learn to take ‘yes’ for an answer.” Like Walter in the earlier scene, Lydia could not bring herself to assent fully to the clear conclusion. They both reserved doubt which, in both cases, affected their subsequent behavior.
Our ‘quid pro quo’ mindset
Walter’s and Lydia’s reluctance to take “yes” for an answer is not an uncommon response in real life. It is not typically expressed by the refusal to assent to a proposition, however. It is more often manifested in our difficulty accepting gifts from others in the gratuitous spirit in which they are offered. We have difficulty saying “yes” to a free and unfettered gift from another.
This disinclination is conditioned by the bad habits learned in our commercial society. We tend to view every human interaction as a commercial transaction in which every quid must be reciprocated by an equivalent quo. In this mindset, no one really gives or receives a gift. Instead, we think of gift-giving as an exchange of favors. This mindset is obvious when a person gives something to another with the expectation of something in return. But, more subtly, the recipient of a gift is just as likely to think he is obligated to return an equivalent gift to the giver.
In other words, again, we have difficulty saying “yes” to a gift. Like Walter and Lydia, we either doubt that the gift is unfettered or begin to rationalize why we should respond in kind. And while it is certainly not our intention, this reaction is an affront to the charity — and thus the moral agency — of the gift giver. It is a refusal of generosity.
Accepting God’s ‘yes’
This is where Our Lady’s reaction to St. Gabriel has something to teach us. In the familiar translation of Mary’s assent, she tells Gabriel, “May it be done to me according to your word” (Lk 1:38). In the Latin Vulgate, “may it be done to me” is rendered by the phrase “fiat mihi,” commonly shortened to the single word “fiat.” St. Mary’s fiat is a complete, unqualified surrender to the gift that St. Gabriel had communicated to her. While she certainly could not have anticipated the ramifications of her role as mother of the Messiah, she nonetheless acquiesced without hesitation, doubt or rationalization.
Mary takes “yes” for an answer. And her assent is the model for our own. We cannot earn God’s gracious gift of his Son. Nor is it possible for us to repay the immeasurable generosity of our loving God. Mary teaches us to accept graciously and joyfully the gifts we are given in the spirit in which they are offered. Rather than question or dissent, she expresses the docility of one who is able both to give and receive without qualification: “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,” she sings; “my spirit rejoices in God my savior… . The Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name” (Lk 1:46-49).
We are familiar with Jesus’ admonition in the Sermon on the Mount to “Let your ‘yes’ mean ‘yes,’ and your ‘no’ mean ‘no'” (Mt 5:37). Mary’s “yes” tells us that it also works the other way around. God has said “yes” to us in His offer of eternal salvation through the gift of his Son. May we look to the Blessed Virgin’s example this Christmas season and learn to take “yes” for an answer.
Kenneth Craycraft is author of “Citizens Yet Strangers: Living Authentically Catholic in a Divided America” (Our Sunday Visitor, 2024).
