The first Annunciation, the first joyful message of salvation, was given at the darkest moment of Adam’s Fall. God declared that the offspring of the woman would crush the serpent’s head and that there would be enmity between the serpent and the woman, and between their offspring (Genesis 3:15; Galatians 3:16).Then came the moment when this first joyful message of salvation was fulfilled through the Incarnation. At God’s command, the Archangel Gabriel visited Mary and brought her the message that she was to become the Mother of the Saviour, Jesus Christ.
According to ecclesiastical tradition, Mary was in Joseph’s house in Nazareth, weaving cloth for the veil of the Temple, as depicted in the icon of the Annunciation. The Archangel Gabriel appeared to her and announced that she would become the Mother and Temple of God.
Gabriel said to Mary, “Rejoice, highly favoured one, the Lord is with you. Blessed are you among women” (Luke 1:28). Gabriel spoke these words from the depths of his heart. We cannot describe the amazement and wonder with which he uttered them. No one had ever heard such words or received such praise, even from an Archangel. Rather than going through the surrounding towns to spread the news and receive the praise of the people, Mary said nothing to anyone, not even to Joseph.
Upon hearing these words, Mary was greatly troubled and wondered what kind of greeting this might be (Luke 1:29). Was this truly the Archangel Gabriel, or was it the wicked devil who had deceived Eve? And Mary was then a girl of fifteen or sixteen, yet she possessed the wisdom of an elderly, experienced nun!
Gabriel spoke again, saying, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have,found favour with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Highest” (Luke 1:30–32). Yet no human being could receive the mystery of the divine Incarnation through natural power alone. Mary needed grace and strength from God.
Gabriel told her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you” (Luke 1:35). This divine grace would enable her to receive within herself the eternal Word of God, who would take flesh from her (Saint John of Damascus, Exposition of the Orthodox Faith, Book III, “On the Manner in Which the Divine Word Was Conceived,” PG 94:985).
To reassure her, Gabriel continued by telling her that her relative Elizabeth, who was advanced in years and considered barren, was already six months pregnant through the power of God (Luke 1:36), “for with God nothing will be impossible” (Luke 1:37).
When the Virgin Mary understood that Gabriel had truly been sent by God, she responded, “Behold the maidservant of the Lord. Let it be to me according to your word” (Luke 1:38).
Upon hearing Mary’s words of humble obedience, the souls of the righteous in Hades, for whom Paradise would be opened through the incarnate Christ, rejoiced exceedingly.
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