The Feast of Annunciation

From Luke 1:26-38 Revised Standard Version (RSV):

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, “Hail, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” ²⁹ But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and considered in her mind 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 for ever; and of his kingdom there will be no end.” 

³⁴ And Mary said to the angel, “How shall this be, since I have no husband?” ³⁵ And the angel said to 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 kinswoman Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. ³⁷ For with God nothing will be impossible.” ³⁸ And Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.


By now you know my love for Christmas. I really do love it. The carols, smells, food, time with family, giving and opening gifts, "A Charlie Brown Christmas," special meals, candlelight communion, and so, so much more all say to me that God has come to us in the Holy Child. Christmas begins in March on the 25th which is, of course, today, The Feast of the Annunciation.

We're used to hearing the passage above from Luke during Advent, but it is the Gospel Lesson for today. Imagine the shock and the surprise it was for Mary. She is so open to God, much more than many of us. She receives Gabriel's message, but still has her questions. Without a doubt in my mind she knows this will not be easy, but again, she is open and willing to serve the Lord. 

Gabriel reassures her with these words: "For with God nothing will be impossible" (Luke 1:37 RSV). 

What seemed impossible, even improbable, is possible  with God.  This is not the first time we've heard a promise like that. Centuries before this God promised Abraham and Sarah that they would become parents. This was many years after they had received their Medicare cards. They're told this: "Is anything too hard for
the Lord?" (Genesis 18:14 RSV).

We're living in a time filled with much fear. None of us are free of fear of some kind right now. We have our questions. Some are saying we should simply go on with life as normal and are, for example, continuing to hold church services. That is not faith, it is presumption. It is not believing in the God of the impossible it is believing in belief or faith itself apart from trusting in the God revealed to us in Jesus.

Look at Mary. She had to wait and see how God's promise to her would be fulfilled. She had to tell Joseph. They had to travel to Bethlehem. It took months to see how something that seemed so impossible would be worked out in their lives and then throughout her life she saw how God fulfilled these promises in Jesus.

And so we wait in faith. We know the God of the impossible is at work right now. That is one reason we pray for healing and for those who lead us and for those on the front lines of attacking the virus. Right now things seem impossible. But with the eyes of faith we know the God of the impossible is at work. Like Mary we trust and wait.

Grace + peace,
Clay+

Photo above of a fresco: The Annunciation of Mary, located in St Sophia Cathedral, Kyiv Ukraine, c 1037-1044.