The Shocking Salutation
“And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city
of Galilee, named Nazareth, To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was
Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary. And the angel
came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is
with thee: blessed art thou among women. And when she saw him, she was troubled
at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be.” (Luke 1:26-29)
Today’s
Morsel: I once read a story of a man who had escaped from prison and was on the lam for many
years. He had even married, had a family, a job, and was doing very well
in life. And one day while sitting at home with his wife, the doorbell rang. When his wife answered the door, the gentlemen
at the door said to her, “Mrs. Jones, my
name is agent X, and we are from the FBI and we are here to talk with your
husband." Can you imagine such a shocking
salutation? Somewhat like Mary. Mary was probably going about
her usual day, thinking about her soon to be husband Jospeh, making plans of what her home would look like, what she would wear
for her wedding, who
she would invite, when suddenly she is greeted by
Gabriel,
who was sent from God to tell her that she had been
chosen by
God to bear His son. Mary was shocked like any of us would
be. thinking what kind of greeting is this? I’m
sure she went into panic mode. But Gabriel tells her, “Fear not, Mary:
for thou hast found favour with God.” He tells her not to fear, he calls her by her name,
signifying that she was well known to him, as the saints are to all the ministering angels, who are often sent unto them by
God. He wanted her to know that he did not come to bring her bad news,
but good news. And that good news was that she had found favor with God
to bear His son. How do you turn a shocking salutation like this into a
blessing? Mary simply said, “Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto
me according to thy word...” (Luke 1:38)
Sing:
Welcome into this place, welcome into this broken vessel, You desire, to abide
in the praises of your people; so, we lift our hands, as we lift our voice, as
we offer up this praise unto Your name.
Thought For Today:
All shocking salutations aren’t bad!
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