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Power and mightSunday, December 20, 2009
Luke 1:26-38 God's touch has healed many, and even raised some from the dead, but no one else has gotten pregnant quite this way. Gabriel doesn't mince words. Her new baby will be great, his kingdom eternal. No one knows it yet, but Nazareth is about to become the center of the universe. Mary knows. Through and through she knows, in her body and her mind. God has come to her and to the earth. Satan and the demon of death will be dispatched, and Jesus will be the victor. Her son will rule the angels. Gabriel will bow down to him. This baby he announces, this baby she carries, this baby she will love. In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel ... to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin's name was Mary. The angel went to her and said, "Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you." Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. But the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. 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, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end." "How can this be," Mary asked the angel, "since I am a virgin?" The angel answered, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be barren is in her sixth month. For nothing is impossible with God." "I am the Lord's servant," Mary answered. "May it be to me as you have said." Then the angel left her. Father, send your angels in power and save us. Take care of what you have planted and invested. You give us Jesus and he is the man of your right hand. New life and endless love are upon us. |
This part of the story makes me want to go outside at night. Get away from the electric lights and maybe Gabriel will bring a message from God. The Blues Brothers don't have a monopoly on that. But Mary's experience seems unique.