Luke 1:30-38, Isaiah 9:6-7

Promised Child

“The angel awaits an answer. Give, O virgin, the response in haste. O Lady, answer the word that earth, that hell, that heaven awaits.” Bernard of Clairvaux wrote these words in the twelfth century, reflecting on the Annunciation to Mary in the Gospel of Luke. This strange and sacred text has captivated poets, authors, artists, and theologians for centuries. At the center of the encounter, Mary’s question “How will this be?” emphasizes the holy mystery of the Incarnation.

Before the yes comes the “How?”. The marvel at the miracle of God.

This young girl, Mary, knew the stories of her ancestors. She knew of runaway prophets who denied God’s call and women who had conceived in old age. She was, like many of us, one of those people who was open to the possibility of a miracle. A person with the humility to recognize that what we can see and understand is not the limit of all that there is or can be. A person with the longing and curiosity for the Divine.

In our Protestant tradition, we often don’t know what to do with Mary. She’s mentioned by name only a few times in the Bible, and she is practically absent in the Pauline letters of the New Testament. We’ve turned Mary into the fabled “Creaster” Christian, appearing only at Christmas and Easter, and the angels have had the same fate.

Christian theologians have long regarded the desires of truth, beauty, and goodness as essentials for knowing God. I wonder if, in our age of information and obsession with data, we sacrifice beauty in our theological tradition. Can we recover the loveliness of the Annunciation?

We need to imagine this scene together. First, the angel, Gabriel, God’s messenger to earth. God communicates by many means. God had spoken to and through prophets, appeared in cloudy pillars, and used dreams and visions to show meanings. To Mary, God sent an angel, cosmic and surreal, insane beyond all understanding to behold. While most images portray Gabriel in the form of a man, angels take many shapes in the Bible. So imagine something wild and shocking. “Do not be afraid”. The most important moments in our lives are often the most terrifying.

Gabriel’s initial greeting sounded something like this: “Rejoice! Highly favored one, the Lord is with you!” Now, Christian liturgical traditions obviously didn’t exist yet, so Mary doesn’t say “And also with you.” At first, she is speechless. I’m drawn to the interpretation that Mary understands the implications of the angel’s greeting. Manuel Varon Varon writes, “Mary is profoundly acquainted with the Sacred Scriptures as she shows in… the Magnificat, and realizes that the angelic salutation contains a profound messianic mystery”.

“Rejoice greatly, O daughter Zion,” the prophets proclaim. “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given. He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”

Something holy happens when we are joined to the sacred story. When we understand that we have a pivotal role to play in God’s purpose of redemption. Rejoice! Mary, God cares about you. Rejoice! Mary, God keeps His promises. Rejoice! Mary, God is going to change the world. A never ending kingdom of God.

How will this be, since I am a virgin?

Mary’s question does not indicate a lack of faith. Instead, it is a reminder of the ridiculousness of the miracle of the Incarnation. It demands that we marvel with Mary at the impossibility of God becoming a child in a woman’s body, in any woman’s body, and more particularly the body of a woman who had never had sex. Over the years, Mary’s virginity has been used as a weapon against women, presenting her as virtuous because of her sexual purity. But this misses the entire point of the Annunciation. God did the biologically impossible thing, because isn’t that just like God? Making something out of nothing and birthing Creation from the beginning of time?

Nothing is impossible with God. Whatever rules or boundaries we’ve set, God is bound to break. The presence of God changes everything.

And Mary said yes. With delight and conviction, Mary said yes. The Angel Gabriel preached the presence of Christ, and Mary shouted the Amen!

God said “Let there be” at Creation, and Mary replied “Let it be unto me” at the Incarnation. And God renewed the face of the Earth. Mary was declared and made a place of God’s salvific presence, the first to accept the good news of the gospel and to treasure the words and ponder them in her heart.

And today, in the church, we hear the gospel proclaimed again. Rejoice, dear friends of Jesus Christ! You have found favor with God. God is with you. Just as the body of Jesus became incarnate in the virgin Mary, so the Spirit of Christ is born in us when we hear and believe the good news, and we are joined to the Body of Christ in God’s eternal kingdom. The touch of Christ frees us to cooperate in the redeeming work of the Lord. May Christ be born in our hearts by faith. Amen.