Holy Neighboring | The Announcement Heard 'Round the World
And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus.
LUKE 1:31
Though Christmas has come and gone, the words are still being read and heard. They are still being pondered. They are being discussed. They are being remembered. How can one move on from such a story? How can one forget those words?
It is the Word Himself, of course, still being heard, and still speaking. He has come, and we still hear His voice and the vibrations of His voice. And weaved throughout every word of His are signs and clues for living rightly. He tells us how to be good neighbors to Him, others, and ourselves.
In this story, we hear an announcement unlike any other. The timing, the content, the approach—it’s all unique. But like every other scene from Scripture, and every other announcement, there is an instance of holy neighboring.
Some people had been waiting hundreds of years to hear His voice. Wondering if He had forgotten about them. Wondering if it were a myth, a farce, in all actuality. Wondering if He was off creating another universe, or perhaps covenanting with another tribe or nation. Where was He? Was He at “home?”
And then it happened. He sent a messenger. He spoke. He said something. He brought information and insight. The oppressive silence was no more. The devastative wondering was over. The apocalyptic surmising could cease. The Original Neighbor drew near.
Mary hears the word from the angel of the Lord, but it is the Lord speaking. She hears the Word speaking a word about Himself. The fact that He discloses His plans, His mission, what is to come brings is relieving. Even when it’s incomprehensible, even when it it’s a word of judgment, the Word is always comforting.
He prepared Mary for what is to come. He didn’t walk across the street and say, “Here! Take this.” He told her what was to come. He helped her envision it and prepare for it. He didn’t spring it upon her. He knows that being a neighbor involves giving people enough time to let things settle. Allowing them to process.
She wouldn’t know what to call the boy, so He gives her the name. He gives her His own name. She wouldn’t have known that she was carrying the Messiah without being informed. And she wouldn’t have known to give him such a common yet significant name as “Yahweh is salvation.”
He informs her of what is coming. And He will provide for what is coming. Also, He gives her a name for what’s coming. And the magnificent point of it all is that He entrusts His only Son to her. He permits the Savior of the world to grow in the belly of a human being.
The Original and Greatest Neighbor is coming to make room, create space, and reknit creation back together in communion. And He’s doing it by becoming human. He doing it by growing in the belly of a human being. He was never “out there” away from His creation. But now He is closest He’s ever been.
He’s coming to do what we couldn’t do. He’s coming to take the punishment for what we deserved. Though the creator of space and time, finitude and potential mortality, growth and development, He’s submitting Himself to it on our behalf.
He prepares us for His arrival. And He brings everything with Him to accomplish what He is coming to accomplish. In other words, He brings all the tools with Him to fix our problem. What a hospitable neighbor! What a sovereign God!
Mary is an exceptional neighbor as well. She has already learned from her Lord. She is curious about it all, but she is not dubious like Zechariah (1:18). Nor is she skeptical like Sarai (Genesis 18:12). She believes the word that comes to her, even if she doesn’t completely understand it.
She wonders how it might come to pass, but she acknowledges that she is a servant and wants it to come to pass. She receives her calling. She sees her part in the grand story. And she welcomes it. She knows that she doesn’t get to decide her own fate. She doesn’t want to be “anything she can be.” She wants this.
Gabriel equally displays neighborly features. He is an angel, a created messenger, a vessel for God’s kingdom, and he must obey. But he inhabits his station with enthusiasm; he executes his mission with care and virtue.
Like a holy neighbor, he listens to the Lord, his authorizing superior. He obeys His command. Like Mary, he, too, recognizes and submits to his station and estate. And he speaks to Mary, his neighbor, with kindness and patience.
Like the prophets, Gabriel is a messenger. He must bring the word of the Lord. But unlike plenty of the prophets, he is patient. He is patient with Mary’s curiosity. He explains. And then he calmly assuages her that she need not fear.
Our Original and Greatest Neighbor teaches us all that we need to know to love our neighbor as ourselves. Show patience and kindness. Give them enough notice. Don’t let them fret or be anxious about anything. Point them to the Word of God and its comfort. Repair the breach, restore the streets.
