The angel has just left Mary and she would not hear from him again. 

No booster shots of encouragement. 

No bolstering of her faith from an angelic messenger.

Instead, God uses another woman, her relative Elizabeth, to do the work of encouraging and affirming.

“At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea, where she entered Zechariah’s home and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. In a loud voice she exclaimed:

‘Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished!'” (Luke 1:39-45)

One of the things I like best about the Gospel account from Luke regarding the birth of Christ is the presence of three women of faith: Mary, Elizabeth, and Anna.  It is here that Elizabeth—filled with the Holy Spirit—loudly proclaims Mary’s faith in the promises of God.

Scripture does not tell us specifically whether Mary sent a message to Elizabeth ahead of her arrival, but after the angel left, “Mary got ready and hurried.”  This suggests that she didn’t wait but rather went straightaway.  Maybe she was eager to see God’s proof, the evidence in the life of Elizabeth.  Maybe she didn’t want for people to think—in her small town of Nazareth—that she was secretly having relations with Joseph so she got out of town for nine-month-calculation purposes. 

What is clear is that Elizabeth believed (just as Mary did) and that the ministry of John the Baptist–preparing the way for Jesus—began while both babies were yet in utero.  That is an amazing thing in and of itself.

Women blessing women.  It was a two-way street.  Mary would have affirmed Elizabeth’s pregnancy was a miracle of God and this would have blessed Elizabeth.  In return, the sixth month for Elizabeth’s pregnancy just as the angel had said, Elizabeth’s baby leaping for joy, and also Elizabeth’s words would have encouraged Mary three times over.

It is amazing the way God uses us to encourage one another!

To whom can you be an encouragement today?

Luke 1:36 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. 37 For nothing is impossible with God.” 38 “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May it be to me as you have said.” Then the angel left her.

 Obedience. 

Submission. 

If there are two words that strike fear into many women in our modern culture, these would be two. 

That is so unfortunate!  For those two words wrap up the beautiful response of faith that Mary gave. 

“I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered.         “May it be to me as you have said.” (Luke 1:38)

Maybe part of the reason we fail to see the beauty of obedience and submission is because we are in a world obeying the wrong things and we are submitting in wrong places.

Notice that Mary’s response wasn’t:

• I need to ask Mom and Dad if all of this is OK with them.
• Joseph isn’t going to like this.  I don’t know.  Let me check with him first.
• Joseph is the man and I need to submit to his will on this.

Mary knew that her obedience and submission were to God alone. 

For that reason, she gave us an example of beautiful obedience and lovely submission–an example worthy of using as a pattern for godly living…for men and women…in whatever age.

 * * *

For further meditation:

What are your initial sentiments regarding obedience?  How about submission?

How have these issues divided men and women throughout the ages?

Have you ever wondered if God was calling you to do something or if you just imagined it?

It happens to me a lot.

* * *

In fact, the stranger the thing is that God wants me to do, the more I have a tendency to put it off and/or debate myself over it. 

Was that little voice God or me?

I have been known to ask God for an indication that He’s behind it because if it’s just me, I don’t want to do it. 

But if it’s God, well then that’s a different situation entirely. 

Obedience to God is required. 

Obedience to myself is typically foolhardy.

The angel spelled out for Mary what would happen, but notice that Mary didn’t ask God for a sign or any proof at all.  Why would God include this piece of evidence?

“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” (Luke 1:36).

I wonder if God gave her a little proof that her faith was not unfounded because it would be easy to doubt the whole thing after the angel left.  This evidence God provided was perfect!

By reminding her of the miracle of Isaac’s birth to Abraham and Sarah (who was barren), by giving Mary a corollary living example of the present miracle in Elizabeth’s life, God anchored Mary’s hope in the past covenant promises and directs her hope in the direction of God’s faithfulness to do what He says.

For further meditation:

By faith Abraham, even though he was past age– and Sarah herself was barren– was enabled to become a father because he considered him faithful who had made the promise. And so from this one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore  (Hebrews 11:11-12, NIV)

Is there anything in your life right now that could use an anchor of hope?

Luke 1:³⁵ And the angel answered her, ”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.” (ESV)

The Son of God.   

Earlier the angel had said “Son of the Most High” which was also a Messianic term.   But, here it is unmistakable: He is the Son of God!

