“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.” -Luke 1:26-27
Gabriel is mentioned many times throughout the Bible as one of the angels God sent to speak to His people. It was Gabriel who appeared to Daniel in the Old Testament. At that time, he helped Daniel understand some of the visions that God had given him and offered comfort and peace. It was also the angel Gabriel who appeared to Zechariah in the temple to tell him that God had heard his lifelong prayer for a child—and that he was going to have a son, John (the Baptist).
Gabriel’s words to Zechariah in Luke 1:19 tell us something very special about Gabriel:
“Then the angel said, ‘I am Gabriel! I stand in the very presence of God. It was he who sent me to bring you this good news!’” (NLT)
Gabriel, who dwelt in the “very presence of God” understood that the news God had for Zechariah that day was GOOD NEWS! Zechariah was about to receive the long-awaited answer to his prayer for a son. It was in this same way, Gabriel was sent to Mary: with good news.
The passage above reminds us that even before Gabriel told Mary what God had planned for her, he greeted her and affirmed her identity as a beloved, favored child of God. It was important for Mary to recognize that God knew and loved her before she was given the news of what was to come. This is something we all share—our need to know who we are as children of God! This is what gives us the confidence and hope we need to walk the path God has laid out for us.
Gabriel follows his greeting to Mary with this: “The Lord is with you.” We cannot understand the life that God had planned for Mary, the mother of Jesus. We can know this: God was with her. And as Gabriel began his conversation with Mary with this reminder, our days should begin the same: knowing and believing that God is with us.
This is good news.
There was much more that Gabriel had to tell Mary that day, but I pray we remember that before anything else, she was reminded of who she was. She was affirmed as a loved and favored child of God. And perhaps most importantly, she was reassured that God was with her. And He is with you. Remember the meaning of Immanuel: God with us. Let’s remember to always start there.
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