by Daniel McCabe
Birth Announcement to Mary
Luke 1:37, “For with God nothing will be impossible.”
She stepped outside into a typical April morning. Her eyes in a tight squint as a bright rush of sunshine poured over the top of Mt. Tabor to the east. The smell of barley hung in the mountain air as harvesters throughout Galilee headed into their fields with calloused hands and baskets to fill. One small cluster of clouds hung in the western sky, teasing the thirsty Nazareth soil with the false promise of a latter rain. A little more than a month now until the Feast of Pentecost, but her mind could not shake the impossible memories of the previous day.
“Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.”
“You will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son.”
“With God nothing will be impossible.”
Mary had heard stories of the impossible since she was knee high to a jackrabbit. In fact she could simply glance over her shoulder to the west and picture the solitary prophet Elijah atop nearby Mt. Carmel, calling fire down from heaven to defeat hundreds of prophets of Baal who stood against him and his God. She could then look south toward the fertile plains below her home that meandered southeast to Mt. Gilboa and picture Gideon and his three hundred men routing the larger army of the Midianites. But it’s somehow easier to believe that the impossible can happen for prophets and warriors in stories told by sages. Believing that God can do the impossible in one’s own life—well, that can be a bit harder to do.
Mary’s thoughts immediately turned to Joseph, her fiancée, and to her parents. There would be whispers of scandal in the shadows and pious lectures to endure from those who could not believe the impossible. One cannot defeat hundreds. Three hundred cannot defeat thousands. One brown-eyed virgin from Nazareth could not possibly be God’s choice to bear the Savior of the world. But Elijah believed, Gideon believed, and Mary too believed the impossible, expressed in these remarkably courageous words of faith, “Let it be to me according to your word.”
Traveling today to Nazareth of Galilee one will find a church—the Basilica of the Annunciation—built on the traditional site of Mary’s home. It stands as a testament to the impossible—to the belief that God can do the impossible in the lives of the faithful. Certainly God did the impossible on Mt. Carmel, Mt. Gilboa and in the hills of southern Galilee. That we can believe. But won’t you believe that God will do the impossible for you. Won’t you believe that God can break through the hard heart of your husband, your daughter, or your neighbor? Won’t you believe that God can deliver you from your addictions or your fears? Won’t you believe that God can use you in his service despite your checkered past?
“With God nothing will be impossible.”
Further Reading: Luke 1:26-38
Dr. Daniel McCabe is the pastor of Faith Bible Church in Spring, Texas. He is a contributing editor for The Jerusalem Connection Report. He can be reached via email at danielmccabe@juno.com.
