Announcement of the birth of Jesus
Luke 1:26-38
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THE angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the house of David, and the virgin’s name was Mary. And coming to her, he said, "Hail, favored one! The Lord is with you." But she was greatly troubled at what was said and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. Then the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a Son, and you shall name Him Jesus. He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give Him the throne of David His father, and He will rule over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end." But Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I have no relations with a man?" And the angel said to her in reply, "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 called Holy, the Son of God. And behold, Elizabeth, your relative, has also conceived a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren; for nothing will be impossible for God." Mary said, "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word." Then the angel departed from her.
The Word
Annunciation is a general term for the announcement of a message from God. In modern use, it has come to be associated almost exclusively with the angel Gabriel’s announcement to Mary as we read in today’s gospel. But it is a literary pattern used in both Old and New Testaments, as well as in intertestamental literature. The bringer of the message is an angel (Hebrew mal-ak, Greek anggelos) who acts solely and entirely in God’s behalf.
The annunciation brings to mind Old Testament stories like that of Sarah and Abraham who receive a specific message that within a year they will have a child (Gn 18:10), and of Manoah and his wife who are told of the birth of Samson (Jgs 13). Luke most probably has these stories in mind because he has the angel tell Mary of the pregnancy of the older Elizabeth, picking up the theme of barren women conceiving, because "nothing is impossible with God." Just as barren women conceive through the power of the Lord, so also Mary will conceive while having "no relations with a man."
The annunciation to Mary parallels that of the annunciation to Zechariah in the temple. Both form a diptych, that is, parallel panels which present two stories side by side in order to show similarities and contrasts. The basic steps in the annunciation are present in both: the appearance of the angel, fear on the part of the human being, the message, the objection, and the sign. The fact that it is the same angel Gabriel who appears in both annunciations shows the unity of God’s salvific plan. But the contents of the angel’s message clearly show that Jesus is greater than John. Moreover, Mary fares better than Zechariah. He is rendered momentarily dumb because of his doubt, while Mary accepts the word of the angel in humility and faith.
SOURCE: "365 Days with the Lord," ST PAULS, 7708 St. Paul Rd., SAV, Makati City (Phils.); Tel.: 895-9701; Fax 895-7328; E-mail: publishing@stpauls.ph; Website: http://www.stpauls.ph.
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