LUKE 1:26-38
HOW WILL THIS
BE?
In
the name + of Jesus.
The angel Gabriel told Mary many amazing
things about the baby whom she would birth.
Here is a brief summary. His name
would be Jesus. That is the Greek version
of his name. It means Savior. The Aramaic version of his name, which is
almost certainly what Gabriel said to her, is Yeshua. That means “the Lord saves.” It would be both his identity and his job description. He is the Lord who saves. Gabriel also said that he would be the Son of
the Most High. Gabriel did not suggest
that this child would be something less than God. God is one, and there is no other. Therefore, this child is God—God the Son, but
now also Mary’s Son. Gabriel added this:
He would be given the throne of David. So,
he would be a king. More than that,
Gabriel said that he would reign forever.
This child would be an everlasting king who reigns for the glory and for
the good of God’s people.
Several times, St. Luke mentioned that
Mary pondered all these things in her heart.
I am sure that she pondered Gabriel’s words for a long time. It’s a lot to ponder. Mary did not doubt the angel’s words, nor did
she resist what Gabriel gave her to do—which, by the way, was no small matter. Mary would be the mother of God. The Lord became flesh in her womb. She would nurse him, change him, and bathe
him. She would teach him to walk, to
speak, and to feed himself. She would have
to endure people scoffing at the idea that her child was special—aren’t they
all? But hers is divine! Her child is God. Don’t mess up raising him. No pressure, right?
It is amazing, therefore, that Mary had
only one question for Gabriel. That
question had nothing to do with what responsibilities she bore in raising him so
that he would fulfill what Gabriel said he would be. But she was confused about one issue: “Mary
said to the angel, ‘How will this be, since I am a virgin’” (Luke 1:34)? And note how she asked. When Zechariah was told that his aged wife,
Elizabeth, would conceive and give birth to John the Baptist, he thought the
word from the Lord was foolish. In
essence, Zechariah said, “Elizabeth?!
She’s too old. How can this be?” Mary asked, “How will this be” (Luke
1:34, emphasis added)? She did not
doubt that God could do this, but she was curious how.
This
was not the first miraculous conception and birth in the Bible. Abraham was told that his elderly, barren
wife, Sarah, would give birth to a son.
And she did. Isaac’s wife, Rebekah,
had infertility issues. So did Jacob’s wife,
Rachel. Hannah was barren, but later
gave birth to Samuel. And we heard about
Zechariah. But the difference, and Mary knew
it, was this: All these women had husbands.
They may have been old. They may
have been barren. But they all had
husbands. Mary did not. “Mary said to the angel, ‘How will this
be, since I am a virgin’” (Luke 1:34).
In all of human history, there has never
been a birth like this. But that’s
because in all of human history, there has never been a child like this. Mary asked, “How will this be?” The angel Gabriel gave her an answer. Despite his answer, it still remains a mystery
to us. Gabriel said, “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” (Luke 1:35).
The Holy Spirit
comes through the word of God. He does
not zap people into the kingdom of God.
The Bible reminds us, “‘What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart
of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him’—these things God
has revealed to us through the Spirit” (1 Corinthians 2:9-10). The Holy Spirit inspired the words of the Scriptures,
and he comes through those words to create and to sustain faith. The Holy Spirit never works apart from the
word. So, as the angel Gabriel spoke the
word of the Lord to Mary, the Holy Spirit came to her. The Son of God was conceived in her. He is and remains God; for God does not change. But then God takes the humanity into himself through
the Virgin Mary. Being conceived by the
Holy Spirit, he remains sinless. Being
conceived in the Virgin Mary, he becomes a man to make himself one with us.
Now, all of this
is deep theology. And maybe it seems like
there is nothing practical here. But if
you have mourned the loss of a loved one, if you have ever been cheated, if you
have been haunted by regrets, if you have ever felt helpless or hopeless or lonely,
then you may have wondered, “Does God understand what I am going through? Does God care about me and my problems and my
tears? Does God know what it is like to feel
pain, to suffer mockery, to bury loved ones, to have stress, or to be the
victim of injustice? Does God understand
my plight? Does he care? Will he help?
Sometimes,
people try to understand the plight of others by putting themselves in their shoes. Some have taken a mission trip to Haiti and
assist people who live in poverty and are trying to recover from a
hurricane. I remember hearing about a
movie star who wanted to experience homelessness. So, he went out to sleep on a street somewhere
in a cardboard box. After his night out
on the street (and maybe it was a few nights, I don’t remember), he went back
to his Beverly Hills home. Did he really
know what it was like to be homeless?
