“And, behold! Thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shall call his name Jesus.” [Luke 1:31]

Bud asks:
Sometimes, we think we have a plan that is working, as we think it should be working. Then, out of the very blue of the sky, someone, or something arrives in the moment of our plan and just decimates it. Well past overwhelming us, our brains can actually shut down for a time just to handle the overload. Why do such things happen to you, or to me?

My answer:
Because God is God and we are not. It’s as simple as that, I think. Here we have Mary just minding her own business—dusting Joachim and Anne’s sooty hearth, thinking about her upcoming wedding to that handsome Nazarene, Joseph—and this stranger appears out of the blue, unlawfully addresses her with familiarity, and speaks of conception and birth. Mary must be thinking, Well, I never. That’s getting pretty personal! I realized something in today’s verse: Gabriel never said when Mary would conceive and bring forth a son. I’m sure she figured after the wedding, her and Joseph would have children. But if this were the case, why would a messenger of God be sent down to this dusty town to announce the obvious for her future? No, Mary knew this had to be something immediate and life-changing. Well, this certainly wasn’t in her plans for today. This news threw all her plans out the window. Did her mind shut down for a moment? After all, she’s only human. Could she even assimilate this news? Pregnant? NOW? I would have been in shock, thinking this is going to mess up all my wedding plans. Joseph is going to have a fit. But wait. She realizes this guy is relaying God’s words—words of familiarity and favor. Her upbringing and knowledge of the Yahweh of Abraham and of His laws compels her to listen and trust God’s plan over her own. Perhaps this is what saved her from a complete brain freeze. This trust is what saved the world.

 

And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be. And the angel said unto her, “Fear not, Mary; for thou hast found favour with God." [Luke 1:29-30]


Bud asks:
I'm looking at the human nature of Mary, as it regards her interaction with Gabriel here. Why would he address her with such honor, and still speak to her so warmly, as to a dear friend? Part of me wants to know how come my faith doesn't compel Dad to show up at my door. Is it because He just doesn't do that any more? I don't believe that, personally. So, what is it about me that has Dad so far away?

My answer:
It was not usual with the Jews for a man to use any salutation to a woman, much less to speak with such familiararity as Gabriel did. It was not lawful to be done in any shape or form; not by a messenger, not even by her own husband. So, yeah, Mary was troubled by this unlawful salutation. Gabriel is not human. Gabriel is not God. The angel didn’t know of these ethological rules of Hebrewism, nor did he know Mary personally. But his Boss knew all these things and sent the angel down into Mary’s presence with a message of good news. Gabriel saw her worry and immediately calmed her fears and told her of God’s love for her. He was probably a bit surprised at this young girl’s reaction. But God wasn’t surprised. He knew Mary just like He knows me… better than I know Him. Perhaps His messenger “shows up at my door” often, but I am too blind to see past my humanness.



 

"And the angel came in unto her, and said 'Hail! Thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women." [Luke 1:28]

In reference to this scripture, Bud asks:
What if Dad were to show up in your "right now", and say the same words to you… “Hail, Winnie!”? Do I truly believe that Dad doesn't know where I am? IS that what you believe today?

My answer:
Gabriel, the Messenger of God, (ah hah… there’s that word Malachi—My Messenger—again) drops “in unto” Mary, comes into her space, shows himself unto her, stands before her, and says, “Howdy.” He knows her. God knows her. He calls her “highly favored” and “blessed.” Perhaps, at that moment, Mary was washing the accumulated soot from her father’s hearth or tending her mother’s garden. There’s nothing highly favorable or blessed about these tasks, but there she is, cleaning rag or weeding hoe in hand, minding her own business, waiting, as all faithful Jews, for the coming of the Messiah, someday… but not today. So why now? Why her? I believe it was because of her availability. God saw it, even if Mary didn’t. God knew where Mary was and called upon her.

Availability is being willing to adjust our own schedule, agenda, and plans to fit the desires of God and others. It makes personal priorities secondary to the needs of God and others. It is to reflect God’s priorities, so we are always available to Him, and others, when we are serving. Here are some biblical examples of availability:

Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I. Send me!” [Isaiah 6:8]
“Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” At once they left their nets and followed him. [Mark 1:17-18]
"Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much…” [Luke 16:10]
And when Paul had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go on into Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them. [Acts 16:10]

I believe God knows where we are, and He "comes in unto us" all the time and says, “Hi there, Winnie, Valerie, Lani, and Bud! You are favored. You are blessed. Can I count on you to do my work? Will you leave your TV program and your own plans and pleasures, your pains and grief, and help me change the world? Are you available?

Mary said, “Yes.”



 

Bud asks:
What was God waiting for during the 400 plus years of silence between the last utterances from the Old Testament in the book of Malachi and the first word of the New Testament? Was Dad just holding his breath?

My answer:
PREPARATION—God’s people weren’t ready to listen to anything after the scathing words of Malachi. They had to prepare themselves for a new covenant. They had to nurture yesterday’s “promise.” We have to look at where God’s “voice” left off and where it picks up again. The last book of the Old Testament, Malachi, was believed to have been the work of an anonymous writer shortly before Nehemiah’s arrival in Jerusalem in 455 B.C. Because of the sharp reproaches this author was leveling against the priests and rulers of the people, he probably wished to conceal his identity. To do this, he made a proper name out of the Hebrew expression for “My Messenger” which is Malachi. The book of Malachi paints a dismal picture of the community life of the Jewish people at the time. The chosen people had made a sorry return for divine love and the priests had dishonored God by their blemished sacrifices. This author reminds the people that the day of the Lord is coming but says that first the forerunner must come who will prepare the soil for repentance and true worship. He is speaking of John the Baptist here. In chapter 3, verse 1 of Malachi, it says: “Lo, I am sending my messenger to prepare the way before me…” Interestingly, these ending words of the Old Testament are the same words introducing the New Testament by Mark (believed now to be the first gospel actually written). In chapter 1, verse 2 of Mark, it says: “Behold, I am sending my messenger ahead of you; he will prepare your way. A voice of one crying out in the desert.” Then, guess what? John the Baptist appears on the scene. Like Bud says, God has no respect for time. It’s called God tense. The voice of God picked up 400 years later, right where it left off. I thought that was pretty cool.



 

Bud asked:
I happen to agree with the arrangement that was come to at the Council of Trent, but I am also aware that, while Matthew appears first in the New Testament, his were not the first words that now rest in that volume. Do you happen to know whose words were written first in the New Testament?

My answer taken from:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Testament