Think about how significant this is.

Jesus was—at one point in time–a nanoseconds old embryo formed in the womb of a humble peasant girl from Nazareth.

Yet He was, is, and always will be God.

• He is the Eternal One, the Alpha and the Omega.
• The Creator of the universe, sustaining all things by his powerful word.
• His hands formed Adam and Eve from dust of the ground.
• He is the greatest representation of love to ever walk the earth.
• At His command, the winds were silenced, the sea was stilled, and Lazarus would return from death to life.
• His words would heal the blind man and restore a dead son alive to his mother.
• He is the radiance of God’s glory
• The perfect Image of God.
• He saw and knew the Father in His glory from before recorded time.
• He is the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords forevermore.
• Angels fall at His feet in worship.

Scripture says,

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.  For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him.  He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.  And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy.  For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him,  and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross. (Colossians 1:15-20 NIV)

Jesus is the One and Only Son of God sent on a mission to save us.

Conceived by the Holy Spirit in the womb of Mary, He is the Son of God.

Luke 1:³⁵ And the angel answered her,

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.  (ESV)

There are plenty of misunderstandings and much genuine warping of what happened to Mary.  Contrary to what some in a feminist culture wildly assert:

• this was no instance of divine rape;
• it was not consensual sex between God and a human being;
• it was not abusive;
• it was not degrading to women;
• it was not the work of Joseph and Mary;
• and it was not unholy.

Rather, what happened was beautifully holy–exactly what we’d expect from God whose heavenly worshipers are recorded in Scripture as extolling His holiness:

Each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around, even under his wings. Day and night they never stop saying: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come.” (Revelation 4:8)

A thread of pure holiness runs throughout the angel Gabriel’s short answer.

First, there is the agency of the Holy Spirit whose presence will surround Mary with holiness.  It was the Holy Spirit’s work to perform the miracle known as the Incarnation.  Matthew records it like this:

Matthew 1:18 This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. 19 Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. 20 But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” 22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23 “The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel”–which means, “God with us.” 24 When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. 25 But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.

Notice how both Mary and Joseph respected the holiness of the situation.  Given the cavalier manner in which American youth treat their sexuality in our present culture, it is worth noting how different things were in Mary and Joseph’s day.  Purity, honor, righteousness, and respectability were considered virtues.

Next, we see that the power exerted by the Most High was holy.  It overshadowed Mary.  The word used here for overshadowing carries the meaning of an enveloping protection.  (This same word is used when speaking of Jesus at the Mount of Transfiguration.  Mark 9:7 Then a cloud formed, overshadowing them, and a voice came out of the cloud, “This is My beloved Son, listen to Him!”–[NAS])

This overshadowing was a most holy moment!  Lovingly blanketed in the protection of God’s power, Mary would conceive without human help.  The one to be born was conceived in holiness and was uniquely the Son of God.

Luke 1:³⁵ And the angel answered her,

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.(ESV)

Hurrying to the response will make us overlook something really important:  God answered.

Angels are created beings.  Their role was to mediate heavenly revelation from God to man (prior to the coming of the Christ and nowadays the indwelling of His Holy Spirit), to help the pious, and in the future to do God’s will with respect to judgment.  Basically, they are servant messengers of God.  So when the angel answered, it was because God gave Gabriel an answer to give.

Consider the compassion of God.  Rather than just assigning a duty to Mary and expecting her to do it (like a slave), God brings Himself near to Mary and has compassion upon her.  He treats her like a beloved child.

He listened.  He answered.

God understood that the news would be hard for Mary to hear and to understand.  Had the answer been informationally complete, it would have overwhelmed her.  It would be too hard for any human being to understand.  It is reminiscent of Jesus’ words to His disciples in John 16:12, “I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear.”

The virgin conception was not part of the Jewish expectation.  It stood in stark contrast to the pattern of humanity since Creation.  So God unfolded the mystery in beautiful and remarkably simple terms.  You can hear His love as an undercurrent, knowing that even the smartest among us is incapable of making what is supernatural into something rational.

With gentleness and compassion, He answered.

What is hard to understand in your life today?

Is there anything you’re finding difficult to bear?

How might knowing that God hears your prayers, knows your confusion, has compassion upon your fears, and also that He answers minister to you in this moment?

