According to Your Word

Devotion by: Rudy Chatlos

Luke 1:26-38
²⁶In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, ²⁷to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. ²⁸And he came to her and said, ‘Greetings, favoured one! The Lord is with you. ²⁹But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. ³⁰The angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favour with God. ³¹And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. ³²He 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. ³³He will reign over the house of Jacob for ever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.’ ³⁴Mary said to the angel, ‘How can this be, since I am a virgin?’ ³⁵The angel said to 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 holy; he will be called Son of God. ³⁶And now, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month for her who was said to be barren. ³⁷For nothing will be impossible with God.’ ³⁸Then Mary said, ‘Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.’ Then the angel departed from her.

I feel mystery and wonder as I read this passage; I always have. We know this gospel was written by Luke, the Greek physician, who traveled with Paul. He used interviews and eyewitness accounts to write about the humanity and divinity of Jesus only 30 years after his death. Who could be more precise and factual than Luke? But it is still full of mystery.

And yet Luke reports of a virgin birth, one conceived by the Holy Spirit as if he were in the very room at the time. His whole gospel is filled with miracles. In this passage, the angel says to Mary, “you will be with child and give birth to a son…give him the name Jesus”. Mary, out of her humanity, comes back, “How will this be…since I am a virgin?” Gabriel says, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you…the power of the Most High will overshadow you...nothing is impossible with God.” Mary responds, “I am the Lord’s servant…may it be to me as you have said.”
Prayer: Even though I may not fully understand (just like Mary), may I also be willing to be God’s servant, touched by the Holy Spirit, filled with new life, and working to bring God’s great gift to the world through Jesus Christ. Amen.