The Birth of Jesus Foretold
In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin's name was Mary. The angel went to her and said, "Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you."
Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. But the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end."
"How will this be," Mary asked the angel, "since I am a virgin?"
The angel answered, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be barren is in her sixth month. For nothing is impossible with God."
"I am the Lord's servant," Mary answered. "May it be to me as you have said." Then the angel left her. -Luke 1:26-38
Today's passage is rather straightforward. It talks about the foretelling of Jesus Christ's birth, much like the birth of John the Baptist. The conclusion we draw from this is that anything is possible with God, as Gabriel states. Even if Mary was a virgin, she was able to give birth to Jesus.
What I focused on was not so much that God can do everything (cause that much we all probably know), but more of what Mary must have gone through. Though the text does not reflect on it as much, it does state that at first Mary was troubled. Then with a couple words from the angel, she was determined and ready to give up everything for God. I really have a hard time envisioning what it must have been like and how Mary would have actually felt. It's easy to just swallow these words as truth and say this is how it happened, but let's place ourselves in her shoes.
Now I don't know exactly what kind of a connection a mother has with her child, but from what I've seen and experienced, it's a bond unlike any other. My mother and I have a connection that is unbreakable. Nothing, and I mean nothing, will set us apart. We may fight, have our differences, and be annoyed from time to time, but the end result is the same: we are always together.
When Mary heard this message, how would she have felt? I think if I were Mary, I would first be taken aback by the fact that I'm looking at an angel and what the angel told me (much like the scripture tells us). But then as soon as I listen to what my child is going to become, I would have a lot of mixed feelings. At first I would be happy because he would become such a great person (or in this case, God) but at the same time I think I would be worried. Worried for what is to come for him.
A lot of people loved Jesus, loved his teaching, and loved what he did for us. But Mary must have also loved him like a son. Sometimes I ponder about how Jesus must have grown up. A lot of the scripture just skips to when Jesus started spreading the word. But what about when Jesus was a child? However he was, Mary had a huge impact. I like to think that Mary's obedience and strong faith had a huge impact on how Jesus turned out as a man.
This passage made me think about the importance of mothers more than anything. Sure it's important to note the coming of Christ. That's the importance of this story. However, when reading this, I realized how important our mothers were and how much of an impact it may have on our lives. Mary's faith and personality must have reflected somehow on Jesus, though I'm sure Jesus would have been perfect no matter what. Don't our mothers have a lot of impact on us as well? I know my mom has. We owe a lot to Mary for being such a strong person and giving birth to the one who saved us all.
What I focused on was not so much that God can do everything (cause that much we all probably know), but more of what Mary must have gone through. Though the text does not reflect on it as much, it does state that at first Mary was troubled. Then with a couple words from the angel, she was determined and ready to give up everything for God. I really have a hard time envisioning what it must have been like and how Mary would have actually felt. It's easy to just swallow these words as truth and say this is how it happened, but let's place ourselves in her shoes.
Now I don't know exactly what kind of a connection a mother has with her child, but from what I've seen and experienced, it's a bond unlike any other. My mother and I have a connection that is unbreakable. Nothing, and I mean nothing, will set us apart. We may fight, have our differences, and be annoyed from time to time, but the end result is the same: we are always together.
When Mary heard this message, how would she have felt? I think if I were Mary, I would first be taken aback by the fact that I'm looking at an angel and what the angel told me (much like the scripture tells us). But then as soon as I listen to what my child is going to become, I would have a lot of mixed feelings. At first I would be happy because he would become such a great person (or in this case, God) but at the same time I think I would be worried. Worried for what is to come for him.
A lot of people loved Jesus, loved his teaching, and loved what he did for us. But Mary must have also loved him like a son. Sometimes I ponder about how Jesus must have grown up. A lot of the scripture just skips to when Jesus started spreading the word. But what about when Jesus was a child? However he was, Mary had a huge impact. I like to think that Mary's obedience and strong faith had a huge impact on how Jesus turned out as a man.
This passage made me think about the importance of mothers more than anything. Sure it's important to note the coming of Christ. That's the importance of this story. However, when reading this, I realized how important our mothers were and how much of an impact it may have on our lives. Mary's faith and personality must have reflected somehow on Jesus, though I'm sure Jesus would have been perfect no matter what. Don't our mothers have a lot of impact on us as well? I know my mom has. We owe a lot to Mary for being such a strong person and giving birth to the one who saved us all.
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