Luke 1:26-38
26 Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, 27 to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28 And having come in, the angel said to her, “Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!”
29 But when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was. 30 Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus. 32 He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. 33 And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.”
34 Then Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I do not know a man?”
35 And the angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God. 36 Now indeed, Elizabeth your relative has also conceived a son in her old age; and this is now the sixth month for her who was called barren. 37 For with God nothing will be impossible.”
38 Then Mary said, “Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.
In this beautiful reading, God sent the angel Gabriel to Mary to deliver the great news that she was “highly favored” by God, and that she would indeed conceive and bear a son. And not just any son, but the very Son of God. This makes Mary the Theotokos, the mother of God, the God-bearer. No one else in all human history has been given this name; no one else has ever been chosen by God to give birth to God in the flesh.
This is what Mary was told about her Son: “He will be great and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.”
Mary had difficulty fathoming not only the angel’s appearance but also his message. Even so, her simple and faithful response was, “Let it be to me according to your word.” In other words, Mary simply said, “Amen; gift received.” She had conceived in the most miraculous way – by a word in her ear.
We know from the Small Catechism that “Amen, amen, means, yes, yes, it shall be so.” When we say “amen” we are agreeing with God and receiving His words and miraculous gifts in much the same way that Mary did. When we hear the Absolution we say, Amen. When we receive our Lord’s body and blood for forgiveness and salvation, we say Amen. When we receive the Lord’s Name upon us in the Invocation and Benediction, we say Amen. When our pastor ends his sermon in which he has preached Christ to us, we say Amen.
Gift received. That is the life of the Christian. We are constantly given to by our good and gracious God. His fathomless love has been lavished upon us in full in the words and works of Christ for us.
Let us pray: We thank You, Lord God, heavenly Father, for all Your benefits, through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit forever and ever. Amen.
