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| The Annunciation by Henry Ossawa Tanner |
Today is The Feast of the Annunciation to Mary, the
celebration of the announcing to Mary by the angel Gabriel that she would be
the mother of the Savior of the world. We
find the account in Luke 1:26-38.
Most Christian traditions revere Mary to one degree or
another. Roman Catholics and Orthodox
churches call her theotokos – the mother
of God. Protestant churches (for a lot
of reasons, some of them a bit convoluted) have not historically elevated her
in the same way. But they look to her as
an example of obedience and humility.
Her question, “How can this be?” sums up much of her
situation. In the end she does not
understand, but she submits. This is the
essence of faith.
Anglican, Roman and Eastern churches observe the feast on
this day. Some communions choose instead
to follow the practice of the ancient Spanish – Mozarabic—calendar and observe
the feast on December 28. The rationale
for this is that it removes the feast day from the season of Lent, and it locates
the observance nearer to the observation of Christmas.
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