Scripture: St. Luke 1:26-38 (NKJV)
26 Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of
Galilee named Nazareth, 27 to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was
Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28 And having come
in, the angel said to her, “Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you;
blessed are you among women!” 29 But when she saw him, she was troubled at his
saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was. 30 Then the angel said
to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 And
behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call
His name JESUS. 32 He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest;
and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. 33 And He will
reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no
end.” 34 Then Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I do not know a
man?” 35 And the angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come
upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also,
that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God. 36 Now indeed,
Elizabeth your relative has also conceived a son in her old age; and this is
now the sixth month for her who was called barren. 37 For with God nothing will
be impossible.” 38 Then Mary said, “Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it
be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.
Devotion
At first, we see Mary troubled by the angel’s greeting. How was the Lord with
her in so special a way that an angel should call attention to it? This is
obviously an angelic being, but is he telling her the truth? While one rightly
fears an angel as a messenger of the true God, one’s fear must be directed
toward the Lord Himself above any angel, so while she would have the fear
caused by being in the presence of one who could dwell in the presence of God,
she must have some evidence that she is not being deceived.
Thus, the angel tells Mary not to be afraid because she would be the bearer of
God’s own Son, the promised Messiah who will reign forever. She is being
especially shown God’s grace: He has just declared that her vocation will be
the rearing of God in human flesh! Still, every word that is true is to be
established in the mouth of two or three witnesses, so she asks how she will
conceive and bear this Child.
The angel supplies the evidence that is necessary: not by any human means of
conception, but the Holy Spirit will cause her to conceive while remaining a
virgin. To accompany this proof (which links back to Genesis 3 through, for
example, Isaiah 7), the angel provides as a witness the natural—yet
miraculous!—pregnancy of Mary’s kinswoman, Elizabeth. With the Biblical
standard for proof satisfied, Mary makes her confession of willingness, based
upon her servanthood toward the One True God.
Thank you, O Holy Spirit, that You have given us a faith that is not apart from
fact, but fully established upon it. Grant us more certainly to learn Your
Word, that we happily receive God’s will because of the confidence that the
facts of our salvation give us.
The Lutheran Herald is a publication of the Evangelical Lutheran Diocese of
North America. These daily devotions are authored by the bishop, pastors, and
deacons of the diocese. Daily posts are provided by The Reverend Jeffrey A.
Ahonen.
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