Annunciation

This Advent reflection is offered by Hank.
The eighth lesson from our Advent Festival of Lessons and Carols comes from the gospel of Luke (Luke 1:26-35, 38) in which the Angel of the Lord appears to Mary to announce that she is pregnant with a child who she will name Jesus. This baby will be called Son of the Most High and will inherit the throne of his ancestor David. It is one of the most beautiful passages in all the Bible and also one of the most curious. In Matthew's gospel, the angel appears not to Mary, but to Joseph, assuring him that even though his wife-to-be, Mary, is already with child he is not to divorce her. Again, isn't it fun to recognize how different Biblical writers describe essentially the same event in such different ways? The beautiful thing about Luke's story is in Mary's response. She doesn't question or second guess the Lord (as Joseph does in Matthew). Rather, she simply responds, "Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your world." O that we could all be so faithful in our own response to God.
(stained glass from Chartres Cathedral in France and painting, The Annunciation, by Fra Angelico)