NOTES:
1] Belief in the earliest church centred on Jesus' Resurrection, not his birth. Birth stories come later. 2] `In  the sixth month' (v.26) means of Elisabeth's pregnancy. 3] The disruption God brings into Mary & Joseph's lives is a far cry from the story we usually portray & convey in our crib scenes. 4] There's little point in debating the 'virgin birth'. We either accept it or don't. If we don't, does it necessarily detract from our faith in Jesus?

WARMING UP: Why might 'The Annunciation' have become such a favourite subject for artists?

TREASURES OLD & NEW: Identify God at work in anything this week?

ENTERING INTO THE STORY:

26-29  Does the appearance of an (arch)angel add to the credibility of the story (as it's meant to) or not? Are those of us who don't believe in 'angels & archangels' maybe cheating ourselves out of a supernatural dimension in life & as a consequence abandoning that field to crystal shops, mediums, & the like, as well as 'demons'? Is there merit in our taking up belief in a real 'guardian angel' watching over us? What lessons can we profitably learn from Mary here? If God disrupts the life of someone as 'ordinary' as Mary, what makes us think our lives are quarantined from divine disruption?

30-34  If God were to disrupt / has disrupted our life, can we draw some assurance from Gabriel's response to Mary? Have we, our families & communities lost some divine connection in the way children are given made-up, celebrity, or other fly-by- night names with no sense of any 'God-given, God-driven' meaning in them these days? How much does what Gabriel says to Mary here about Jesus' 'pedigree' influence our own commitment to his being: 'great'? son of the Most High? ruling from David's throne? ruling over a kingdom having no end? Or is all that just old Jewish stuff? How often do we ask God, via an angel or anyone else, 'How can this be'? What kinds of questions have we piled up under that heading: How can this be?

35-38  Can we give birth to God's Son or anybody or anything else holy if Holy Spirit doesn't come upon us? If the power of the Most High doesn't overshadow us? If we don't ourselves become a son or daughter of God? Isn't the latter a key objective of the whole 'Jesus exercise'?
            Has our community become too obsessed with age 'cut-offs' of various kinds? What leaves might we take from Elisabeth's book for our own well-being (short of becoming pregnant!)? Do we really believe that 'nothing will be impossible for God'? Have we ever had to put God to that test? Do we still put God to that test? As a matter of course, or just when something too big for us is looming? Is Mary's "Here I am, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word" too big a leap of faith for us, or just the one we need to take?
            Just because we can't see our angel any more, does that mean he / she isn't on the job?