ADVENT THE BIRTH OF JESUS FORETOLD Part V Luke 1:26-45 THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION (Lk 1:34-35) “’How will this be,’ Mary asked the angel, ‘since I am a virgin?’ The angel answered, ’The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God” (Lk 1:34-35). Mary was called blessed not primarily because of her humility, but because of her Son. Jesus is identified as “the holy one” (1:35). This is in keeping with the fact that He never sinned (2 Co 5:21; Heb 4:15; 7:26; 1 Pe 2:22; 1 Jn 3:5). God gave to Mary a distinction that He gave to no one else in the history of the entire human race, that is, the privilege of giving birth to His one and only Son. There Greek word theotokos translated “God-bearer” caused argument and controversy in the early church. The Council of Ephesus (A. D. 431) used this phrase and branded as heretics those who did not use it because it was considered a denial of Jesus’ humanity. Mary was exalted and blessed and favored because she was chosen of and by God to be the God-bearer. She was appointed to give birth to the Messiah (Lk 1:33). It was her privilege, and hers alone, to carry the second person of the triune Godhead, the eternal Son, from conception until birth. It was through her that the Son of the Most High was “born of a woman” (Gal 4:4) and thus took on our flesh (Lk 1:32). We celebrate then not only Mary as the God-bearer, but the union of the human and divine in her Son. Sometimes we forget that not only did Mary carry the Christ-child to term and thus give birth to Him, but she was also the mother who cared for His physical and psychological needs as an infant and boy. She nursed Him at her breast and changed His diapers. Along with Joseph, she • Dedicated Jesus to the Lord by bringing Him to the Temple and having Him circumcised. • Nurtured and taught Him the ways of the Lord. • Taught Him to memorize the Holy Scriptures and to pray. It is no wonder that Mary was blessed and favored by God as the God-bearer, the mother of the Savior!
Posted on: Fri, 05 Dec 2014 12:10:55 +0000
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