Luke 1:28--38
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 barred 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."
--NIV
Christ is among us--is, and ever shall be!
This is an ancient greeting. It is the epitome of orthodox theology. It
is what separates Lutherans from others. For Christ our Savior is among
us--both according to His human nature, as well as according to His
divine nature since the two cannot be separated.
But what a mystery to the Virgin. How can it be that mighty God would
take the form of a servant? How can such a great thing be hidden in such
a simple thing? You and I look for the packaging. We are so used to
judging things on the basis of how they are packaged and presented, that
we tend to reject things that are not packaged to our liking. If
something is attractively displayed in a store, we are much more likely
to buy it. This is evidence of our fallen nature. We look at the
wrapper, God looks at the content. In Christ there is nothing that would
attract us as Isaiah (53:2--3)said, "He had no beauty or majesty to
attract us to Him, nothing in His appearance that we should desire Him."
Yet there are hints in our common wisdom that would suggest that we
should not be surprised to see God in the child forming in the womb of
the Virgin. We have sayings such as, "Don't judge a book by its cover,"
and "Good things come in small packages." So Mary did not doubt the
angel's message. If God speaks, then it shall be so, there is nothing
that is impossible for God. We do well to follow her example. When we
look at ourselves and see how often we doubt, we can speak with the young
man, "Lord I believe, help my unbelief!" The Lord tells us that He is
eager to give the good gifts of the Spirit, which includes faith, to
those who ask.
As you journey through your day today, remember that this is the
celebration of the Annunciation. Today we celebrate our Savior taking on
our flesh. May you have the faith that Mary had to simply take the Lord
at His word, even when it is too profound to understand the how and the
why.
Prayer:
Dear Heavenly Father we often fail to see Your glory in the means of
grace which you have provided for us. Forgive us our weakness and
enlighten us by Your Holy Spirit so that we will always value the way
that you come to us in Your Holy Word and sacraments. We ask this in our
Savior's name Who became flesh and dwelt among us. Amen