Luke 1:³⁴ And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?”  (ESV) 

Out of the million possible answers to her question, the angel responds simply and factually with the most outrageous claim since “Let there be light.” The response is actually far more outrageous than informative.  Today, enjoy this photo from Hubble, consider the wonder of creation, the new miracle of the Incarnation, and let the words of Scripture spoken to Mary speak for themselves:

Luke 1:³⁵ And the angel answered her,

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.   (ESV)

Photo from NASA, ESA and the Hubble Heritage (STScI/AURA)-ESA/Hubble Collaboration, more available at link above.

Fred Gailey: All my life I’ve wondered something, and now’s my chance to find out. I’m going to find the answer to a question that’s puzzled the world for centuries. Does Santa Claus sleep with his whiskers outside or in?

Kris Kringle: Always sleep with them out. Cold air makes them grow.

No offense to Mr. Gailey or Mr. Kringle from Miracle on 34th Street, but that’s not the question that’s puzzled the world for centuries.  The really puzzling question is the one that Mary asked.

How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”

This is the last day for this series we’ll be looking at Mary’s question before exploring the angel’s answer in detail.  But, I think it’s instructive to continue to put ourselves in context of the annunciation.

Theologians are pretty assured that Mary was not expressing doubt as Zechariah did.  Beyond that general agreement, there’s diversity in why they think she asked that.  Had I been in Mary’s sandals, here are some questions that would form the back story of why I’d ask it:

• Virgins don’t get pregnant (*and stay virgins).  So does God want me to do it with Joseph?
• Virgins don’t get pregnant*.  Does God think I’ve already been with Joseph?
• Virgins don’t get pregnant*.  Is God talking about later on…like after I’m married?
• Virgins don’t get pregnant*.  Am I going to have to do it with someone else?
• Virgins don’t get pregnant*. I’ve never done this before.  Is it going to hurt?
• Virgins don’t get pregnant*.  My parents are never going to believe this, are they?
• Virgins don’t get pregnant*.  Is this just a weird dream?
• Virgins don’t get pregnant*.  Who on earth is going to believe this?

God’s answer to Mary will address these things. 

The truth is that virgins don’t get pregnant (and remain virgins), apart from a miracle. 

What happens next is a miracle. 

It defies natural explanation.  It has divided people.  It is the real question that has puzzled the world ever since it was first uttered.  Miracles, true miracles, cannot be truly explained apart from God.

Jon, you’re absolutely right that Bill O’Reilly is wrong: Christianity is not a philosophy.  (Readers: follow the link to The Daily Show.)  I’d give you an A in philosophy of who Jesus claimed to be.  O’Reilly might need to repeat the class if he’s going to call himself Christian.  If Jesus is just a philosopher of historic significance and not the Son of God in O’Reilly’s world, Bill might not be at the after-party either.  The two of you can still pal around together, debating who won the War on Christmas, although it will be pretty obvious that God did.

But you’re right:  Christmas seems everywhere.  A Santa-fied version at least.   There is no War on Christmas in the secular sense.  No one is trying to ban snow, the colors red and green, overplaying “Santa Baby,” or around-the-clock showings of “It’s a Wonderful Life.”

No one really ought to care what Lincoln Chafee’s tree is called.  It’s a cheerfully lighted evergreen tree, not an object of worship.  Well, at least it’s not supposed to be…

Now, it seems to me that you’re a deep-thinkin’-kind-of-man and I’d bet there’s a serious fold in your fabric of humor, so I have a serious question for you:

Is there a real war being waged worldwide against being Jewish in a secular/cultural sense or is it only in a religious sense?

Jon, could it be that the reason you don’t see Christmas as under attack is because you know religious Jews have long been targets?  Religious Christians are newcomers to the persecution party.

It’s easy to be popular as “Jewy Jewman” (your Sternism) who makes Jewishness cool in a secular sense.  But the minute one displays devout religious Judaism–thud!  Inclusion on the guest list at parties becomes less frequent, unless I suppose it’s a Bris or a Bar mitzvah or something having to do with dreidels or huts.

Cultural Christianity is everywhere and materialism is alive and well, too.  Who doesn’t like dressing up and going out to a party knowing that you have the next day off as a federal holiday?  But bring Jesus to the party and suddenly, it makes a person pretty unpopular.  I know the awkward silence that follows when people ask, “So what do you do?” and you respond, “I’m trained as a pastor.”  Everyone suddenly needs a refill.

