March 25: Annunciation of Our Lord
It seems far too early to make mention of Christmas, but today—nine months before the celebration of our Lord's birth—is when the Church celebrates the festival of the Annunciation our Our Lord. This day commemorates Gabriel's visit to Mary and his announcement that she would conceive and bear the Messiah, God incarnate, in her womb.
Some think they have no need for the liturgical calendar or that it is 'too Roman Catholic' or something. I think that attitude is a mistake. Everything on the Church calendar points us to Jesus and his saving work for us. On this day, we remember, marvel, and worship that God kept his promise made through the prophet Isaiah in a particular place and time in history. These words of the Prophet are not relegated to the lost recesses of the Old Testament but are front and center for our faith:
Moreover the LORD spoke again to Ahaz, saying, “Ask a sign for yourself from the LORD your God; ask it either in the depth or in the height above.” But Ahaz said, “I will not ask, nor will I test the LORD!”
Then he said, “Hear now, O house of David! Is it a small thing for you to weary men, but will you weary my God also? Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel. Curds and honey He shall eat, that He may know to refuse the evil and choose the good. For before the Child shall know to refuse the evil and choose the good, the land that you dread will be forsaken by both her kings.
— Isaiah 7.10-16 (NKJV)
After hundreds of years, God's promise was coming to fruition. In exactly the right place and at exactly the right time, God sent his Son to be born of a woman to redeem fallen humanity, setting us free from the power of sin, death, and the devil. In contrast to Ahaz, who did not want to believe the Lord's word, Mary received it in faith, playing a crucial role in the salvation of humankind and serving as an example of faith for all to follow.
Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. And having come in, the angel said to her, “Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!”
But when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was. Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name JESUS. 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.”
Then Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I do not know a man?”
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. 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. For with God nothing will be impossible.”
Then Mary said, “Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.
— Luke 1.26-38 (NKJV)
As we consider the miracle of the Annunciation, may we be inspired by blessed Virgin's faith and may we be drawn to worship our Lord in awe and wonder through the rest of this Lenten season.
O Lord, as we have known the incarnation of Your Son, Jesus Christ, by the message of the angel to the virgin Mary, so by the message of His cross and passion bring us to the glory of His resurrection; through the same Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.