[The] angel Gabriel was sent
by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man
whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary.
And he came to her and said, "Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you."
But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting
this might be. The angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have
found favor with God. And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a
son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the
Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his
ancestor David. He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his
kingdom there will be no end." Mary said to the angel, "How can this be,
since I am a virgin?" The angel said to 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 holy; he will be called Son of God." (Luke 1:26-35
NRSV)
Sometimes we, in the 21st
Century, are quick to pass over the Biblical passages which affirm the Virgin
Birth of Jesus. They are often thought of as sounding "outdated" and
"antique," or "foreign" and "impossible," to our modern ears and scientific
sensibilities. Indeed, among many people today – even among many Christians –
one can frequently hear the remark: "Virgin birth? Humph! Don’t be
preposterous!"
There is nothing preposterous
about it. The Virgin birth is both Biblically and theologically central to the
affirmation of Jesus as being both human and divine. In the above passage,
Mary’s question speaks volumes as to the nature of the conception of Jesus,
and her puzzlement as to its means: "How can this be," she asked, "since I am
a virgin?" Contrary to how they are usually depicted, scripture is fairly
clear that Mary and Joseph were not yet married, but only engaged to be
married. Hence, at the time of the annunciation by Gabriel, they had not yet
had sex. This made the proclamation of her impending pregnancy a great
curiosity, and occasioned her question. Since she was still a virgin, how
could she possibly be "with child?"
The answer provided by the
archangel Gabriel has given nearly 2000 years of scholars reason to debate.
Gabriel said: "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most
High will overshadow you…." While poetic in structure, both halves of the
answer should be examined.
Firstly, Mary is told that the
Holy Spirit will "come upon" her. This phrase is very similar – if not
identical – to the way in which the Old Testament prophets were encounted by
the Holy Spirit just prior to either their calling into ministry or, as was
more common, just prior to their "speaking for God." In each instance it would
appear that the Holy Spirit "coming upon" them meant that they became a vessel
for God to communicate His will, a mouthpiece or speaker for God. In Mary’s
case, what she would be delivering was not just spoken words, but the very
Incarnate Word of God, Jesus.
Secondly, Mary is told that "the
power of the Most High will overshadow" her. The word "overshadow" is in
Greek: episkiasei, meaning "oversee" or "protect" or "cover." It is
also found, elsewhere, in Matthew, Mark, and Luke, where it references the
cloud which descended upon Peter, James, and John when they were on the Mt. of
Transfiguration. God spoke to them out of that cloud, saying: "This is my Son,
the Beloved; listen to him!" Hence, the term indicates a divine, helping,
revealing, overshadowing presence. In the case of Mary, she is promised that
the power of the Most High would protect and enable her, even though she is
still a young virgin, to conceive a child in her womb.
Gabriel concludes: "therefore
[i.e., because of this overshadowing] the child to be born will be holy; he
will be called Son of God." The implication is clear: because the child is the
result of Mary’s being overshadowed – protected by the power of God in the
process of conception – the child will be "holy" and the "Son of God." While
certainly a human child, nevertheless this baby will be God’s Holy Son.
Hence, the reality of the
consubstantial Divinity and Humanity of Jesus is affirmed and established by
the doctrine of the virgin birth. It is by the very process which enabled the
conception of Jesus by the blessed Virgin Mary that Jesus was also made both
God and Man.
In short, the Virgin birth is
not just an optional addition to the Christian faith. Rather, it is critical
if we are going to have a true understanding of Jesus as both our God and our
brother.
During each annual Christmas
celebration, when most Christians give thanks for the the incarnation of God
in human flesh as Jesus of Nazareth, I encourage you to ask that the power of
the Most High might overshadow you, as well, so that the Christ Child
may come to dwell in your heart again.
True, Jesus wasn't
born on December 25th -- most likely, he was born in September --
nevertheless, for more than 1500 years the Church has celebrated his birth at
the time of the winter solstice. There's nothing wrong with this, nor in
recognizing the historic truth, nor in having a great big party at Christmas.
And, if we are having a great big party at this time of year, and chosing to
celebrate Jesus' birth now (for whatever reason), let's take a moment to do
what Mary did, and open ourselves to the love, grace, and peace, and life
transforming presence of God. God wants to overshadow us so that Christ can be
born in our hearts, by faith. Will you let him in?
Come, let us adore him!
