The Annunciation

The Annunciation

The Annunciation has always been given high priority . . .

. . . in the Church’s contemplation of the mystery of Mary. The Liturgy, Theology and Scriptural Exegesis have continually emphasized its primary and normative importance for an understanding of the mystery of Mary and for drawing out of this mystery “things new and old” in order to celebrate her unique participation in the history of our salvation. By having recourse to literary forms familiar to readers of the Old Testament and by the constant inter-play of biblical allusions, Luke has given us a synthesis of how the early Church saw Mary.

The very way in which the account of the Annunciation is constructed reveals Luke’s fundamental theological purpose. On the one hand, he makes use of “announcements of miraculous births” to reveal the transcendence of the mystery of Jesus made manifest by the quite unique character of God’s intervention at the time of his conception. On the other hand, by following in his account the same pattern as in the announcement to Zechariah, Luke’s intention was to bring out, at one and the same time, the continuity from John to Jesus and Jesus’ superiority over John, and the contrast between Mary’s vocation and Zechariah’s. Moreover, Luke’s account, deeply rooted as it is in biblical tradition, invites us to an understanding of the mystery of Jesus, first of all, and then of the vocation of Mary (incomprehensible outside the mystery of Jesus) as the fulfillment of the promises made to Israel.

1. A Revelation concerning the Mystery of Jesus

The account of the Annunciation to Mary can be understood only in the light of a literary form of much wider scope which we find in the Old Testament: the announcements of miraculous births (Isaac: Gn 17, 15-22 and 21, 1-7; Samson: Judges 13, 2-24; Samuel: 1 S 1, 9-10; Emmanuel: Es 7, 14 sqq). So then, it is no cause for surprise if, here too, we find several of the characteristics of the same literary form: Mary’s situation (a young girl, a virgin, married v. 27); the appearance of an angel sent from God (v. 26); the revelation of a birth soon to take place (the outcome of God’s loving and gratuitous intervention), the name of the child and what he is destined to be (v. 31-33), an expression of astonishment and a question about “how” this is to happen (v. 34); the giving of a sign (v. 35-37).

The Annunciation is Primarily . . .

As in all accounts of this kind, the central message is focused on the person to be born and on His mission. In other words, the Annunciation to Mary is primarily the announcement of the coming of Jesus: “Behold, you shall conceive and bear a Son and his name will be Jesus” (v. 31).

What we have here is, in fact, the first “Good News” concerning Jesus, Son of God and Messiah. No doubt, the messenger, the form his message took and the one to whom the message was delivered are all important, but only to the extent that they relate to the one to be born and to His mission. The reason for their existence and all their greatness comes from their being in the service of the mystery which has been thus revealed.

. . . the Announcement of . . .

In his account of this mystery of Jesus, Luke has no hesitation in bringing to bear the full light of the Resurrection through an accumulation of Christological titles which are evidence of a long and matured meditation on this mystery by the first Christian communities. The mere mention of Gabriel, at the very beginning of the account, places it immediately in a messianic and eschatological context (cf. Dan. 9, the 70 weeks).  The revelation that follows has something to do with the “end of time.” Even the child’s name which Gabriel reveals is a whole program in itself and leaves us in no doubt as to what His mission will be: JESUS, that is, the Lord saves (cf. Mt. 1, 21). It is in him that the salvation promised by God to his people is to find its definitive fulfilment.

Luke then puts on Gabriel’s lips a whole series of titles which are as many witnesses to Jesus’ messianic character and to the absolutely unique and transcendent relationship he has with God: he will be ‘great’ just as God himself is great – in an absolute way (Ps. 48, 2; 76, 2; 86, 10; 96, 4 etc.).

. . . the Coming of Jesus

“He will be called the Son of the Most High.” This expression, to say the least, places him in the lineage of the Davidic heir (2 S. 7, 14; Ps 2, 7): “The Lord God will give him the throne of David, his father, he will reign over the house of Jacob forever and of his kingdom there will be no end.” (This is the classical formulation of Davidic messianism and has Nathan’s prophecy as its source [cf. 2 S. 7].