Does a visit to Haiti for a week really show you what it is like to live
in poverty and squalor when you know there is a flight back home? You may gain empathy, which is sorrow over
someone else’s suffering. But you cannot
claim to really have sympathy, which is to suffer what they suffer—not when you
know you can go right back to comfort and safety.
The angel
Gabriel told the Virgin Mary, and St. Luke has recorded it so that you will
know it: God knows and understands and now feels exactly what all these things
are like. How will this be? God becomes one of us. God entered our world and took his place
among sinners. There was no escape clause. There was no ejector button. In fact, Jesus did not get out of the experience
alive. He experienced pain, sorrow, and
loss. He was a victim of mockery, betrayal,
and injustice. He witnessed sickness,
disaster, and death. He himself was
beaten, spit upon, and lashed. He was
crucified, died, and was buried. God has
taken on humanity and invested himself in everything we know except for sin. So, when you are pouring out your
frustrations in prayer, God knows what you are going through. He can sympathize because he has been there.
But God’s
sympathies go beyond sharing the human experience. God chose to experience the curse of sin that
all people deserve and to endure the torment of hell that you and I have
earned. God chose to die. How will this be? For, God cannot die. God’s very nature is that he is
immortal. But man is mortal. Therefore, God became a man to suffer the
curse that we all have brought upon ourselves by our sins. St. Paul wrote, “Christ redeemed us from the
curse of the law by becoming a curse for us” (Galatians 3:13). How will this be? How could this be? God became a man so that he could suffer die
for all.
How will this be? The immortal one dies? The almighty suffers in weakness? The blessed one is cursed? The holy one is guilty? The heavenly one endures hell? The angel Gabriel told Mary how it will be: “Behold, you
will conceive in your womb and bear a son…
The child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God” (Luke
1:31,35). So, in Jesus Christ, God
dies. In Jesus Christ, God pays for the
sins of the world. In Jesus Christ, a
man rises from the grave to overpower death.
In Jesus Christ, a man enters heaven to dwell with God the Father
forever. And if you share the confusion of
Zechariah and ask, “How can this be?” do not fear. It is a mystery. It is revealed by the Holy Spirit, but we still
marvel at it. It’s a lot to ponder. But rest assured that the word of the Lord is
true. And it guarantees your redemption
and your place in the heavenly kingdom.
“Greetings, O favored ones, the Lord is
with you” (Luke 1:28). The Lord has
become one with you. He does not merely
offer you sympathy and commiserate with you that life is hard and full of
troubles. The Lord Jesus Christ has
acted to deliver you out of your troubles.
He may not take away your troubles right now. After all, this is a sinful world and bad
things are going to happen in it. When
you pray for an end to your troubles, God’s answer may be, “Dear child, have
patience.” But in the end, God’s answer
will be, “Yes. I will grant you relief
completely and eternally.” But no matter
what, the Lord remains with you.
“Do not be
afraid, for you have found favor with God” (Luke 1:30). The favor of God has been revealed through
the Son of Mary. It comes from the God
who became body and blood for you. It comes
through the body and blood which are given to you to eat and to drink. The Holy Supper is also a mystery. In Greek, it is called a mysterion / musteriwn (1 Corinthians 4:1); in Latin, it is called a sacramentum. The mystery is that bread and wine conceal the
body and blood which have won forgiveness of sins, new life, and salvation. Some have scoffed at the sacrament and asked,
“How can this be? We see, feel, taste, and
smell bread and wine. How can the
infinite God be contained by bread and wine?”
By trying to make the mystery logical, they have forfeited what it is. Why not ask, “How can the infinite God be
contained in a womb?” But just as Mary
did not try to unravel the mystery of the incarnation, we do not try to unravel
the mystery of the sacrament. We let Jesus’
words stand when he tells us, ‘This is my body.
This is my blood.” Jesus gives us
his crucified and risen body and blood. Through
it, he gives the gifts he won—forgiveness and eternal life. Through it, he sustains us in his divine
mercy until he will set us forever free from the evils that plague us.
Mary did not
contest God’s word. She accepted what
God had given her. She responded to Gabriel,
“Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to
your word” (Luke 1:38). We don’t
know what cross the Lord may have us bear, but we do know the promises he has
made. Jesus has guaranteed his mercy to
us all. Therefore, each one of us can also
pledge, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me
according to your word.” And—God be
praised!—it will be.
In the name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
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