A BRIGHT AND HOLY FOG

A BRIGHT AND HOLY FOG!

Luke 1:34-35

34 Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?

35 And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.

           We are not told whether it was daylight or dark when the Angel Gabriel appeared to Mary. We are told that it happened in the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy with John the Baptist. We are sure Mary was alone.

           Gabriel was excited with heaven’s perspective but Mary was anxious because of the earthly reality of it all. She was a good girl and a godly person and had only one question. “How can this thing be seeing I know not a man”? She did not mock. Hers was a simple and straightforward question. She only knew of one way for a lady to be pregnant and, as far as she knew, what Gabriel had announced was impossible.

           Gabriel never lost patience with Mary but explained that the Holy Spirit would “overshadow” her. The word overshadow is the Greek episkiazo which means “to envelope in a haze of brilliancy.” There was no vulgar reference to the natural method. No, this was supernatural. Gabriel explained that therefore, because of this, “also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.”

           How we long to be enveloped in a holy fog; to sense some God thing in the core of our being. How our time and our circumstance need to be blanketed in that holy brilliance. How we need a fresh touch from God and something new and holy to be formed. Christmas invites us, once again, to consider the possibilities and to yield to the power of the Holy.

Dear God, look upon us lowly and unworthy servants. Envelope us with a holy brilliance that will make this day different. AMEN