NOTES for Luk 1:26-38
26 And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, |
27 To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary. |
28 And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women. |
29 And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be. |
30 And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God. |
31 And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. |
32 He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: |
33 And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end. |
34 Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man? |
35 And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. |
36 And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren. |
37 For with God nothing shall be impossible. |
38 And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her. |
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How much this conversation between Mary and the archangel Gabriel means for us. Only a few lines, and yet the fate of the world is being decided in them; our life depends on them. And at the heart of this conversation is boundless trust. God's trust in us, in humanity as a whole and in Mary personally. The salvation of humanity, the salvation of all humanity, is in the hands of one single person. Almighty God, who brought Israel out of the land of Egypt, gave food to an entire people in the desert, and punished Sodom and Gomorrah for their sins, entrusts Himself into the hands of a fragile young girl.
And on the other side, we see Mary's trust in God. At first she is troubled by the archangel's greeting, and who would not have been frightened in her place? But God, through Gabriel's mouth, is ready to answer her questions, and she is not afraid to ask them.
We often call the Mother of God the New Eve, and indeed the conversation of the Annunciation is like a mirror of the conversation God has with Adam and Eve (Gen 3:9-13). More precisely, the conversation He tries to have, because neither Adam nor Eve answers His questions directly, and with each word He speaks they begin to be more afraid. The very first consequence of their sin is the loss of trust in God... Mary acts in a completely different way: she does not hide from God - and she receives answers from Him to her questions. And by entrusting herself into God's hands, she gives us an example of humility and trust.
Trust even when what God offers us is frightening and unknown. Trust in the promise of eternal Life even when it appears that beyond death there is nothing. And God does not expect from us an understanding of our calling that is beyond our strength; He only invites us to agree to what He offers us here and now.
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