Its scope does not go beyond the frontiers of Israel. It will be, precisely, the function of Simeon [cf. THE PRESENTATION] to reveal the universality of Jesus’ mission); he will be “holy” i.e. in the absolute sense of the word (Lv. 19, 2. Ps. 71, 22; 89, 19; 99, 5); “he will be called the Son of God.” This is the high point of the revelation Gabriel brought and the strongest statement of the transcendence of Jesus which is confirmed by the other three uses Luke makes of the same title (Lk 3, 22: 9, 34).

This predominantly Christological aspect of the Annunciation account explains at once all the importance of Mary’s vocation. No doubt, neither Luke nor the early Christian communities had reached the level of the explicit teaching of the Council of Ephesus (the title of Theotokos) but their faith in the divinity of Jesus shows them very clearly heading in that direction.

2. A Revelation Concerning Mary’s Vocation

Quite clearly, Luke’s great originality consists in the fact that he integrated into the literary form he adopted the characteristic themes of another literary form: Vocation Accounts. The way in which Mary is addressed, her dialogue with the angel and the answer she gave, place her, and uniquely so, in the lineage of those who are called to a specific vocation within the history of salvation.

Mary learns from the angel Gabriel that she is “God’s favored one,” and this is, at one and the same time, a sign of personal worth and the sign of a divine choice with a mission in view (Noah: Gn. 6, 8; Abraham: Gn 18, 3; Moses: Ex 33, 13, 16, 17). The verb used here in the Greek text expresses the idea of something permanent and excelling.

The second part of the angel’s greeting also specifically contains the meaning of a calling: “The Lord is with you.” (This is the way in which God assures those he has called to a special mission that he is present, promising to act together with them for the sake of his people [Gn 28, 15; 31, 3; Ex 3, 12; Dt. 31, 23; Jos. 1, 9; 3, 7; Jg 6, 12; (cf note in Oxford Annotated Bible RSV) 6, 16: Est. 40, 10: Jr. 1, 8, 19: 15, 20]).

The Greeting is a Sign of a Divine Choice with a Mission for Our Lady

Mary’s reaction to the greeting she received was the same as that of the patriarchs and prophets when God called them. She was “troubled” and asked the messenger to enlighten her and tell her how her mission would take place (Abraham and Gideon did likewise. Gn 15, 8 and Jg 6, 15). The angel’s answer, “Do not be afraid, Mary,” is to prepare her for the immediate announcement of a mission (Gn 15, l ; 21, 17: 26, 24; Jg 6, 23; Est. 10, 24; Dn 10, 12, 19).

Mary will give birth to a child, and it is she who will give the child its name. It was, indeed, a vocation to motherhood, but to a motherhood that was to be totally under the sign of the “Holy Spirit,” and to be the manifestation to his people of God’s active presence (“the power of the Most High will overshadow thee” cf. Ex 40, 35, Num. 9, 18, 22; 10, 34). Then Gabriel mentions the sign which appears to be a confirmation of Mary’s vocation.

Finally, there is Mary’s answer which expresses her free and total acceptance of the vocation that has been revealed to her: “Behold I am the handmaid of the Lord.” These words express the acceptance of a change in her destiny (cf. Rt 3, 9: I S 25, 41) together with a total consecration of herself to God’s plan for the salvation of his People. (It is the name given in the Bible to Abraham, Moses, David and to the Servant of Yahweh).

3. The Mission of Jesus’ and Mary’s Vocation is the fulfilment of the Promises made to Israel

Luke, by making use simultaneously of miraculous birth accounts and vocation stories, presents the mission of Jesus and the vocation of Mary as the end-product and complete fulfilment of the promises made to Israel. The God who intervenes in the conception and birth of Jesus is the same saving God who intervened in the days of the Patriarchs, the Judges, the Kings and the Prophets. It is in Jesus that the initial promise made to Abraham is accomplished: “for with God nothing will be impossible” (v. 37. cf. Gn 18, 14).

The Son of the Promise is Jesus. Similarly, Mary’s vocation can be understood only in reference to the history of Israel as a whole, as she herself proclaims in the Magnificat. But we already see this in Gabriel’s greeting: Rejoice (v. 37); and here Mary personifies the Daughter of Sion (cf. Zeph. 3, 14-17), the symbol of the “little Remnant” which remained faithful to Yahweh.

She is invited to rejoice because the day of the Messiah has come and he is present within her.