"Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you."
But she was greatly troubled at what was said
and pondered what sort of greeting this might be.
She may have pondered how this greeting was an echo of past Scriptural prophecies calling the daughter of Zion to rejoice. Also, the angel had addressed her as full of grace, as though that was her name or her definition. This was something else to ponder. While Mary might not have denied being aware that grace had been working mysteriously within her for her entire life, it was nevertheless not her inclination to exult herself in the way Gabriel clearly had. This provoked a response of holy fear, of Mary's heart moving to ensure it was in the proper posture before the messenger sent by God. Further echoes of past prophecies were to be found in the response of Gabriel, telling Mary, "Do not be afraid":
The King of Israel, the Lord, is in your midst;
you shall never again fear evil.
On that day it shall be said to Jerusalem:
“Fear not, O Zion;
let not your hands grow weak.
The Lord your God is in your midst,
a mighty one who will save;
he will rejoice over you with gladness;
he will quiet you by his love;
he will exult over you with loud singing (see Zephaniah 3:15-37).
The communication between Gabriel and Mary seemed to be a realization of these prophecies, a coming alive, an embodiment of the promises in the context of Mary's own life. But there was more. She was to miraculously conceive a child who would fulfill still more and greater prophecies. He would gather together all peoples within a Kingdom to which there would be no end. The promise made to David, that seemed to have been lost and forgotten, was to be realized in the son of Mary. This message from Gabriel also brought to mind the vision of the Son of Man which had been seen by the prophecy Daniel:
his dominion is an everlasting dominion,
which shall not pass away,
and his kingdom one
that shall not be destroyed (see Daniel 7:14).
Even for one who was not tainted by the effects of original sin it was a lot to take in. But unlike Zechariah, she did not doubt the words of the angel. Instead, she asked for clarification about how this would happen in spite of the fact that she was a virgin. She was most likely vowed to virginity and knew the birth couldn't come about the normal way. But as to how else God might bring it about she didn't presume to guess.
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.
The glory of the Lord that had been present over the tent of meeting in the time of Moses, indicating the presence of God, would come even more intimately upon Mary herself, bringing about the conception of the child directly and miraculously. Although he was to be true son of Mary he was also at the same true Son of God. This was something beyond what anyone had ever dreamed, more than any prophet ever dared to hope. It was to be the fulfillment of the promise to Ahaz:
Therefore the Lord himself will give you this sign:
the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,
and shall name him Emmanuel.
Emmanuel, meaning, God is with us. And he was to be with us in a greater way than anyone could have ever imagined. All of this was, as we have said, a lot to take in. But unlike Zechariah, Mary, full of grace, trusted and voiced her consent. And in this moment the redemption of the world began.
Mary said, "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord.
May it be done to me according to your word."
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