angel said, “Do not fear, Mary, for God has looked kindly on you. You shall conceive and bear a son; and you shall call him Jesus. He will
be great, and shall rightly be called Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the kingdom of David, his ancestor; he will rule
over the people of Jacob forever; and his reign shall have no end.” Then Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a
virgin?” And the angel said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the Most High will overshadow you;
therefore, the holy child to be born of you shall be called Son of God. Even your relative, Elizabeth, is expecting a son in her old
age, although she was unable to have a child; and she is now in her sixth month. With God nothing is impossible.”
Then Mary said, “I am the handmaid of the Lord, let it be done to me as you have said.” And the angel left her.
Reflection:
“And the angel left her.” The moment Mary said “Yes” to God’s
will, the angel left her! Wasn’t it the moment a horde of angels
should have descended, stood guard for her day and night?
After all, she was the Mother of God! But no! The angel simply
left, never more to return during her earthly life. There would be
no angel to help her explain the mysterious pregnancy to her
family; no angel to find her a home in Bethlehem. No angel
would protect her divine child miraculously from the sword
of Herod, nor make her travel to Egypt easy. When the child
of the promise was lost in the Temple, there was no angel
whispering his whereabouts to her; nor when she had to stand
beneath the cross with a sword piercing her heart, again. Mary
had to walk her “yes” in the utter darkness of faith, and she
did! How about me? How would I react when I see the angel leaving?
© Copyright Bible Diary 2022