Maximizing the Meaning of Christmasಮಾದರಿ

To help focus your mind this Christmas season, I want to discuss a few different songs from the Gospel of Luke. The first is the beautiful “Ave Maria.”

In Luke 1:28, this is the greeting that the angel Gabriel gives to the young virgin Mary. He says to her, “Hail, you favored one.”

And then Mary dialogues with the angel. She asks how she can bear a son without ever having known a man. The angel tells her that nothing is impossible with God. This would have been difficult for Mary to grasp, as none of the Jews expected God to come in this way. Later on, Mary reflects on the greatness of the mystery of God choosing her. The God Who will liberate the world chose her.

The conversation goes on. In verse 32 the angel says the Son will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. In verse 35, the angel tells her the Holy Spirit will come upon her and the power of the Most High will overshadow her.

When the angel used the phrase “Most High God,” Mary knew this was not some localized God. He was the globalized God, the One who created the entire universe. This Most High God belonged to everybody—and He sent His Son to Mary.

“Ave Maria” shows us the global Godhood of Jesus Christ. The Most High God, for Whom people search and yearn, has shown Himself through Jesus Christ.