Luke 1:26-28 – The angel Gabriel appears to Mary

In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. And he came to her and said, “Greetings, favoured one! The Lord is with you.”

Imagine if you were greeted by an angel! Like any incredible occurrence – sunsets, snowflakes, daffodils – I’m sure with enough repetition we’d start to get used to it, but to begin with maybe we would capture some of the mystery and awe that Gabriel brings when he appears to Mary. Not to mention the powerful reassurance that Gabriel shares as well – “The Lord is with you.” It’s a pity that our contemporary world has suppressed mystery and awe, because the Bible tells us that we can start each day with this assurance, if we reach out for it. The Lord is with us. We just need to stop and remind ourselves of this. So pause where you are – right now – and recapture this spirit: Greetings, blessed one! The Lord is with you.