December 8–14, 2024 (Western): Advent II: Let It Be
The Incarnation Fast: Week 4
Those from Whom it is Prepared
When the mother of two of Jesus’ disciples realized He indeed was the Messiah, she didn’t want her privileged access to the King of the Universe to pass her by. And who can blame her? Imagine we spent day after day with Jesus, God Almighty, in human form. Probably, at some point, we would approach the King of Kings. “So, Master, I’ve been thinking about something…”
“She said to Him, ‘Grant that these two sons of mine may sit, one on Your right hand and the other on the left, in Your kingdom’ (Matt. 20:21). Jesus answered after asking if they knew the cost of this request: “[…] but to sit on My right hand and on My left is not Mine to give, but it is for those for whom it is prepared by My Father” (Matt. 20:23). So, whom has the Father prepared to sit at Jesus’ right hand and left? Moses? Abraham? Or perhaps the Apostle Paul? How about John the Beloved, who was the only disciple at Jesus’ side during the crucifixion?
In the first Season of Salvation (the Season of the Kingdom of God), the Divine Calendar presents John the Baptist as the symbol and role model for that first period. The Forerunner announced the coming of the Kingdom of God. “Assuredly, I say to you, among those born of women there has not risen one greater than John the Baptist; but he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he” (Matt. 11:11).
Who is the symbol and role model for the second season, the Season of Incarnation? It is she who received the announcement of the Heavenly King, the Virgin Mary, the Mother of Jesus Christ. We will look into why below, but her famous words, “Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word” (Luke 1:38) demonstrate her extravagant humility.
If you see an icon with both the Lord, John the Baptist, and the Virgin Mary, most likely you’ll see the Virgin on Jesus’ right and the Forerunner on Jesus’ left. Also, these are the common positions on the iconostasis in Orthodox Churches.
Linking the Old and New Testament
Virgin Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ, is our role model for the Incarnation Fast and Feasts because God chose her to bring God the Son into our world. The Incarnation happened in her womb. “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you” (Luke 1:35).
The spiritual language of the Old Testament is a physical language. The people of Israel sacrificed a real lamb each Passover. “Pick out and take lambs for yourselves according to your families, and kill the Passover lamb” (Ex. 12:21). Physical incense burned in the temple as part of worship. “And when Aaron lights the lamps at twilight, he shall burn incense on it, a perpetual incense before the Lord throughout your generations” (Ex. 30:8). The temple where God dwelt was built of stones, wood, metals, fabrics, and an impressive amount of precious materials.
The language of the New Testament is a spiritual language. Jesus Christ is now our Passover Lamb. “The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, ‘Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!’” (John 1:29) Incense is our prayers ascending before God’s throne. “And the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, ascended before God from the angel’s hand” (Rev. 8:4). And we have become the temple of God. “For you are the temple of the living God” (2 Cor. 6:16).
Therefore, the Old Testament language becomes the shadow of the realities spoken about in the New Testament. “For the law, having a shadow of the good things to come, and not the very image of the things […]” (Heb. 10:1).
When exactly did this transition occur? During the life of Virgin Mary. She received Jesus Christ physically. The Incarnation was a material event for her. But she was also arguably the first believer in Jesus Christ as the Messiah. She was the first Christian—even though that term of the followers of The Way (Acts 9:2) came much later (Acts 11:26).
But she also received the Holy Spirit during Pentecost. “These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers.” (Acts 1:14). Virgin Mary also experienced the spiritual formation of the person of Christ in her inner man (Gal. 4:19; 2:20)—the spiritual Incarnation. The Mother of the Lord links and transitions the economy of the Old Testament into the New. God chose her as being worthy of the physical Incarnation, but later, after her Son completed His work of Salvation, she also experienced the spiritual Incarnation.
As amazing and thrilling as it sounds, Jesus dwells in our spirits in an increasing manner as we mature as Christians. The more Jesus sanctifies and extends His reign in the land of our souls, the more we experience “it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me” (Gal. 2:20). The fruits and gifts of the Spirit increase, the sense of being the constant dwelling of God intensifies, and we experience Someone walking before us, ordaining our everyday life according to Heaven’s agenda.
