Mary and Gabriel

Luke 1:26-38 NASB

Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee called Nazareth,  to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the descendants of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary.  And coming in, he said to her, "Greetings, favored one! The Lord  is  with you."  But she was very perplexed at  this  statement, and kept pondering what kind of salutation this was.  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 bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus.  "He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David;  and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end."  Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I am a virgin?"  The angel answered and said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy Child shall be called the Son of God.  "And behold, even your relative Elizabeth has also conceived a son in her old age; and she who was called barren is now in her sixth month.  "For nothing will be impossible with God."  And Mary said, "Behold, the bondslave of the Lord; may it be done to me according to your word." And the angel departed from her.

My thoughts -

Gabriel has been dispatched to give baby news twice now in the first half of the first chapter of Luke's gospel. First he went to Zacharias and now Mary. Zacharias' encounter, which we went over yesterday couldn't have gone much more differently than this one, with the notable exception of the imparting of information regarding impending infants.

You get the idea that with Mary Gabriel is at least trying a gentler approach. Gabriel just appeared for Zacharias. He just showed up right by the incense. No announcement. No nothing. Just POOF, there's an angel here. And we're not talking some cute Precious Moments angel or some alluring Victoria's Secret one. This is a terrifying heavenly being that the story of Balaam and his donkey shows that even a jackass knows better than to cross. This is a warrior for God, and we're not speaking metaphorically. We're talking a sword carrying flaming wrath and vengeance providing hound of... well... heaven.

Just showing up out of nowhere scared the heck out of Zacharias. With Mary it seems that Gabriel is determined to have a better entrance, or at least a less terrifying one. So, on his way in Gabriel announces himself.

"Greetings favored one of God," he says as he comes in.

This perplexes Mary. But then, why wouldn't it? First off, there's an angel in her living room. This is not an every day occurrence for anyone. Second, this angel has called her favored, but has not given her the news yet. She doesn't know what's going on. She doesn't know yet that she's favored, much less how.

So now Gabriel, no doubt recalling every other interaction he's ever had with humans, gives the usual "do not be afraid" line. I imagine this to be much more comforting to Mary than it was to Zacharia, as Zacharia was working on recovering from a near heart attack just at the sight of Gabriel. Of course, rather than comforting a person who was already afraid Gabriel with Mary here is preparing her to hear news that, let's face it, could be pretty darn scary to hear.

"You're going to have a baby," Gabriel tells her, "and this child will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David;  and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end."

That's good news to be sure, but a little heavy. And the logistics don't work out, as Mary is a virgin. She points this out to Gabriel and asks how the heck she can have a baby as a virgin.

Now, when Zacharias questioned Gabriel he got the spiel about how Gabriel stands in the presence of God, a presence that, it should be noted, would kill a human. God's presence is so powerful that just catching a glimpse of it caused Moses to glow for days. And Gabriel stands in it. Not only was Zacharias given this rank pulling lecture but he was also given a sign. That sign was the revocation of his speaking ability. At least Gabriel didn't use his sword to do it.

But with Mary Gabriel takes her inquiry and rather gently answers it. God will be the father of the baby. The Spirit will come over her and she will become pregnant. This is a first in all human history. Mary is indeed favored by God.

Gabriel gently tells Mary that, with God, all things are possible. He reminds Mary of the miracle that is her cousin Elizabeth's pregnancy in her old age. Humans see limitations but with God there is no such thing as "impossible". God created the universe and everything in it. The laws that govern being itself were authored by God. With God anything is possible.

An old woman can conceive. That child who should not even be can be a prophet. His cousin can be conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of a virgin. That child, conceived in a miraculous fashion, who per the rules of nature as we understand them should not even exist can save us all from sin and reconcile us to God.

The author of existence itself can care so much for such a small, insignificant (in a cosmic sense) part of the universe that He intercedes for it by becoming a part of it to reconcile it to Himself while that small, cosmically insignificant blip on the universal radar wages an open war against Him.

This is good news, indeed. No wonder the angels say to not be afraid. If God is for us who can be against us? What can the powers of this world do against the maker of all worlds?