In Luke’s Gospel, the Advent story moves from the encounter of Gabriel with Zechariah to the visitation of the Angel Gabriel to the Virgin Mary. The differences in these two visitations should remind us of what “waiting” in Advent means.
Six months
after Gabriel’s announcement to Zechariah, God sends his faithful Angel on
another mission… Luke 1:26-27
In the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of
Galilee named Nazareth,
to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of
David. And the virgin’s name was Mary.
The visit
of the Angel Gabriel to Mary is similar to the visit to Zechariah. Could anyone expect God to fulfill the
promise of the coming of the Messiah “this way”? When Apple develops a new product, it has a
BIG announcement in a setting that is Hollywood in style. When a car manufacturer comes up with a new
model they put on a grand public show to make the presentation. PR is short for "public relations"
and refers to the strategic communication from an organization to the public to
create a desire to want the product. It’s
obvious, God was not interested in a PR campaign to announce his Son’s coming.
What we
should pause to see is 1) Nazareth.
Nazareth might as well be a small town that you might know, but most of
the people in your state don’t have any awareness of. Do you remember the passage in the Gospel of
John about Nazareth? Jesus had just
begun his public ministry and he had two disciples – Peter and his brother
Andrew. Then, John records:
“The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said
to him, “Follow me.”
Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. Philip
found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found him of whom Moses in the Law
and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” Nathanael
said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him,
“Come and see” (John 1:43-46). Nazareth
was a hidden town in the north of Israel, and no one except those who lived
there, or nearby even knew the city existed.
We should
pause to see 2) Mary, a virgin, betrothed to be married. Mary is a “virgin” – not just a “young woman”
as some bible translations have made over the last few decades. She is – in all
likelihood – a teenager. Scholars have
debated her age and the number varies from 12 to 18. For years I have been convinced that Mary was
between 14 – 16. This is based on the
common ages of young women for their betrothals at this time in Israel. She is “young” by our standards. She is a virgin who is betrothed to Joseph and
both of them are descendants of the line of King David.
Luke
1:28
And he came to her and said, "Greetings, favored one! The Lord is
with you."
We should
pause and think about those two improbable elements of the story of when God
chose to send his one and only Son into the world. We should pause and realize that among all the
women who have ever lived, God created Mary to be the woman whose womb would
contain God’s son. Mary was the second
Eve…the woman who was to birth the second Adam.
The Church down through the ages has recognized the unique singular
position she maintains in God’s salvation’s plans. The Apostle Paul wrote:
“…when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman,
born under the law, (Galatians 4:4). Mary is this woman. She is – as the Church Fathers called her – “Theotokos,
the mother of God.” I make much of
Mary because of how unique she is in the history of God’s work. One woman in one place at one time…no wonder
Gabriel said – “…he came to her and said, "Hail, O favored one, the
Lord is with you!" (Luke 1:28). In my theological imagination I have thought
that God called Gabriel to bring this news to Mary, and Gabriel came excitedly
to honor Mary whom God had chosen – God’s favored one.
Gabriel
describes to Mary why she was favored, and Mary’s response demonstrates her
Godly character:
Luke 1:29-33
But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of
greeting this might be.
The angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found
favor with God.
And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name
him Jesus.
He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the
Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. He will reign
over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom, there will be no
end."
There are
no coincidences in God’s plans. Of
course, Mary is human like all of us. God
had prepared her from birth to be the mother of His Son, but she didn’t know
those plans until the angel Gabriel told them to her. She was perplexed, wondering what it all meant,
and by Gabriel’s admission, fearful.
Yet, Mary knew what Gabriel was telling her – God is coming to you, and
you will bear his Son. Jesus means “Jehovah
Saves” – the equivalent of the Old Testament “Joshua”. The throne of David is because in God’s plans,
Jesus will reign over the Kingdom of God, and thus David’s throne and the house
of Jacob.
There it is
– Waiting for the Advent Surprise. It
all sounds strange if we’re willing to admit it. But then again, the prophet Isaiah reminded
us before all this takes place:
For my thoughts are
not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways, says the LORD.
For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than
your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts (Isaiah 55:8-9).
Mary's response is something we'll muse about tomorrow.
Advent
waiting…it’s not just the surprise of the presents we eventually open. It’s the present we received when God sent
his Son into the world as the gift of God!
Peace
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