In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary. And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to 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.” 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.” (Luke 1:26-35 ESV).
I hope the title for today’s devotional caught your attention. It was intended to do so; however, it was not intended to shock you. Typically, when we think about the approach of Christmas, we do so with much less thought than might be expected given the enormity of what we celebrate. The first Christmas was very serious, and no one expected it, not Joseph, and certainly not Mary. A child before marriage. A son conceived without having sex, however that might work. He would be a holy child, someone set apart to God. He would be the Son of God, whatever that might mean. That’s what the angel told Mary. That was certainly a “surprise”!
Naturally, Mary asked how this would happen. The angel said the Holy Spirit would come upon her. That’s not anything within the limits of current understanding, then or now. Joseph and Mary expected that any child they might have would be a gift from God. But they sure didn’t expect this. Though their son would be conceived in an extraordinary way, he would be born in the usual way. He would eat and sleep in the usual way. He would grow up in the usual way. And he would learn the family trade in the usual way.
For a long time, there wouldn’t be much unusual about their son. Not until the Holy Spirit, who would come upon Mary, would also descend on their son (cf. Luke 3:22). The Spirit would send their son on a mission to be the Savior of the world. That mission would unfold in ways no one expected. But their son would keep moving forward. With a generous heart, with a courageous spirit, and with toughened soles, he would stick to the path of that mission for the glory of God. He would bring an end to sine and death. He would pay the debt we could never pay and die the death we all deserve. This is what we celebrate this December. The more we understand that, the less surprised we will be; and, the more loved we will become. Keep this at the center of your Christmas!