I’m trying a new thing this year – beginning today (December 1) I plan to read a chapter of the Gospel of Luke each day until Christmas Eve as it is 24 chapters long. I hope you’ll join me in reading one follower’s witness to the life of Jesus this month. I’ll have a commentary on a portion of each chapter. Some are quite long, chapter 1 alone is 80 verses. Be blessed during this Advent season by this account of God with us.
Our scripture this morning is Luke 1:26-38.
In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a village in Galilee, to a virgin named Mary. She was engaged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of King David. Gabriel appeared to her and said, “Greetings, favored woman! The Lord is with you!” Confused and disturbed, Mary tried to think what the angel could mean. “Don’t be afraid, Mary,” the angel told her, “for you have found favor with God! You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be very great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David. And he will reign over Israel forever; his Kingdom will never end!” Mary asked the angel, “But how can this happen? I am a virgin.” The angel replied, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the baby to be born will be holy, and he will be called the Son of God. What’s more, your relative Elizabeth has become pregnant in her old age! People used to say she was barren, but she has conceived a son and is now in her sixth month. For the word of God will never fail.” Mary responded, “I am the Lord’s servant. May everything you have said about me come true.” And then the angel left her.
God’s plan was for Jesus to be born as a human child so that people might better see and understand the eternal love He has for us. He called a girl from Galilee to be the mother of the holy child. God came to be with us as part of a family to show us the joy of a relationship with Him and each other.
This passage tells us that she will be overshadowed by the power of the Holy Spirit, God sending a part of Himself to be carried, born and nurtured by Mary and Joseph. God wants the world to know Him as the Almighty, Creator of everything that is, but also as one of us.
Mary was the first to say yes to Jesus. While she is surprised by the angel’s visit and the message she is given, she responds without hesitation “I am the Lord’s servant. May everything you have said about me come true” (v. 38). May we all be willing to say “yes Lord” to the call He places on our lives.
Heavenly Father, we are amazed at Your love for us, shown best by the coming of our Savior, Jesus Christ. Help us to be faithful followers on the path He shows us, carrying the Gospel to all the earth. Amen.