Many of you asked me last week whether Luke was a Jew or a Gentile. Eugene Peterson gives us an answer in his "Introduction to Luke" in "The Message" that also tells us of Luke's interest in including the marginalized and the dispossessed in the focus of Jesus' ministry. Peterson writes: "Luke is a most vigorous champion of the outsider. An outsider himself, the only Gentile in an all-Jewish cast of New Testament writers, he shows how Jesus includes those who typically were treated as outsiders by the religious establishment of the day: women, common laborers (sheep-herders), the radically different (Samaritans), the poor."
This week we pick up at verse twenty-six with Gabriel's foretelling of the birth of Jesus to Mary (the Annunciation) and Mary's response to this amazing news. Here are a few things to consider as you read:
1. God sends the angel Gabriel to Mary who lives in Nazareth in Galilee (just as God sent Gabriel to Zechariah). Verse twenty-seven tells us that Mary is a virgin pledged to be married to Joseph. Here, Luke is sure to tell us that Joseph is a descendent of King David. Later, in verse thirty-two, Gabriel tells Mary that her son will be given the throne of David and that his "kingdom will never end." Why is this important? This is important because God had promised David in 2 Samuel 7:16 that he would have an everlasting kingdom. Jesus is the fulfillment of God's promise to David and to God's people as a whole.
-Note that Gabriel tells Mary: "Do not be afraid." The message of God throughout the Bible is that we are not to fear because God loves us. I'm reminded of God's words to Joshua in Joshua 1:9 - "Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go." (NIV) David says in Psalm 27:1 - "The Lord is my light and my salvation - whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life - of whom shall I be afraid?"
2. In the same way that Gabriel tells Zechariah the name that is to be given to John (the Baptist) in Luke 1:13, Gabriel tells Mary that she is to name her son Jesus in Luke 1:31. Jesus' name is of Hebrew origin (Yeshua) and means "God saves." Matthew's Gospel links Jesus' name with Immanuel from Isaiah 7:14 which means "God with us." Isaiah 7:14 says, "Therefore the Lord himself with give you a sign: The Virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel." (NIV)
3. Mary's obvious response is to ask : "How will this be since I am a virgin?" Gabriel answers in verse thirty-five by explaining the work of the Holy Spirit in her life to bring divine conception. The angel explains that "nothing is impossible with God." (vs. 37) From the beginning, God, the Creator of life, has done the impossible and the miraculous from a human standpoint. God is not limited as we are limited. Jesus will be both "Son of God" - through divine conception and "Son of Man" - carried and born though a human mother.
-Prudentius, a Latin Poet and hymn writer of the fourth century, writes these words:
"A heavenly fire engenders him, not flesh
Nor blood of father, nor impure desire.
By power of God a spotless maid conceives,
As in her virgin womb the Spirit breathes.
The mystery of this birth confirms our faith
That Christ is God: a maiden by the Spirit
Is wed, unstained by love; her purity
Remains intact; with child within, untouched
Without, bright in her chaste fertility,
Mother yet virgin, mother that knew not man.
Why, doubter, do you shake your silly head?
An angel makes this known with holy lips.
Will you not hearken to angelic words?
The Virgin blest, the shining messenger
Believed, and by her faith she Christ
conceived.
Christ comes to men of faith and spurns
the heart
Irresolute in trust and reverence.
The Virgin's instant faith attracted
Christ into her womb and hid him there till birth."
- from the Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture, Vol. III - Luke pages 15-16
4. Mary's response of faith is simple, yet profound. "I am the Lord's servant. May it be to me as you have said." - vs. 38 Upon visiting Elizabeth, her relative, Elizabeth says of Mary, "Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished!" - vs. 45. Mary's faith is an example to us of accepting God's guidance in our lives through the Holy Spirit especially when we do not understand how the Spirit is working.
As you read this week, consider your own faith in the Lord. Are you willing to surrender to God's work in your life - putting God's desires for your life above your own? Do you trust that God can do what is impossible? Are you experiencing a situation that requires you to trust God daily without knowing how the Spirit is working? How can Mary's faith encourage you in your present journey?
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