Anticipating His Advent #9

Most often, when we think about Christ's first advent, we turn to Luke's Gospel.  He had a special way of turning events of history into a compelling story:

26 In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, 27 to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin's name was Mary. 28 And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!

What does Anticipation look like?  It is not exactly the same as expectation, though there does have to be a certain amount of that mixed in. Anticipation carries with it the sense that God may show up at any time. This last phrase is important: the Lord is with you! In one sense, the Lord is with us all: He is everywhere and especially with His own people.  But at other times we can really sense His presence in a special way, like here.  Gabriel is saying more than: "This is your lucky day!" There is more than mere coincidence here. Mary was living with a sense of anticipation - that God may show up at any time in any place in any way. Will she be surprised? Yes. Will she believe? Yes. Because she lived life ready for God to show up.