Today is the first day of our advent journey with Mary. This first week we will be with Mary as she is visited by the Angel of the Lord.
Luke 1:26-27
"In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary.
Imagine the scene; one day you're going about your normal business. Perhaps you're doing the washing or making breakfast, maybe you're cleaning the house or tending the garden, or just possibly you're at work with your colleagues. It's just a normal day, nothing special or out of the ordinary.
But then....... an angel of the lord appears!
It sounds straightforward the way Luke says it doesn't it, the angel just appears.
Just like that.
No big deal.
There's no mention of Mary falling over in shock, or having her mouth gaping open, or screaming and running off. She was quite clearly of a stronger constitution than me. But then that's to be expected, after all she was to become the mother of the messiah.
Let's put ourselves in Mary's shoes.
Imagine a point in your normal day.
Me, I'm checking my emails and wondering which ones need dealing with first.
What are you up to?
And suddenly the angel of the Lord appears in front of you.
I can imagine it now, the room would be filled with light and there'd be a person of sorts in the room.
I'd definitely drop my laptop, there's no doubt about that.
I would like to think that I would stay calm and that I would recognise an angel when one appeared to me.
But if I'm honest I'm pretty sure that I would scream and freeze in shock.
How do you think you'd react?
I trust the gospels but I have to say that I suspect Mary reacted much as we would, how could she not be shocked and fearful. We will never know for sure, but one thing is sure, she didn't run away.
Prayer for the day
Father as we meet Mary today we try to imagine how she would have felt when your Angel appeared to her. We thank you for her bravery and openness at that time and ask that we might be blessed with the same in our journey's of faith and love with you. Amen.
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