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Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a 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 not 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
In yesterday's reading, we read the beginning of the Gospel of Luke. Luke writes: Inasmuch as many have taken in hand to set in order a narrative of those things which have been fulfilled among us, just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word delivered them to us, it seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write to you an orderly account, most excellent Theophilus, that you may know the certainty of those things in which you were instructed. There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the division of Abijah. His wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless. But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and they were both well advanced in years. So it was, that while he was serving as priest before God in the order of his division, according to the custom of the priesthood, his lot fell to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord. And the whole magnitude of the people was praying outside at the hour of incense. Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing on the right side of the altar of incense. And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him. But the angel said to him, "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 into 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 a 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. The sixth month is the sixth month of Elizabeth's pregnancy (see yesterday's reading, above). Mary means exalted one, says my study bible. Although the text mentions Joseph's lineage, it indicates that Mary and Joseph are both of the house of David -- descended from David's royal lineage -- as a devout Jew would customarily marry within his own tribe. We note that Luke twice 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!" But when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was. The angel's greeting is, "Rejoice!" The good news is right here, for hidden in it is in a reversal of the Fall. Genesis 3:16 tells us that Even brought forth children in sorrow; but Mary is the new Eve, she will rejoice in bringing forth her Son. As Eve suffered under a curse, Mary is now blessed. Highly favored one (χαριτου / charitou in Greek) can also be translated as "full of grace." My study bible says that Mary is the most blessed woman who has ever lived, because of her complete willingness to receive God's grace. In the words of her Son, to "hear the word of God and keep it" (Luke 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 tells us that Gabriel's announcement emphasizes two truths: first, Gabriel tells Mary "you will conceive in your womb": Jesus took His flesh (that is, His human nature), from Mary herself. Secondly, this is the divine Son of the Highest in Mary's womb. Therefore, this one Person, Jesus, the eternal Son and Word of God, is both fully human and fully divine.
Then Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I do not know a man?" In contrast to Zacharias' response ("How shall I know this?"), Mary's question, "How can this be?" doesn't indicate a lack of faith. She is actually asking as to way 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 not the sixth month for her who was called barren. For with God nothing will be impossible." Holy One, says my study bible, is a messianic title (see Psalm 16:10). Here we are given 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 that Mary's faithful response is that of the highest obedience to God. And here's the great, "impossible" news: the Incarnation is not just the work of God, but it also involves and asks for the free response of mankind in the person of Mary. Once upon a time, Eve disobeyed, now Mary obeys. Eve closed herself to God, but Mary opens to His will. My study bible cites Theophylact of Bulgaria, who taught that Mary's response says, "I am a tablet; let the Writer write whatever He desires on it."
It's frequently pointed out how often Jesus teaches "Do not be afraid." Here, in yesterday's reading and in today's, Gabriel's announcement to Mary and to Zacharias includes the command, "Do not be afraid." (The angel who appears in the tomb to the myrrh-bearing women will say the same.) "Do not be afraid" is connected to another important statement in today's reading, also repeated elsewhere by Jesus, "With God nothing will be impossible." Both statements, "Do not be afraid," and "With God nothing will be impossible" are statements about faith. They teach us something about faith. They draw us more deeply into faith. Faith, we remember, is akin to trust. In the Greek, the word meaning to have faith is the verb to trust. "I trust that ..." or "I have faith that ...", "I trust in ..." or "I have faith in ..." are two ways of saying the same thing. They teach us to cast off fearfulness, being afraid. This is something different from what is called the "fear of God," which is reverence and an understanding of God's absolute power, the might of God's word. When each person is taught, "do not be afraid" it is a question of casting off something within themselves; this is not a question of awareness but rather a question of discarding something that is holding them back, and not allowing them to truly see. "Do not be afraid" is a command to cast off that which keeps us from true awareness, which holds us back from opening up to the perspectives and possibilities on offer from God, and found in and by faith. In that sense, "with God nothing will be impossible" is a reassurance about perspective, about what we put our trust in. It asks us to open up and to expand, to trust: to find the direction God has for us and to trust in it. It is in this sense that Mary's response, "Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word" is so powerful. She is saying "Yes" to the God who commands us not to be afraid, and "Yes" to the God for whom nothing will be impossible. This is "Yes" to a trust in something she can't do and can't explain of herself; it is "Yes" to the God who asks for our trust, not for limitation, trepidation, denial. What is important about all of this is its expansive nature; that is, a reality that calls upon us to expand, and to allow it to expand our worlds, our perspectives, our lives. This is not about wishful thinking, and not about inventing a dream life in which our fantasies of wealth or fame or any other desire come true. It's about where God calls us. We say "Yes" to the work of God in us. By saying "No" to being afraid, we accept God's life on offer, God's grace. It's about finding spiritual direction and living it. So here is the mission, to be like Mary -- the one who says "Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word." Her mission defeated the Fall of the world; the first sin is overturned through her willingness not to be afraid, and to trust. Each of us has this same mission. But we have to find it through acceptance of our own faith, seeking sincere direction in prayer and in all the resources we're offered to help us to do so. So often it is our own fears that hold us back. Let us consider where exactly we put our trust, and see what something so much more vast and great than we are can bring us. Christ teaches us to fear only God, nothing else. Do not be afraid.
