Luke 1:26-38 | Isaiah 7:10-14
Today is Holy Monday. But this year, it is also Annunciation Day, on which we remember the angel’s declaration to Mary that she would bear the son of God. So for a moment we’ll pause on Holy Week.
And it’s an interesting juxtaposition, to think about the promise of that little baby just a couple of days before Good Friday. We generally separate Christmas from Easter for good reasons. Each has strong implications that are different, even though deeply connected. Christmas - the incarnation - is about the presence of God come to earth - Immanuel. Good Friday is about the solidarity of God within the suffering of humanity. Easter blazes a new way for all of creation.
Within it all, we have the powerful example of an individual willing to serve God in humility. Mary’s words in Nazareth could be Jesus’ words in Gethsemane - I am the Lord’s servant. Let it be with me just as you have said.
Like mother, like son.
Luke 1:26-38
When Elizabeth was six months pregnant, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a city in Galilee, to a virgin who was engaged to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David’s house. The virgin’s name was Mary. When the angel came to her, he said, “Rejoice, favored one! The Lord is with you!” She was confused by these words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. The angel said, “Don’t be afraid, Mary. God is honoring you. Look! You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be great and he will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of David his father. He will rule over Jacob’s house forever, and there will be no end to his kingdom.”
Then Mary said to the angel, “How will this happen since I haven’t had sexual relations with a man?”
The angel replied, “The Holy Spirit will come over you and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore, the one who is to be born will be holy. He will be called God’s Son. Look, even in her old age, your relative Elizabeth has conceived a son. This woman who was labeled ‘unable to conceive’ is now six months pregnant. Nothing is impossible for God.”
Then Mary said, “I am the Lord’s servant. Let it be with me just as you have said.” -
Isaiah 7:10-14
Again the Lord spoke to Ahaz: “Ask a sign from the Lord your God. Make it as deep as the grave or as high as heaven.”
But Ahaz said, “I won’t ask; I won’t test the Lord.”
Then Isaiah said, “Listen, house of David! Isn’t it enough for you to be tiresome for people that you are also tiresome before my God? Therefore, the Lord will give you a sign. The young woman is pregnant and is about to give birth to a son, and she will name him Immanuel.
Prayer
God,
Whether delivering the Prince of Peace to the world through Mary or saving it by the Outcome’s death, it seems you do your work through willing individuals: Mary, the young woman determined to do your will; Jesus, your son, bringing it to its pinnacle.
Lord, give me both the means and the call to serve in humility. I’m sure I won’t save the world today, but I do want to participate in what you are doing, having done so already.
By your spirit & in Christ,
Amen.