“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.
Gabriel addressed Mary in a way that echoed things God had spoken to a figure known as daughter Zion through the prophets:
Sing, Daughter Zion;
shout aloud, Israel!
Be glad and rejoice with all your heart,
Daughter Jerusalem! (see Zephaniah 3:14)
Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!
Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem!
Behold, your king is coming to you;
righteous and having salvation is he (see Zechariah 9:9).
Moreover, his greeting referred to something of which Mary may have been only dimly aware. He spoke of the fact that she had been filled with grace by God in the past in a way that continued until that moment. In some way Gabriel seemed to tie the fulfillment of the messianic hope spoken through the prophets to the grace that was present and at work in Mary. Is it any wonder she was greatly troubled? There was something unbelievably vast at work, a divine conspiracy in which she was now implicated. Since her youth she had seen herself as dedicated to God. But now her mind must have been running through various Scripture passages as she sought to put the pieces together and understand what was expected of her. And it was true that much was being asked of her. Humanly speaking, fear would have been a natural response to the call on the life of Mary. But the angel helped her to frame things correctly, from God's point of view.
Do not be afraid, Mary,
for you have found favor with God.
Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son,
and you shall name him Jesus.
It got more confusing before it became clear. Mary understood herself to be a virgin, and planned to remain in that state, as she indicated when she asked, "How can this be, since I have no relations with a man?". But it was this very commitment that helped qualify her to bear the savior of the world. She was sacred and set apart for the miraculous way Jesus would enter the world. In asking the angel how it would happen she did not mean to imply doubt that it was possible. Rather, she understood that her prior commitment meant that the birth of this child couldn't come about in the normal way. She was docile and wanted the understanding required to play her part well.
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.
As the cloud of God's presence had once descended on the tent of meeting in the time of Moses so too would his presence overshadow Mary. It was this power and proximity of God that would be the direct cause of the birth of the child in such a way and to such a degree that he would, "be called holy, the Son of God". Mary was thus privileged and set apart. But she also became an example for us, an icon of the perfection of the Church at its beginning. From her we can learn how to allow the Spirit, who has now come to us as well through the Sacraments, to bring Jesus to birth in our own lives. If we remember this we will have the same cause for joy that Mary did, and the same sense of purpose animating our lives. We too will do our best to discern "How can this be" in our own lives, and respond to what we discover by imitating Mary's own assent to God's plan:
Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord.
May it be done to me according to your word.”
Songs In His Presence - Bright As The Sun
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