The Seed of the Woman
We find the first prophecy of Virgin Mary in Genesis 3:15: “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel.” The capital Seed is the Messiah, therefore “her” is not women in general, but the mother of the Seed.
After the fall of man in the Garden of Eden, “the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him” (2 Chron. 16:9). God had made man His target. “[…] What have I done to You, O watcher of men? Why have You set me as Your target […]” (Job 7:20). Before creation, God planned to enter the world as a fellow human being to save us from our fall into sin and death. “All who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world” (Rev. 13:8).
After God had chosen a people for Himself through whom He could be born, the prophet Isaiah said: “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel” (Isa. 7:14). Around the same time, the prophet Micah confirmed: “The One to be Ruler in Israel, whose goings forth are from of old, from everlasting. Therefore He shall give them up, until the time that she who is in labor has given birth” (Micah 5:2b–3a).
God searched the hearts of the Israelites, one generation after another, until the perfect point in history arrived. After God had masterfully orchestrated the Messiah’s arrival on the human scene to have maximum impact on humanity, He sent Archangel Gabriel.
“Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. And having come in, the angel said to her, ‘Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!’” (Luke 1:26–28)
“But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons” (Gal. 4:4–5). The life of Virgin Mary and her wholehearted devotion to Jesus makes her our role model in the Incarnation Fast and Feasts. The love for God that blazed in her heart attracted the Son of God to be incarnated through her. We want to learn from her so the spiritual Incarnation may happen in our inner man, year after year.
The Bride of God
We can say that the Virgin Mary was the first follower of Jesus Christ, but she’s also the role model for the Church in the end-times. The mature church is called the Bride of Christ. “Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready. And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints” (Rev. 19:7–8). The bridal garments distinguish the Bride of Christ. Her dress is marked by radiant righteousness and bridal love, the first love (Rev. 2:4–5). “That He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish” (Eph. 5:27).
Bridal love is a big topic, but if there’s any person in the New Testament embodying those traits, it’s the Virgin Mary. Not only being among the first Christians, but Mary is the role model for the Christians at the end of time.
“Listen, O daughter, consider and incline your ear; forget your own people also, and your father’s house; so the King will greatly desire your beauty; because He is your Lord, worship Him” (Verses 10–11). “The royal daughter is all glorious within the palace; her clothing is woven with gold. She shall be brought to the King in robes of many colors; the virgins, her companions who follow her, shall be brought to You. With gladness and rejoicing they shall be brought; they shall enter the King’s palace” (Verses 13–15).
May we pay attention to how Mother of the Lord lived during the weeks of Advent and the Incarnation Fast. Her life, however extremely advanced, is not unreachable. The Holy Spirit wants to give us grace to follow her life’s example. Let us pray with the Mother of Jesus Christ until Christmas: “Behold the maidservant [or servant] of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word” (Luke 1:38).
Sunday Gospel: Luke 1:26–38 (NKJV)
Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, 27 to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28 And having come in, the angel said to her, “Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!”
29 But when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was. 30 Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus. 32 He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. 33 And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.”
34 Then Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I do not know a man?”
35 And the angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God. 36 Now indeed, Elizabeth your relative has also conceived a son in her old age; and this is now the sixth month for her who was called barren. 37 For with God nothing will be impossible.”
38 Then Mary said, “Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.
“Troubled at his Saying.”
This Sunday’s gospel passage is the second part of our four-part journey through chapter one of Luke. Let us zoom in on the reactions of the Virgin Mary to understand her mysteries better. We want to pray with these truths to receive the grace of her bridal heart.
Verses 28–30: “And having come in, the angel said to her, ‘Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!’ But when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was. Then the angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.’”
We might think her reaction is like that of Zacharias, who—puzzled how the Lord would answer his prayers for the salvation of Israel—replied to the same angel: “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is well advanced in years” (Luke 1:18). But Mary’s trouble isn’t in her disbelief.
The Greek word translated “troubled” means thoroughly disturb or agitate. It was the angel’s words of praise about her that troubled Mary: “highly favored one,” “the Lord is with you” and “blessed are you among women.” Being a student of the Scriptures, she knew Proverbs 16:18: “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.” A humble soul as hers would never accept such words, because the humbler the soul, the more unworthy and sinful it views itself.