Ironically, the area in which you and Mr. O’Reilly agree is this: it’s the teachings that made the man Jesus notable  (whether as a moral teacher or philosopher).  It’s really not that after his martyrdom Jesus “got better.” Not that He’d brag about it, but as God, He always was better.  There’s more to this man Jesus than ever met the eye.

On a human level, there is only one answer to the question in the Gospel of Luke 1:34:

How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”

Science’s only possible answer is “Impossible.”  It simply couldn’t happen–if there is no God.  It’s why a Christless Christmas poses no problem for secular culture.  God–like Elvis–has already left the building and has equal probability of showing up again. 

There is another answer to Mary’s question though–one that includes God.  And that’s why you’re right: Christianity is a religion.

Take the theo (theos, God) out of theology and all you’re left with is –logy (a bunch of words to study…like Mr. O’Reilly’s philosophy).  Jesus–more than philosopher or moral teacher–belongs at Christmas because Jesus is Immanuel, “God with us.”

For nothing is impossible with God.” (Luke 1:37)

There is no pregnant pause after the angel finishes his five point message on the Messiah.  Mary just blurts out the question that has been forming all the while.

How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?” (Luke 1:34)

The echo of this question has resounded throughout history.

Logic or Mystery?  This question has been the crux of faith since Mary first asked it.  The virgin conception of Christ is so important that without it, Christianity ceases to be.  If Jesus was just another run of the mill human, then He isn’t God.

The idea of the virgin conception is foundational to Christianity.  In fact, it’s fundamental.

In 1909, Lyman Stewart financed the publishing of a set of essays that would change the American religious landscape.  The Fundamentals: A Testimony To The Truth was a set of 90 essays in 12 volumes published from 1910 to 1915.   Initially, they were merely designed to affirm orthodox Protestant beliefs and these essays were to be sent free of charge to vocational and lay Christians.  The Fundamentals rapidly became a lightning rod for criticism by the journalistic world resulting in giving us one of the great pejorative terms of the 20th century and beyond: Fundamentalist.

In 1920 Curtis Lee Laws, editor of the Northern Baptist paper The Watchman-Examiner, coined the word Fundamentalists to describe those “who still cling to the great fundamentals and who mean to do battle royal” in order to protect what they saw as central tenets of the Christian faith.

Within 60 years, the term fundamentalist had become a synonym for blind ignorance, opposition to the spread of modern scientific knowledge and intellectual advancement, and is now applied to many different religions but always with the same unfair flavor of ignorant zealot.

Ninety essays (in 12 volumes) were probably a bit excessive which may have contributed to their ridicule.  However, among those 90 essays, we can discern five foundational doctrinal beliefs shared by Christians of diverse backgrounds.  One of these is the virgin conception, sometimes referred to as the virgin birth.

In the horizontal flow of scientific evidence of how conception occurs, there was a singular break. 

The virgin conception: science cannot test or prove it.

History cannot empirically verify it through the convergent observations of the past.

Reality–as observed by billions of people since the beginning of time–cannot explain it.

This is why it is a crux of faith.

It’s not that Christians are fools who deny both science and history.  We are not stupid, anti-intellectuals who stare at information with a blank vacuity incapable of understanding a vast pile of evidence.  Rather, we look at the history of the world and scientific understanding as a horizontal line of human existence and yet, we see more fully.  We see with spiritual sight and therefore, we see God’s underscoring it all.

This line of human existence doesn’t go back infinitely, both science and history agree with Christianity on this one.  If God could give us the first Adam, God could give us the last Adam, the Messiah, Jesus Christ.  It’s beyond scientific.  Its roots are firmly established in historical antiquity before time began.  It’s the crux of faith.

1 Corinthians 15: 45 So it is written: “The first man Adam became a living being”; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit. 46 The spiritual did not come first, but the natural, and after that the spiritual. 47 The first man was of the dust of the earth, the second man from heaven. 48 As was the earthly man, so are those who are of the earth; and as is the man from heaven, so also are those who are of heaven. 49 And just as we have borne the likeness of the earthly man, so shall we bear the likeness of the man from heaven. 50 I declare to you, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.