“And Mary said to the angel, ‘How will this be, since I am a virgin?’ And the angel answered her, ‘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. … For nothing will be impossible with God.’ And Mary said, ‘Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.’ And the angel departed from her.”
(Luke 1:34-35, 37-38 ESV)
After that glorious announcement, Mary has a question. “How will this be, since I am a virgin?”
Notice that Mary is not arguing with the angel like Zechariah; she simply wants to know the details. Will Joseph be the father? If so, she needs to move the wedding up. The angel is happy to explain to her: God is going to do a miracle like never before. This Child will be conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit, and He will be holy—not just a prophet, but the Son of God Himself. So Mary herself doesn’t need to do a thing.
And so she left it in God’s hands, confident that He would deal with everything. And He did—just as He does for us, broken people who need His salvation. God sent His Son Jesus into the world for Mary and for us, so that we who need Him so much might become the forgiven children of God through Him. No need for us to do anything; on the cross and at the empty tomb, God has done it all.
We Pray: Thank You, Lord, for loving and saving us. Amen.
Reflection Questions:
* How do you think Mary felt: Happy? Confused? Relieved?
* How does it make you feel, to know that God has done it all?
* Why do you think God chose to handle our salvation all by Himself?
Advent Devotions were written by Dr. Kari Vo.
Originally published in The Lutheran Hour on December 11, 2023
Used by permission from International Lutheran Laymen’s League, all rights