Some five hundred years before the arrival of Emmanuel, the prophet Isaiah prophesied that Emmanuel would come: “ Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel” (Isaiah 7:14).
Pinturicchio: Borgia Apartments, Annunciation. Image from The Vatican archive via Huffpost. The image depicts Mary, wearing a blue mantle, kneels on the right and offers a humble gesture of greeting to the angel, who approaches her from the left holding a lily.
In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”
Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”
“How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”
The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. For no word from God will ever fail.”
“I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her (Luke 1:26-38).
King James Version (KJV)
“… Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest”
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Who is my neighbor? Many Christians struggle with this question. We know the answer, yet it is difficult for us to accept anyone outside of our family, religious, political and social circles as neighbor. Still, this backward thinking is not a new phenomenon. As a matter of fact, that is exactly how the religious leaders of Jesus’ time felt. They were wrong then, and you are wrong now.
Jesus was and is the ultimate teacher. He knows how to break things down so ordinary people can understand. Hence the reason He used the parable of the Good Samaritan to answer an expert in the Mosaic Law, when he asked: “Who is my neighbor?”
Here is how Luke describe the encounter: Luke 10:25-37, “25 And behold, a certain lawyer stood up and tested Jesus, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”
26 Jesus said to him, “What does the law say and how do you interpret it?”
27 The lawyer answered and said, “ ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,’ and ‘your neighbor as yourself.’”
28 And Jesus said to him, “You have answered rightly; do this and you will live.”
29 But he, wanting to prove himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
30 Jesus answered and said: “A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, who stripped him of his clothing, wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. 31 Now by chance a certain priest came down that road. And when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. 32 Likewise a Levite, when he arrived at the place, came and looked, and passed by on the other side. 33 But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was. And when he saw him, he had compassion. 34 So he went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; and he set him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. 35 On the next day, when he departed, he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said to him, ‘Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I come again, I will repay you.’ 36 So which of these three do you think was neighbor to him who fell among the thieves?”
37 And he said, “He who showed mercy on him.”
Then Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”
Recently the Town of East Hartford sent me a memo to remind me of the annual Hartford marathon. The event is schedule for October, 12, 2013, and as usual all side streets along the marathon route will be close to vehicular traffic.
I am not a participant in the Hartford marathon, but the memo reminds me that I am an active participant in another event.. It is called the Christian race; which in itself is a marathon.
Not everyone who competes in the Hartford marathon or any other marathon runs to win. The competition is very stiff, and there is usually only one grand prize for one winner.
Unlike an athletic marathon, everyone who participates in the Christian race is a potential a winner. Nevertheless, the haunting question is: Do you run to win? Like the athletic marathon, many people who jump in the Christian race do not run to win. These are people who seek short-term results, such as notoriety, enhance credibility and sometimes a mate.
The Christian race is a lifelong activity. There are no short-term results. Over the course of your journey, you will encounter many bumps, sharp turns and steep climbs, trials, and tribulation. But if you run the race with patience and endure to the end as the beloved apostle advised you to, you will receive the greatest grand prize–life.
The writer of the Hebrews sums it up this way: “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us” (Hebrews 12:1).
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