Thursday 15 December 2022

This passage has the same core story as yesterday’s passage, when God's messenger Gabriel said to the elderly priest Zechariah that he and his wife Elizabeth would have a child. In today's reading, the angel Gabriel, God’s messenger, reveals how God’s plan is to happen: a woman (Mary) who has no reasonable expectation of pregnancy at the time of Gabriel’s visit will miraculously conceive a male child (Jesus).

The women in these two versions of the core story are linked. Elizabeth and Mary are blood relatives. However, the details of the two versions are notably different, which demonstrate the breadth and variety of God’s ways with human beings. 

Context: Mary came from Jerusalem, whereas Elizabeth was from the hill country of Judah in the south of Palestine.

Key figures: Zechariah and Elizabeth are elderly and long married, where as Mary is a young girl betrothed to Joseph.

Gabriel’s approach: In yesterday's reading Gabriel made a sudden appearance filling Zechariah with terror, whereas today there is a warm honouring of Mary ("God’s favour has been bestowed on you").

Understanding of the Holy Spirit: John was empowered to be a prophet in Israel like Elijah, whereas Mary was empowered to bring life out of nothing (as God created the universe in Genesis 1:2).

Response: There's a notable difference between Zechariah’s incredulity yesterday, and Mary’s model acceptance of God’s will for her.

The outcome: John’s ministry preceded that of Jesus; it was a preparation for something greater. Jesus’s ministry was that greater reality. He was God’s son, who was to fulfill in a new way the ancient vocation of Israel (Exodus 4:22), a vocation that had been embodied in King David (Psalm 2:7). 

To Ponder:

• Mary’s response to Gabriel (v. 38) has provided a template for Christians in all sorts of settings who discern what God asks of them. Do you have such a sense of vocation? Have you had to rededicate yourself to doing God’s will as it has taken on new shapes?  Would people in your church be helped if such profound personal obligations in the life of faith were more naturally talked about?
• The idea of ‘virgin conception’ causes difficulty in the Church. Some are completely committed to this description of Jesus’s origins. Others find the notion almost impossible to countenance or communicate in today’s world; they see it as essentially a pre-modern way of indicating the significance of Jesus. Is there value in a discussion on this difficulty in your church or house group?