Sunday December 10, 2023

 

The announcement of Jesus’ birth happened like this: 

 

“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. And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name 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 father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?” And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God. And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. For nothing will be impossible with God.” And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.”

 

Son of the Most High and Son of God: two names for Jesus mentioned by the archangel Gabriel – the messenger of God the Father, the Most High God – when he was sent to the virgin Mary to announce to her the conception and the birth of a special son. Because, although He would be born as a human flesh-and-blood baby, the physical son of a woman named Mary – He was also a divine child, conceived not by a man but by the Holy Spirit of God. 

 

As the Son of the Most High, the Son of God Himself, He would be great and from His Father He would receive the throne of David over which He would reign forever and without end. (vs.32-33)

 

As the Son of God, conceived by the Holy Spirit and overshadowed by the power of the Most High God, He would be born as a holy child – not with the sin and the weaknesses of all human beings, but absolutely pure and perfect. (v.35)

 

“For nothing will be impossible with God.” 

 

To be called the Son of the Most High meant that Jesus, incarnate as a human baby, was also of the very same nature as God: according to Hebrews 1:3, “He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature”. To be called the Son of God meant that Jesus, the Word, was in the beginning, that He was with God, and that He was God – “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen His glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:1,14)

 

No wonder the young virgin Mary, when the angel Gabriel visited her and when she heard his so-strange and so-supernatural words, initially was greatly troubled and asked “How will this be, since I am a virgin?” But then, she surrendered as “the servant of the Lord”, and in all humility replied: “Let it be to me according to your word.”

 

Dear friend: what is your response before the Son of the Most High? Do you recognize Him as the Son of God? Do you surrender to Him as Mary did? Are you convinced in your own life that “nothing will be impossible with God” – He who is great and holy, the Word made flesh, filled with glory and grace and truth? I hope and pray so. 

+ REFLECTIONS