(Today I begin a series of posts that examines the Christmas Story found in Matthew 1-2 and Luke 1-2. My prayer is that this helps us all understand more deeply that Story and keep it as our focus over these last days of Advent.)
Let’s take a few minutes to focus on the story of our King’s birth – the Christmas story. For many of us, this is a story we’ve heard year after year after year and it’s pretty familiar to us. When we think of joyfully singing, we may remember the story of the angel hosts singing after delivering their message to the shepherds. But the first angel visitation in the Christmas stories in Matthew 1-2 and Luke 1-2 was when the archangel Gabriel appeared to Zechariah, an elderly priest. The angel’s message that he and his wife Elizabeth would have a baby in their old age, was met with doubt and disbelief. Truthfully, if you were old and childless, would you have responded any differently?
The second message Gabriel carried was to a teen girl named Mary, engaged to be married, but still living with her parents. Gabriel’s greeting was, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.” Depending on the translation, it says Mary was “startled,” “troubled,” or “perplexed.” I think I’d be, too, if an angel showed up to talk with me. I’d probably doubt what I was seeing and hearing. Gabriel follows by saying, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.” Then Gabriel tells Mary she will have a baby who will be the Savior of her people. Mary’s response is HOW this can happen if she’s an unmarried virgin? Gabriel replied, “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 the Son of God.”
Ok, so let’s pause a moment in this story. Imagine you’re a, maybe, 14 or 15 year old Jewish girl, living with your parents in Roman Empire-occupied Judah, just going about your normal life. Suddenly, an angel shows up to give you a message that you are “favored” and, therefore, will have a baby – without having a husband first. This seems like a bit of a stretch from the reality you would have known. Unmarried girls don’t just have babies without husbands – in that culture adultery is a sin punishable by death. So, Mary has a choice: to listen to the voice of her culture or to listen to the voice of the angel. To doubt or believe the angel’s message. What response should she give to this messenger of the Lord?
Again, if you have heard this story, you know that Mary’s answer was simple and direct. She said, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.” She listened to and believed the spoken Word of God that Gabriel brought. She had faith in the angel’s message. And she responded with trust in her God. She believed – she had faith – and she trusted. These are strengths that I expect each of us hope to have in our relationship with God.
I’ll continue more of this in a future post, but for today, I’ll leave you with a beautiful (and brand-new-to-me) Basque Christmas carol, originally written in the 13th or 14th century. “The Angel Gabriel from Heaven Came” tells the story of Gabriel’s annunciation (announcement) to Mary about her forthcoming pregnancy. Each verse ends with an echo of the angel’s words: “…Most highly favored maiden. Gloria!”
God of Grace,
Thank you for your angels’ messages to Zechariah and Mary, to the shepherds, and to us. Thank you for your ongoing heart of love toward us and your ever-present message “do not fear.” Help us to listen to your Voice, believe what we hear, and fave faith and trust in you. Strengthen us in our faith so we can say, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.” We pray in Christ’s name, Amen.