Luke 1:26-33
26 In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, 27 to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28 The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.” 29 Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be.30 But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. 31 You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.
Reflection
From the beginning of the story Jesus’ birth is not “perfect.” Jesus will not be born to a rich or influential family but a poor adolescent girl. It is easy for us to sanitize Jesus’ birth because we know the beginning and the end. Imagine facing the birth the way Mary did with little or no
explanation and no clue about what was going to happen. This way of looking at Christmas is far from perfect, it is real. What do you think your reaction would have been if you
received the news that Mary did (you are engaged and you are pregnant by the Holy Spirit)? How do you imagine others would respond? Would the angels’ words “do not be afraid” be enough to calm your nerves?
