With God nothing is impossible

In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God 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. And he came to her and said, ‘Greetings, favoured one! The Lord is with you.’ But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. The angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favour with God. And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. He will reign over the house of Jacob for ever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.’ Mary said to the angel, ‘How can this be, since I am a virgin?’ The angel said to her, ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God. And now, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month for her who was said to be barren. For nothing will be impossible with God.’ Then Mary said, ‘Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.’ Then the angel departed from her .

- Luke 1:26-38

In yesterday's reading, we read of Gabriel's pronouncement to Zechariah that he will have a son, who will have the spirit of Elijah. Today's reading begins in the sixth month of Zechariah's wife's pregnancy (she is Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist). And we have the annunciation of another pregnancy. This time, Gabriel brings the good news to a town in Galilee called Nazareth. He speaks to a virgin named Mary, who we are told is engaged to Joseph. Joseph is of royal lineage, "of the house of David."

And he came to her and said, ‘Greetings, favoured one! The Lord is with you.’ But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. The word translated as "favored" is the past tense of χαριτοω ("charito") to have grace, to be graced. Its root is χαρις ("charis"), which is grace, blessing, gift. Once again, we recall the parable of the talents: Mary is much favored, much blessed. In the more traditional language of the prayer, "full of grace."

But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. The angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favour with God. And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. He will reign over the house of Jacob for ever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.’ This is a description of the expected Messiah, indeed.

Mary said to the angel, ‘How can this be, since I am a virgin?’ The angel said to her, ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God. Mary, we have been told twice for emphasis, is a virgin. Yet again, in the poetic way of the gospels, there is another repetition here: The "Holy Spirit" and the "power of the Most High" are synonymous, my study bible notes. We have repetition for emphasis. The "holy one" (who is to be born) is a Messianic title. In this paragraph we have references to central pieces of Christian theology: Jesus is born of a woman, and is therefore fully human. He is also fully divine. And in this passage we have not only the human family of Jesus (Mary and Joseph), but also the Holy Family of the Trinity: Father (Most High), Son of God, and Holy Spirit.

And now, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month for her who was said to be barren. For nothing will be impossible with God. Gabriel tells Mary the news of Elizabeth's pregnancy, to further open her eyes to what is happening around her, in response to her question, "How can this be, since I am a virgin?" These are words to remember, that will be repeated in the gospels. We recall Jesus' words to his apostles, regarding the salvation of the wealthy young man, when Jesus told them that it was harder for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone rich to enter the kingdom: With God all things are possible. Jesus will teach the same when he preaches on what is possible with faith the size of a mustard seed.

Then Mary said, ‘Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.’ Then the angel departed from her. My study bible has a note here which I will repeat: "Mary's faithful response makes her the highest model of obedience to God. The Incarnation of the Son of God is not only the work of the Trinity, but also the work of the will and the faith of the Virgin. Therefore, the Virgin Mary is honored not only because God chose her, or because she bore the Son of God in the flesh, but also because she chose to believe and obey God firmly." In this way, Mary is pure. (See commentary on the parable of the Ten Virgins.) I have met many people puzzled by the traditional veneration of Mary in the Church. But truly we must see Mary as a glorious human being in that she is the model of faith, of the pure in heart. She accepted fully to use the grace given to her to do the particular job of motherhood asked of her; she accepted God's will and in this she is venerated. And there is another important note to repeat: "As Mary bore Christ in her womb physically, all Christians now have the privilege of bearing God within them spiritually. By God's grace and mercy we are purified and empowered to become like Him." And there we come back to the words that tell us, "With God all things are possible." Mary is the figure of the human being who sheltered God in this world as a helpless infant, and as a child. So she is the model, the image for all of us, who would nurture the Spirit in the world, Christ in the world, through our own caring and protection and nurturing - and through faith. We are each "favored" or graced in one way or another. Let us follow her example, and accept our gifts and use them for the nurturing of the holy and the good in the world, in faith. She is called "God bearer" in the historical language and from the earliest times of the Church. Let us be like her.