4th SUNDAY OF ADVENT (B)

Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son,and you shall name him Jesus.

Lk 1:26-38

This story of the annunciation of the birth of Jesus, which is of the same kind as that of the birth of John the Baptist and which shows many similarities, takes place in far away Nazareth. The mission of Jesus is described at first as that of the traditional Messiah of Is 7:14; 9:6 and 2 Sam 7:14. 16 (vv.31-33), then as that of Son of God par excellence (v. 35; Rom 1:4). The virginal conception is a sign of this unique and mysterious sonship. Comparing the two annunciation stories we see how the superiority of Jesus to that of John is highlighted as well as that contrast between the faith of Mary and the unbelief of Zehariah.

v. 26. In the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee called Nazareth…

Nazareth is unknown in the OT. It is an insignificant small village (Jn 1:46). Luke calls it a city just as he calls the villages of Bethlehem (2:4), Capernaum (4:31) and Naim (7:11).

v. 27. To a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the house of David, and the virgin’s name was Mary.

The Greek word “parthenos” refers to a young girl (cf. Mt 25:1-13) and implies a virgin. The Mary is a virgin will be made explicit in the following text (v. 34), removing any ambiguity regarding her marriage.

Mary is said to be betrothed (engaged) to Joseph. In reality Mary is legally married to Joseph (see the use of the term in 2:5) but they do not yet live together (1:34). According to Jewish custom in fact a certain amount of time has to pass before the husband brings his wife to his home (Mt 25:1-13).

v. 28. And coming to her, he said, “Hail, favored one! The Lord is with you.”

Hail may be translated as “be joyful” or “be glad”. The imperative in this context is not a common greeting in the Greek world. It may be an echo of the proclamation of salvation made to the daughter of Sion (Zep 3:14; Zec 9:9). It expresses the joy of the good news (1:14).

Favored one: This expression is presented as a name given to Mary. In the Bible the word is not found except in Sir 18:17 and Eph 1:6. It is in relation to the word “grace” that in the OT it means first of all the favor of the king (1Sm 16:22; 2Sm 14:22,16:4; 1Kgs 11:19; Est 2:17, 5:8, 7:3, 8:5 etc.), then it means the love of the beloved (Sg 8:10; Esth 2:17 etc.) (cf. v. 30).

The Lord is with you: These words are often found in vocation stories (Ex 3:12; Jgs 6:12; Jer 1:18. 19, 15:20; cf. Gn 26:24, 28:15).

v. 29. But she was greatly troubled at what was said and pondered what sort of greeting this might be.

The word used to describe the reaction of Mary is stronger than that of Zechariah in 1:12 since the greeting of the angel enabled Mary to catch a glimpse of her singular calling.

Unlike Zechariah Luke does not say that fear came upon Mary as in 1:12; instead Luke presents her as pondering over the message of the angel (cf. 1:34 and 2:19). Mary seeks to penetrate the mystery of this unexpected revelation.

v. 31. Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus.

As in 1:13 the angel takes up again the birth prophecies of the OT. The nearest text is Is 7:14 (cf. Mt 1:23). The name “Jesus” is not explained here as in Mt 1:21 (God saves), but Jesus shall be called Savior in 2:11 (cf. 1:69. 71. 77; 2:30; 3:6).

v. 32. He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father…

Unlike John (1:15), Jesus is undeniably great.

In contrast to 1:35 here the title of “Son (of God)” is the classic name of the king, son of David (2Sm 7:14; Ps 2:7; 89:27).

The name of “Most High”, used frequently for God in Hellenism and in the Greek OT, is used in the NT only by Luke (Lk 1:35. 76; 6:35; 8:28; Acts 7:48; 16:17) together with Mk 5:7 and Heb 7:1.

v. 33. And he will rule over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”

This nationalistic messianism will be superseded in 2:32.

v. 34. But Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I have no relations with a man?”

Mary asks a question like Zechariah in 1:18. But while the question of Zechariah showed his unbelief (v. 20), that of Mary is received by the angel as inspired by faith which seeks understanding (vv. 35-36; cf. v. 45). In this narrative the question served to introduce a more complete revelation of the mystery of Jesus (cf. 35).

I have no relations with a man?: Literally, I do not know man. It is used in the Bible to refer to marital relationship (Gn 4:1. 17. 25; 19:8; 24:16 etc.) Mary, who is married to Joseph, is a virgin (v. 27). The angel announces to her that she is to be a mother (v. 31). As in Jgs 13:5. 8, she understands this at once. Thus she objects that she has had no marital relations with Joseph, and her question introduce the revelation of the angel.

Some suppose that the meaning of Mary’s question is: I do not wish to know any man (that is, I do not wish to have a marital relation with any man). In this case, she expresses her desire to remain a virgin. But the present tense of the verb indicates a state and not a desire.

v. 35. And the angel said to her in reply, “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.

One may notice the parallel and contrast with 1:17 where John is invested with the spirit and the power of Elijah. As in the OT to the Spirit is attributed the creative and life-giving action of God (Gn 1:2; Ps 104:30) as well as the investiture of the Messiah (Is 11:1-6).

“Overshadow”: In Ex 40:35; Nm 9:18. 22; 10:34 this expression refers to the effective presence of the Lord among his people (Lk 9:34). This Biblical language is very far from that of pagan stories of divine procreation which are full of eroticism.

“Holy”: This term which means belonging to God in an exclusive way is one of the most ancient expressions of the divinity of Jesus (Acts 3:14; 4:27. 30; cf. 4:34).

An alternative translation would be: “Therefore, the child to be born will be holy and shall be called Son of God”. For Luke as well as for the OT (2Sm 7:14) the title “Son of God” refers to the Messiah (cf. Lk 4:34 e 41; Acts 9:20 and 22); But Luke also uses it as an expression par excellence of the mysterious relationship which unites Jesus with God. In his gospel, he never puts it on the lips of men (as Mt does in 14:33; 16:16; 27:40. 43.54; and Mk in 15:39). Luke only uses it on the lips of the Father (3:22; 9:35), of an angel (in this case), of evil spirits (4:3. 9. 41; 8:28) and of Jesus (10:22; cf. 20:13). At the end of the message of Gabriel the title “Son of the Most High” is recalled (v. 32) and then superseded by “Son of God” which highlights the new fullness of the divine sonship of Jesus (cf. 22:70).

v. 37. For nothing will be impossible for God.

In Gn 18:14 this expression is used of the miraculous birth of Isaac.

v. 38. Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.” Then the angel departed from her.

See Ru 3:9 and 1Sm 25:14.

More than an expression of humility, it is one of faith (v. 45) and of love since in the Bible to be a servant of God is a title of glory.