Amidst this great disruption to their lives, God’s first words to Mary are the same as those he spoke to Joseph: “Do not be afraid”.
Everything that God reveals to Mary through the angel would be contested: the parentage of child, the name Jesus (“He saved others but he cannot save himself”, Matt 27:42), his greatness, his identity as the Son of God, his rule and reign as King of Israel, and his claim to establish an eternal kingdom of God over all of creation.
Mary is a witness to Jesus’ birth, his life, his death and his resurrection. How her faith must have been challenged as all that God had promised about Jesus seemed to be under threat.
For us, two thousand years later, believers in Jesus, citizens of and participants in Christ’s kingdom that is both now and not yet, our faith is also challenged as we live in a world where so much of what is done and said opposes Jesus the King.
As we remember Jesus’ first coming, so we anticipate his return, to usher in his eternal kingdom, and to make all things new. May this encourage our hearts today and lead us to worshipping Christ.
