November 20, 2022
Gospel – December 12, 2019 – Luke 1:26-38
The angel Gabriel was sent from God
to a town of Galilee called Nazareth,
to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph,
of the house of David,
and the virgin’s name was Mary.
And coming to her, he said,
“Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you.”
But she was greatly troubled at what was said
and pondered what sort of greeting this might be.
Then the angel said to her,
“Do not be afraid, Mary,
for you have found favor with God.
Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son,
and you shall name him Jesus.
He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High,
and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father,
and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever,
and of his Kingdom there will be no end.”
But Mary said to the angel,
“How can this be,
since I have no relations with a man?”
And the angel said to her in reply,
“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.
And behold, Elizabeth, your relative,
has also conceived a son in her old age,
and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren;
for nothing will be impossible for God.”
Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord.
May it be done to me according to your word.”
Then the angel departed from her.
Luke’s Gospel is the one Gospel with the Infancy narrative.
Today, as i read it, I am struck with how a collection of Holy Scripture could be so patriarchal in every book – very few women are strong characters.
But when it comes to the most important moment in human history – outside of the Resurrection – it is a teen age girl taking center stage.
No person is braver, no person is stronger and no person is more subservient. She does not shrink back when the angel Gabriel appears like the prophets before her. She stands firm and accepts the mission that God has given her. You can say God didn’t give her a choice with the proclamation but she still accepted it without reservation or complaint. Just a question of “How”?
Today, the church shirks it’s responsibility to the people too often. I pray that the church will one day have the courage of a teen age girl and asks only “How?”
At least that’s what I heard Him say…
What I Heard Him Say 