It’s a paradox, but the Bride display this in the Song of Songs: “I am dark, but lovely, O daughters of Jerusalem […] Do not look upon me, because I am dark, because the sun has tanned me” (Song of Solomon 1:5–6; the “sun” refers to the wilderness of sin).
The virgin wanted to be sure this angel was a servant of the Lord. So Gabriel replied: “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus” (Verses 30–31).
The Mother of Jesus shows us the importance of “not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith” (Rom. 12:3). “Do not set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble” (Rom. 12:16). The Virgin Mary had meditated on the Psalms, including Psalm 138:6: “Though the Lord is on high, yet He regards the lowly; but the proud He knows from afar.” And Psalm 51:17: “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and a contrite heart—these, O God, You will not despise.”
The keyword for the Incarnation Fast is emptying ourselves from our honor and glory, and Mary’s response of being troubled by praise is the disposition we also seek. Not false humility—which is concealed pride—but recognizing everything we have is a gift from God, thanking Him. “For who makes you differ from another? And what do you have that you did not receive? Now if you did indeed receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it?” (1 Cor. 4:7)
“How Can This Be?”
Verses 32–34 reads: “‘He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.’ Then Mary said to the angel, ‘How can this be, since I do not know a man?’”
This might also sound like an expression of unbelief. How can this be? But why would she ask this question, when verse 27 says: “to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph”? If Mary and Joseph were a betrothed couple, the angel’s words about a future child would not be hard to accept. But they were a consecrated couple.
Tradition describes Joseph as a godly young man—not as an old man, as many depictions portray him—because the grace of consecration can set a person wholly aside for God. Both Mary and Joseph lived a strictly consecrated life, and God called them to such a life. This was God’s plan to raise Jesus with both a mother and father figure.
When Mary asks Gabriel: “How can this be, since I do not know a man?” She means: “How can this be, since I will not end my chastity?” The angel explains how this conception will take place: “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God” (verse 35). Gabriel even revealed another parallel miracle to confirm God’s working hands: “Now indeed, Elizabeth your relative has also conceived a son in her old age; and this is now the sixth month for her who was called barren. For with God nothing will be impossible” (verses 36–37).
Our prayer here is the Virgin Mary’s absolute consecrated heart. She wholly belongs to God, and not to any man. Such a radical lifestyle makes her fully available to God’s work.
“Let It Be”
In verses 37–38, we read: “‘For with God nothing will be impossible.’ Then Mary said, ‘Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word.’ And the angel departed from her.” This is perhaps the most famous quote of the Mother of the Lord, and it reveals her astonishing humility.
The priest Zacharias was an old man “both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless” (Luke 1:6), and had lived multiple lifetimes compared to Mary. Yet, he didn’t find the humility to believe the Lord would answer his prayers for Israel through his son, John the Baptist. Mary, probably only at fourteen, simply stated: I belong to God. Let Him do what pleases Him.
Gabriel told Zacharias that God would answer his prayer through his son. An unexpected prayer answer for the priest, but mighty figures like the Prophet Elijah and King David gave him a framework to understand what a man of God could accomplish. But Mary had no such framework. There was no concept for her to understand the Incarnation of God—God becoming flesh. We can comprehend it, because we look back on history. But Mary, even though she awaited the Messiah, still accepted Gabriel’s words as the law of her life, showing her extraordinary trust in God. Her humility is beyond comparison, except to her Son’s.
“He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end” (Verses 32–33). “That Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God” (Verse 35). Mary didn’t stutter any but-what-about’s. She simply said: “Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word.”
The last prayer point that we bring into the second week of Advent is Mary’s humility and instantaneous obedience. Such complete trust in God allows Him to entrust us with His most Beloved Son. “But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us” (2 Cor. 4:7).
Let us seek the grace in the Virgin Mary’s life, as we draw nearer the end of the Incarnation Fast, that Christ may be enthroned on our humility.
Deflecting all honor to God, thanking Him for all our abilities and gifts.An absolutely consecrated heart.Radical humility and instant obedience.“For thus says the High and Lofty One Who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: ‘I dwell in the high and holy place, with him who has a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones’” (Isa. 57:15).
Thank you for taking the time to read and be a part of this journey through the Seasons of Salvation. I pray we all fall deeper and deeper in love with our Savior these weeks.
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