The Annunciation of the Lord

 1: 26-38

Birth of Jesus Foretold

²⁶ In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, ²⁷ to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin's name was Mary. ²⁸ And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” ²⁹ But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. ³⁰ And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. ³¹ And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. ³² He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, ³³ and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”

³⁴ And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?”

³⁵ And the angel answered her, “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. ³⁶ And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. ³⁷ For nothing will be impossible with God.” ³⁸ And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.

One of the great Marian Solemnities.  If Mary had refused this invitation, our world would be much different, if it existed at all.  Her "little yes" opened the door for the arrival of Jesus and set the stage for our redemption. Mary probably did not understand the full implications of the astounding proposal that she mother the Son of God...that was enough to give pause to anyone  But to be the instrument for the salvation of the whole human race, also, if not equally astounding.  No wonder we pause our Lenten observances to celebrate and ponder with Mary, the repercussions of her simple "Yes". May we join the generations who have honored Mary and followed her example of willingness to be the servant of the Lord and allow whatever God asks of us to be done according to his word.

Bro. Rene