In the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee called Nazareth, 27 to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the house of David, and the virgin’s name was Mary. 28 And coming to her, he said, “Hail, favored one! The Lord is with you.” 29 But she was greatly troubled at what was said and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. 30 Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father, 33 and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” 34 But Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I have no relations with a man?” 35 And the angel said to her in reply, “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. 36 And behold, Elizabeth, your relative, has also conceived a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren; 37 for nothing will be impossible for God.” 38 Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.” Then the angel departed from her.
Elizabeth was pregnant with John the Baptist (JBap) and in the sixth month of her pregnancy, God introduced the key figure in man’s salvation, Jesus Christ. First, the angel Gabriel dramatically announced the birth of JBap to Zechariah, an elderly priest, while he was serving in the Temple in Jerusalem at the solemn hour when the sacrifice was made. The angel Gabriel now announces the incarnation of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, the Son of God (v. 35), to a poor, humble young girl in Nazareth, an obscure town of little consequence which was never mentioned in the OT (Jn. 1:46). JBap, who was filled with the Holy Spirit from the womb (Lk. 1:15), was to be the herald of Jesus (Jn. 1:23; Is. 40:3), the second coming of Elijah (Mal. 4:5-6; Mt. 17:10-12). The angel Gabriel announced that John’s mission was to prepare Israel for the coming of God (Lk. 1:17). John and Jesus were born as helpless infants dependent on ordinary, righteous human parents to raise extraordinary children. John’s parents were too old to conceive naturally, and Jesus was born to a young virgin who conceived without intercourse.
When Gabriel greeted Mary, “Hail, favored one! The Lord is with you,” she was troubled by the greeting and wondered what it meant (vv. 28-29). Mary, favored by God, was permanently endowed with divine grace through the merits of her Son, Jesus. Gabriel gave Mary the Divine message that she would conceive and bear a son to be named Jesus, who would be called “Son of the Most High (Is. 7:14),” and the “Son of David,” titles that would leave no doubt that he was to be the Messiah. He will rule over the Kingdom forever (vv. 30-33). Mary asked how that was possible since she did not have conjugal relations with any man (v. 35). Gabriel explained the miraculous nature of the conception and reassured her that, “Nothing will be impossible for God (v. 37).” Mary was a virgin betrothed to Joseph (Lk. 1:27) but was not yet living with him. Betrothal was a formal stage in the marriage process and was often arranged by families. It was a binding commitment, and the actual marriage ceremony would take place later.
Luke contrasted the annunciation of the herald which was made to a priest in the Temple in Jerusalem, in the sanctuary, at the hour of the prestigious liturgical solemn sacrifice, with the annunciation of his Master whose mother lived in poverty and obscurity in a small village of little consequence (Jn. 1:46). The idea of a Messiah coming from among the Galileans was treated with contempt by the Judaean Rabbis because it was not found in the OT. The angel Gabriel’s attitude towards Mary was very different from his attitude towards Zechariah.
In the OT, the Holy Spirit was sent by God to give life or a special power for the fulfillment of a divine purpose. After Gabriel told Mary that Elizabeth had conceived a son in her old age Mary accepted what Gabriel told her and abandoned herself to God’s will (v. 38). Mary was from the line of David (Lk. 1:32, 69; Rom. 1:3) and Joseph, who was to become the legal father of Jesus, was also of Davidic origin (Mt. 1:6-16).
Almighty God, grant us the grace to abandon ourselves to your will and say yes to your divine purpose. Help us to see the miracles that occur in our lives so that, moved by your love, we may live for your greater glory. This we pray through Christ our Lord. Amen!
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References
Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Upper Saddle River, NJ, United States, Prentice Hall, 1990.
Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Upper Saddle River, NJ, United States, Prentice Hall, 1990.
Orchard, Bernard, et al. A Catholic Commentary on Holy Scripture. Feb. 1953.
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