Annunciation of the Lord
The angel Gabriel announces Jesus' birth to Mary. The Incarnation begins.
Bibelsk grunnlag
The angel Gabriel is sent to Mary in Nazareth: "Hail, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you" (Luke 1:26-38). Mary asks how this can happen since she has not been with a man. The angel answers: "The Holy Spirit will come upon you." Mary's response: "Behold, I am the Lord's servant. Let it be to me according to your word." Isaiah 7:14: "Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son."
Betydning
In this moment, the Incarnation begins—God becomes human. Mary's yes is the archetype of faith: she makes room for something she does not understand. Nine months before Christmas, the decisive event occurs—not with power and glory, but in the obedient yes of a young woman in an outlying town. God's plan depends on a person's free consent.
GT-forbindelser
Isaiah 7:14 concerning the sign of the virgin. Genesis 3:15 where the woman's offspring shall crush the serpent's head—Mary as the new Eve. Ruth's yes to Naomi and her people (Ruth 1:16) as a model for Mary's surrender. Aaron's staff that blossoms (Numbers 17) as a symbol of new life from what appears lifeless.
Liturgisk kontekst
White color. Celebrated on March 25 (nine months before Christmas). If it falls during Holy Week or Easter, it is moved. During Lent, this day breaks the solemnity with joy over the beginning of the Incarnation.
Historie
The celebration has been known since the 400s–500s. The date March 25 was early regarded as the day of the Incarnation and possibly the creation of the world. Some Church Fathers also reckoned Jesus' crucifixion to this date—birth and death on the same day.