A Mysterious Birth

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. 32 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, 33 and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”

34 “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”

35 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. 36 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. 37 For no word from God will ever fail.”

38 “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her.

Maybe, like me, you enjoy mystery novels. Many people like mysteries because they are like puzzles that need to be solved. The story of Jesus’ birth is one of the most mysterious events in human history, and some parts of the puzzle remain unknown.

With the Apostles’ Creed, we confess that Jesus “was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary.” This statement summarizes a profound truth about Jesus, our Savior. The Bible teaches that Jesus is fully God and fully human. Jesus, the creator of the universe, was born in the same way each of us was born, from our mother’s womb. But the seed planted in Mary’s womb was not from Joseph, who was pledged to be her husband. The seed in Mary was planted by God the Holy Spirit.

Why did Jesus need to be fully God and fully human? The answer is that only a Savior who was both fully God and fully human could heal the breach opened by our rebellion in our sin against God.

The how of the virgin birth remains a mystery. Through the ages some people have rejected it as impossible. Human logic will never solve the puzzle of how the Son of God became fully human. Yet the deeply satisfying truth of this story remains: Jesus, fully God and fully human, solved the problem of our separation from God. Praise be to God!

Thank you, Jesus, for becoming one of us in order to save us and restore us to full life with God. Amen.