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‘And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God … and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.’
Luk_1:26; Luk_1:28
I. Mary’s joy.—What joy she felt when Gabriel assured her of this! When he left, she hastened to her cousin Elizabeth, in the upland country, to communicate the information and the joy to her. ‘Only the meeting of saints in heaven can parallel the meeting of these two cousins: the two wonders of the world under one roof, declaring their mutual happiness!’ (Luk_1:46-47).
II. Mary’s dignity.—High dignity, beside deep joy, was now conferred upon Mary. ‘Thou art highly favoured,’ said Gabriel to her. But this dignity was not of an earthly, fleeting nature; for Mary was left by the angel in the same humble condition in which he found her; and, in truth, her humble condition was the same at the birth of Christ, and to the day of her own death. The dignity, therefore, was heavenly and lasting. So it has proved itself. No woman, from Eve downward, has been so honoured as the Blessed Virgin of Nazareth. Her very memory is fragrant as Eden.
III. Mary’s blessedness.—Nor is this all: ‘The Lord is with thee.’ This constituted her real blessedness, and was the climax of the annunciation of the angel. The Lord was with Mary in two sublime senses—to sustain and further deepen the joy of her soul, and to perform the covenant which Gabriel had made with her at His bidding. Mary, in her glorious Magnificat, says of herself, ‘All generations shall call me blessed.’ This they have done since the birth of Christ, and this they will continue to do.
Illustration
The Festival of the Annunciation has been variously yet appropriately designated thus: ‘The Day of Salutation’; ‘the Day of the Gospel’; and ‘the Festival of the Incarnation.’ In many parts it was for some time the first day of the ecclesiastical year, as it is now, under its vernacular name—Lady-Day, the first quarterly division of the ordinary year. How the ancient Church observed the day can scarcely be ascertained now. And this is not a little remarkable, as the Christian Fathers have written numerous homilies on the day itself, and the Christian muse has for centuries been actively engaged in illustrating it. To the Christian artist, the holy mysteries of the day have ever had a special fascination, as shown by the pictures and paintings—some very grotesque, others very beautiful—which were produced during the first ages succeeding the Annunciation itself. Christians of the present day regard it as the first stage of the Incarnation. Hence we gladly keep the day as a holy festival, and fix our mind upon its marvels.’