An Angel Tells about the Birth of Jesus
One month later God sent the angel Gabriel to the town of Nazareth in Galilee with a message for a virgin named Mary. She was engaged to Joseph from the family of King David. The angel greeted Mary and said, “You are truly blessed! The Lord is with you.”
Mary was confused by the angel’s words and wondered what they meant.
Then the angel told Mary, “Don’t be afraid! God is pleased with you, and you will have a son. His name will be Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of God Most High. The Lord God will make him king, as his ancestor David was. He will rule the people of Israel forever, and his kingdom will never end.” Mary asked the angel, “How can this happen? I am not married!”
The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come down to you, and God’s power will come over you. So your child will be called the holy Son of God. Your relative Elizabeth is also going to have a son, even though she is old. No one thought she could ever have a baby, but in three months she will have a son. Nothing is impossible for God!”
Mary said, “I am the Lord’s servant! Let it happen as you have said.” And the angel left her.
Luke 1:26-38 (Contemporary English Version)
Reading this passage fresh reminds me of the assumptions I and my peers have been built up around the language here.
“Angel” literally means “messenger”. Somehow we’ve managed to build a stereotype of shining man dressed in white with wings. There’s nothing about shining or wings here. As I read this today I’m reminded of Lamb’s song, “Gabriel” – a sensuous jazz/ambient track used in the soundtrack for CSI Miami.
“Virgin” is the English translation of the Greek word, “parthenon” which literally means “virgin” or “unmarried girl”. The Parthenon in Athens was named after Athena the Virgin, the city’s patron goddess. I grew up in a church environment in which people fiercely debated the need to believe in the ‘virgin birth’. People knew you were a true Evangelical if you said yes. And of course you were a true Catholic if you believed that Mary remained a virgin!
So how am I reading this Scripture today? With no need to supernaturalise. I’m quite relaxed about a scene without halos, glows and spooky voices. But I’m also open to God’s capacity to do something out of the ordinary here. Nothing is impossible. Or as the Adidas advertising campaign says, “Nothing is impossible”.
As Sarah Dylan Breuer notes at Sarahlaughed.net, Mary would have been thinking about the odds of surviving an ‘illegitimate pregnancy’. Honour killings were known in Mary’s culture and in fact were called for in the traditional laws. Being pregnant with a future ruler also would have been a dangerous state. The child would be a threat to many who now claimed power. Maybe she’s not yet fully aware of the danger as she says ‘yes’ to ‘Mission Impossible’. At the heart of her response is a willingness to take on the future knowing that she’s serving a God who can work things out.
So what’s the good news here?
The future may be unclear. It may be dangerous. I may face fragile and strained relationships because of my decisions to follow God’s leading. But ‘impossible is nothing’ with God.