Luke 1.26-38

MARY & OUR ANNUNCIATION

(Luke 1.26-38)

The story of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary is so familiar, that it is easy to let the words just flow over, and as a consequence, miss some of the important things it has to say to us.

This "flowing over" is aided and abetted by our hearts and minds being distracted with all the preparations that still need to be done, before we can celebrate the coming of Christ 2000 years ago.

Put quite bluntly, we really want to get home, and not waste unnecessary time thinking about a story, which we already know by heart.

With that in mind, I do not intend to keep you longer than necessary.

However, I would draw your attention to three themes that run throughout the story of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, which are often overlooked as we get bogged down by historical, biographical and biological questions which have nothing to do with Luke's original intention for his readers.

The three themes can be summarised in three words:-

Possibility, Grace and Obedience.

...ooo0ooo...

First of all “Possibility".

The angel Gabriel concludes the annunciation with the words "For nothing will be impossible for God".

Whilst the birth of John the Baptist may appear improbable, in view of the advanced years of his parents, Zechariah and Elizabeth, in the same way as it was thought improbable for Abraham and Sarah to have a child many years earlier, to suggest that Mary will have a child is impossible.

'How can this be" she asks, "Since I am a virgin?". To which the angel Gabriel replies, "nothing will be impossible to God".

And the story which Luke goes on to unveil in his two volumes, the Gospel of St Luke and the Acts of the Apostles, is the story that 'nothing will be impossible to God', whether it is healing the sick, the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, the gift of the Holy Spirit, the formation of the Christian community or the release of captive apostles.

So often, like the Blessed Virgin Mary, we respond with the words “How can this be?", when presented with seemingly impossible tasks. Whether it is finding the strength to nurse or care for a sick relative, or to respond to the call to serve God in the priesthood, or whether it is coping with the future without one's husband or wife, we are only too aware of our limited academic ability and financial resources.

"How can this be?" we cry out in despair, frustration and bewilderment and forget the promise of Gabriel that "nothing will be impossible to God".

...ooo0ooo...

The second theme of the story of the annunciation, can be summed up with the word "Grace".

When the angel Gabriel first greets Mary, he says "Greetings favoured one! The Lord is with you". Gabriel then goes on to assure Mary that "You have found favour with God".

The original Greek word translated as "favour" comes from the verb 'Charis' which means 'grace'. In other words, Mary is the object of God's grace.

But why should Mary be the object of God's grace or favour?

If Elizabeth and Zachariah were the object of his favour, one could understand it. After all, we are told that they were "righteous and blameless". That they kept God's commandments and prayed to God.

If Joseph was the object of God's favour or grace, we could possibly understand that too. In fact, we are told more about Joseph’s background than we are about Mary. We are told that he was "of the house of David".

Yet, when it comes to Mary, not a single word is to be found to describe the virtues of Mary, or explain why God might have chosen her.

That is, of course, precisely the point. God chooses because God chooses. Mary does not earn or desire the honour of becoming the mother of Jesus any more than would any other woman.

God's grace or favour cannot be earned or awarded. It is free and undeserved.

And that is why God chooses you and me to do various things for him, not because we have earned or been awarded his favour, but quite simply because he has chosen us.

We who, like Mary, are undeserving of his grace or favour.

...ooo0ooo...

And finally, the word that sums up the third theme in the story of the annunciation, is the word "obedience".

Following upon Gabriel's announcement, Mary responded with the words: "Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word".

Now a more accurate translation would be "slave of the Lord" and not “servant", for the Greek word used is”'doulos". Doulos is Greek for "slave".

Now whilst a servant has a choice, whether he or she wishes to work for a wage, a slave has no choice.

Mary realises that she has been chosen by God, and that God's choosing leaves no room for her to make a choice in the situation. Like a "slave" she does not have the luxury of freedom to decide.

When God chooses us for some particular purpose in his divine plan, we too have no choice but to say “yes".

Stan was in his late 30s or early 40s, when he came to the inward conviction that God wanted him to be a priest. I was in Australia at the time, and he came to me to test his vocation.

He was quite happy about becoming a priest, once he had paid the mortgage, got the children through their private education, and built up his pension fund!!

I remember saying to Stan, if God wants you, he wants you now - not the fag end of your life when it is convenient.

No one could claim that it was convenient for Mary to have a child. After all, she was not even married! She had all of life ahead of her and certainly did not want to get bogged down with feeding bottles, nappies and sleepless nights at such a young age. Maybe in 10-15 years’ time, once she and Joseph had found their feet and become more settled in their relationship, might be the right time for a child, but not now!

But Mary realised she had no choice - she was a "slave of the Lord", and responded accordingly,"Iet it be with me according to your word".

...ooo0ooo...

Yes, the story of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary may be very familiar to us. But in our desire to finish off our preparation for Christmas, we do well to ponder these three themes in the story which can be summed up with the three words, "Possibility”, "Grace" and “Slave", and see those three themes as being addressed also to us, by the angel Gabriel in our life of discipleship.

For we recall not just the annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary but also our own annunciation.