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Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin's name was Mary. And having come in, the angel said to her, "Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!" But when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was. Then the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name JESUS. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end."
Then Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I do not know a man?" And the angel answered and said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God. Now indeed, Elizabeth your relative has also conceived a son in her old age; and this is now the sixth month for her who was called barren. For with God nothing will be impossible."
Then Mary said, "Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word." And the angel departed from her.
- Luke 1:26-38
Yesterday, we read that the angel said to Zacharias: "Do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your prayer is heard; and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth. For he will be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink. He will also be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother's womb. And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God. He will also go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, 'to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children,' and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord." And Zacharias said to the angel, "How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is well advanced in years." And the angel answered and said to him, "I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God, and was sent to speak to you and bring you these glad tidings. But behold, you will be mute and not able to speak until the day these things take place, because you did not believe my words which will be fulfilled in their own time." And the people waited for Zacharias, and marveled that he lingered so long in the temple. But when he came out, he could not speak to them; and they perceived that he had seen a vision in the temple, for he beckoned to them and remained speechless. So it was, as soon as the days of his service were completed, that he departed to his own house. Now after those days his wife Elizabeth conceived; and she hid herself five months, saying, "Thus the Lord has dealt with me, in the days when He looked on me, to take away my reproach among people."
Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to city of Galilee named Nazareth . . . . In the sixth month refers to the sixth month of Elizabeth's pregnancy with John.
. . . to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin's name was Mary. According to my study bible, the name Mary means "exalted one." It says, "When Joseph is referred to as of the house of David, it reveals Mary also was descended from David's royal lineage, for a righteous man would usually marry within his own tribe. Twice in this verse, and again by implication (in verse 34), Luke calls Mary a virgin."
And having come in, the angel said to her, "Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!" According to the traditions of the Church, Eve brought forth children in sorrow (Genesis 3:17), while Mary, by contrast, who is the new Eve, will rejoice in bringing forth her Son; as Eve had been cursed, so now Mary is blessed. Highly favored (charitou in the Greek) can also be translated "full of grace." My study bible says, "Mary is the most blessed woman who has ever lived because of her complete willingness to receive God's grace, or in the words of her Son, to 'hear the word of God and keep it' (11:28)."
Then the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name JESUS. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end." My study bible points out that Gabriel's announcement emphasizes two truths: (1) you will conceive in your womb: the Lord Jesus took His flesh -- His human nature -- from Mary herself; and (2) this is the divine Son of the Highest in Mary's womb. Thus the one Person, Jesus, the eternal Son and Word of God, is both fully human and fully divine. This truth was crucial in the defeat of the heretic Nestorius, who taught that Mary conceived a mere man who was later joined by the divine Son of God. A hymn in the Eastern Church tells us, "The Son of God becomes the Son of the Virgin as Gabriel announces the coming of grace."
Then Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I do not know a man?" My study bible notes that Mary's question here (How can this be?) is different from Zacharias' question (see yesterday's reading). Mary's does not indicate a lack of faith, as Zacharias' question did. Rather, she is "merely inquiring into the manner in which something so extraordinary would happen."
And the angel answered and said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God. Now indeed, Elizabeth your relative has also conceived a son in her old age; and this is now the sixth month for her who was called barren. For with God nothing will be impossible." Here is already a messianic title (Holy One - see Psalm 16:10) and a revelation of the Holy Trinity: The Father (the Highest). the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Then Mary said, "Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word." And the angel departed from her. My study bible tells us: "Mary's faithful response is that of highest obedience to God. The Incarnation is not only the work of God, but it involves the free response of mankind in the person of Mary. Whereas Eve once disobeyed, Mary now obeys; whereas Eve closed herself to God, Mary opens to His will. Mary's response says, 'I am a tablet; let the Writer write whatever He desires on it' (Theophylact of Bulgaria)."
So who is Mary, after all? Let us note that without her and her assent, the story is not possible. Well, one presumes that with God, all things are possible, as it says in today's reading. But it is her acceptance of the word of God that makes her extraordinary. In today's world, so many of us seem to have been given the idea that Mary is a very pliant person, in some sense eager to please. But I think that in a very important sense, nothing could be further from the truth. Mary is a powerfully discerning person, even at the young age in which she is portrayed here, and her obedience is to God. Throughout the life of her Son she will be His supporter, she understands who He is. In His youth, she and her husband Joseph are His protectors. In the Gospel of John, (John the one who became "her son" with Jesus' death on the Cross), it is she who prompted the first miracle at the marriage at Cana, turning water into wine. This is a woman of supreme confidence in God, of tremendous faith, and that's what we need to "take home" about Mary. My study bible says that for two thousand years the Church has preserved the memory of the Virgin Mary as the prototype of all Christians -- the model of what we are to become in Christ. She was truly pure (in the deepest spiritual sense of her profound faith, her whole heart) and unconditionally obedient to God. She's a model also in that she is the first person to receive Jesus Christ. To quote my study bible, "As Mary bore Christ in her womb physically, all Christians now have the privilege of bearing God within them spiritually." That is, of becoming like Him by God's purifying and empowering grace and mercy. From the earliest times, the Church has called Mary Theotokos (Greek, literally, meaning "God-bearer"), a title, as my study bible says, implying that her Son is both fully man and fully God. Mary was the source of His human nature as His mother, yet the One she bore in her womb was also the eternal God. For all these and so many reasons, she has traditionally been considered the "first among the saints." Throughout the ages, people have and continue to call on Mary for divine protection (both because of her own purity of faith and as "protectress" to Christ in the world and thereby the Church). We ask her to pray with us, and she is the one who never turns away from anyone. She is known as the great compassionate one, the human being who suffered with her Son, and took on all His life would mean, becoming also a mother figure to His followers, His Church. In the Orthodox tradition, she is also known as a Champion General, with an important hymn sung to her throughout Lent bearing this title for her. She is our defender, the one who bore and protected Christ in the world. She is also the one who led the way for all of us in her acceptance of the role given to her. One must consider the power of inner purity, and its complete defeat of the evil one. For this reason, she is the one who helps to deliver us from sorrows. Through her, as Mother of God, chosen by God to bear the Son into the world, the whole of humanity is truly uplifted. She is the example, the icon we have of faith and strength, compassion and protection, and resistance to all evils, and purity and virtue. In a world that so needs it, let us remember her strength to help us in our faith, that she always prays with us. She is the compassionate Mother, and the one who always points us toward her Son. Throughout the world she is the one known for her unfailing sympathy, kindness, and tenderness. Her humility is her strength and confidence, as she is ever dedicated to Him. In her faith, she is the unassailable tower, the one who assists in our prayers, who never lost confidence in her Son's true identity. She is our lady of victories over all things that distract us from the people we are called to be by Christ. She is the one who told the stewards at the wedding at Cana, "Whatever He says, do it." She is in this role, she is Mother to all of us, a mother to the motherless, maidservant to the One who "sets the solitary in families," the saint who helps us on our way as we follow the Son. Let us not forget Christ's unwavering and, for His contemporaries, even shocking sympathy toward the women we meet in the Gospels, and especially so in Luke. For myself, I suppose this, too, had something to do with who His mother was, and deepens my gratitude to her.
