(Luke 1:19,20)
26 In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, 27 to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28 The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”
29 Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be.30 But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. 31 You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. (Luke 1:26-31)
Thoughts: While advent really begins in the mind of God, and shows in the prophecy of scripture, but it is the angels who give the message of the coming.
It is the angel Gabriel that we want to examine as the first character of advent. Gabriel appeared by name to Daniel (8:15-17; 9:21). Some scholars consider Gabriel's message of seventy-sevens as a message of 490 years between the time of the exile and the time of Christ around 30 AD.
Gabriel spoke to believers. He is called an "Archangel" by some- one who "stands in the presence of God." In Enoch (an apocryphal book- non-canonical in the Protestant Bible), Gabriel is joined with Raphael and Michael as named archangels. In later (post-biblical) Christian tradition, Gabriel blows the horn for the end of the world. Never in the Bible is anyone encouraged to pray to angels. In fact three times angels tell people not to worship them.
It is the angel Gabriel that we want to examine as the first character of advent. Gabriel appeared by name to Daniel (8:15-17; 9:21). Some scholars consider Gabriel's message of seventy-sevens as a message of 490 years between the time of the exile and the time of Christ around 30 AD.
Gabriel spoke to believers. He is called an "Archangel" by some- one who "stands in the presence of God." In Enoch (an apocryphal book- non-canonical in the Protestant Bible), Gabriel is joined with Raphael and Michael as named archangels. In later (post-biblical) Christian tradition, Gabriel blows the horn for the end of the world. Never in the Bible is anyone encouraged to pray to angels. In fact three times angels tell people not to worship them.
If Gabriel could speak, perhaps he might say something like:
"Often when I appear to humans they are afraid. But part of my job is to calm them down so they can hear the message that I have to deliver to them from God. It is my joy to bring good news. I told Daniel the meaning of his vision and the hope of a Messiah coming. I told Zechariah, an old man, that he was to have a child- John. It was my joy to tell Mary that she was highly favored to bring the Messiah into the world. I think I have one of the best callings in the world- to tell the important and good news. But what I have to say from God is not trivia and it is not to be trifled with. It is to be believed. in fact, if God sends you a message whether through an angel or through His Son or through His servants the prophets or apostles- it is not to be trifled with but listened to.
Zechariah was a believer, but he did not believe me and became mute. Mary was a believer who humbled herself to listen and believe. Humans often just expect the usual and the normal. I exist to disrupt that expectation. The fact that I exist means that there is more to life than simply what we see on earth.
"Often when I appear to humans they are afraid. But part of my job is to calm them down so they can hear the message that I have to deliver to them from God. It is my joy to bring good news. I told Daniel the meaning of his vision and the hope of a Messiah coming. I told Zechariah, an old man, that he was to have a child- John. It was my joy to tell Mary that she was highly favored to bring the Messiah into the world. I think I have one of the best callings in the world- to tell the important and good news. But what I have to say from God is not trivia and it is not to be trifled with. It is to be believed. in fact, if God sends you a message whether through an angel or through His Son or through His servants the prophets or apostles- it is not to be trifled with but listened to.
Zechariah was a believer, but he did not believe me and became mute. Mary was a believer who humbled herself to listen and believe. Humans often just expect the usual and the normal. I exist to disrupt that expectation. The fact that I exist means that there is more to life than simply what we see on earth.
Prayer: Lord, give me ears to hear your message you have already made known to me. Help me to believe in more than I can see.
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