NOTES for Luk 1:24-38
24 And after those days his wife Elisabeth conceived, and hid herself five months, saying, |
25 Thus hath the Lord dealt with me in the days wherein he looked on me, to take away my reproach among men. |
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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The appearance of the angel to the Virgin Mary, the Annunciation, what is it? A revelation like the many others described in the Bible? Yes, of course, this is undoubtedly a revelation, one similar in essence and form to many others. A unique revelation speaking of the birth of the Messiah? Yes, certainly: the main content of the revelation is precisely the good news of His birth. Yet it is not only all this; there is something more here.
A hint of that more is reflected, by the way, in the traditional name of the event itself: Annunciation is the same thing as Gospel, good news. So where does the Gospel, the good news, the Annunciation begin? In the ancient prophecies about the Messiah's coming? Yes, of course, but there it is still only prehistory. In the promise the angel announces to the Virgin Mary? Undoubtedly, for he announces to Her the fulfillment of ancient prophecies. Yet the future is the future; it still lies ahead. And the past is the past; it already lies behind. The good news, meanwhile, is always in the present, or else it does not exist.
What, then, is in the present? "The Holy Spirit will come upon You, and the power of the Most High will overshadow You." More precisely, according to the sense of the Greek text, not "will come" and "will overshadow," but "is coming down" and "is overshadowing," since the Greek forms allow the present tense in translation no less than the past. This is truly good news. Good news always includes the one to whom it is addressed. It includes that person in the process that presupposes its reality, the possibility of its fulfillment in fullness, there and then, where and when such fulfillment is provided for by God's providence.
Yet God's providence, if it is revealed to a person, never remains merely in the future for that person. It is always revealed to the one to whom it is revealed as an eternal present, of which that person's own life becomes a part. So it happened with the Virgin Mary: the good news made Her herself part of God's providence. Of course, with Her consent: "Behold, the handmaid of the Lord." Without such consent a person will not become part of God's providence. The Virgin Mary consented, and became Who She became. The Mother of the Messiah.
Readings for 25 March 2026
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