The Annunciation: A Rookie Anglican Guide
The Annunciation refers to the conception of Jesus by the Holy Spirit in the Virgin Mary and the announcement of this pregnancy by the angel Gabriel to Mary. The Church celebrates the feast on March 25, which is easy to remember when you realize it is precisely nine months before Christmas! This day reminds us of God’s grace in sending his Son, Mary’s example of obedience to God’s word, and the Church’s mission to support unexpected pregnancies. In prayers such as the Angelus and the Collect for the Day, we ask God to fill us, like Mary, with his grace:
Pour your grace into our hearts, O Lord, that we who have known the incarnation of your Son Jesus Christ, announced by an angel to the Virgin Mary, may by his Cross and passion be brought to the glory of his resurrection; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Collect for The Annunciation, Book of Common Prayer (2019)
The Angel Gabriel
Luke 1:26-38 recounts the Annunciation, beginning with “the angel Gabriel sent from God” (Luke 1:26). The name Gabriel means “man of God” or “strong man of God,” and it shares the “el” ending with the other angels (think Michael and Raphael). This is Gabriel’s second appearance in Luke 1. He previously appeared to Zechariah to announce the conception of John the Baptist.
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Luke includes no further description of Gabriel; however, we often see Gabriel depicted with wings, as in Leonardo da Vinci’s painting at the top of this article. This draws upon the Biblical descriptions of other angels, together with the previous appearance of Gabriel in Daniel “in swift flight” (Daniel 9:21). One of the great hymns of the annunciation, “The Angel Gabriel,” gives a dramatic description of Gabriel’s arrival and greeting of Mary:
The angel Gabriel from heaven came
His wings as drifted snow his eyes as flame
“All hail” said he “thou lowly maiden Mary,
Most highly favored lady,” Gloria!
Mary is “greatly troubled” by this greeting, but Gabriel explains that she will “conceive and bear a son.” Moreover, this will not be an ordinary son, but rather the “Son of the Most High,” who will take the throne of David and rule over Jacob forever (Luke 1:32-33).
An Unexpected Pregnancy
But Mary did not expect this pregnancy, and for good reason. She raises a fundamental objection: “How will this be, since I am a virgin?” (Luke 1:34). Gabriel explains the peculiar circumstances of this conception:
The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God.
Luke 1:35
In the 20th century, it became fashionable to question the Virgin Birth, but such a rejection would fundamentally undermine the Christian faith for several reasons. First, both Matthew and Luke clearly teach the Virgin Birth, so rejecting this doctrine also means rejecting the authority and accuracy of the scriptures. Second, the Virgin Birth testifies to the dual natures of Christ: conceived in Mary, he is human; conceived by the Holy Spirit, he is divine. The Virgin Birth shows Jesus to be both the Son of Mary and the Son of God.
Mary’s unexpected pregnancy also teaches Christians to support women who become unexpectedly pregnant. Whatever the circumstances of the mother and the conception, there is now a child who deserves the support of the Christian community. This is why the church has always opposed abortion, supported pregnancy centers, and provided especially for mothers in need. To learn more about why Anglicans are pro-life, read this excellent article by Georgette Forney.
Why March 25?
Why do we celebrate the feast of the Annunciation on March 25? Surprisingly, it is not because we celebrate Christmas on December 25th. Rather, the influence runs the other way: we celebrate Christmas on December 25th because we celebrate the Annunciation on March 25th!
The ancient world believed that great men would die on the same day they had been conceived. Because they believed Jesus was crucified on March 25th, the Annunciation became fixed on March 25th, and therefore, Christmas fell on December 25th.
For fans of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings (spoiler alert!), it’s no coincidence that the Ring was destroyed on March 25th!
Mary’s Obedience to God’s Word
Mary’s encounter with Gabriel concludes when she accepts the Word of God:
Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.
Luke 1:38
The word translated as “servant” is the Greek doule, which can also mean “slave.” Thus, Mary expresses her obedience with a doubling characteristic of Biblical poetry, first by identifying herself as a bondservant and second by applying God’s Word through Gabriel to herself.
In Leonardo da Vinci’s Annunciation, he puts special emphasis on God’s Word by depicting a Bible in front of Mary, located between her and the angel Gabriel. Gabriel gestures toward Mary with two outstretched fingers, but when you follow their visual line, the first point of contact is Mary’s two fingers on the Bible in front of her. In other words, Leonardo uses the dramatic horizontal orientation of the painting to draw attention to God’s Word. Thus, the Annunciation becomes, for us, not only a celebration of Gabriel and Mary but also of the Word of God, which took on flesh for our salvation.
From the early days of the Church, theologians have contemplated the mystery of Mary’s obedience as a counterpoint to Eve’s disobedience. Just as sin entered the world through a woman’s disobedience to a fallen angel, so our Redeemer came into the world through a woman’s obedience to a faithful angel.
Bede, the most prominent of medieval Anglican theologians, put it this way:
The first cause of human perdition occurred when a serpent was sent by the devil to a woman who was to be deceived by the spirit of pride. Moreover, the devil himself came in the serpent, who, once he had deceived our first parents, stripped humankind of the glory of immortality. Because death made its entrance through a woman, it was fitting that life return through a woman. The one, seduced by the devil through the serpent, brought a man the taste of death. The other, instructed by God through the angel, produced for the world the Author of salvation.
Homilies on the Gospels I.3, as quoted in the ACCS, Luke p. 15
The Angelus Prayer
The Angelus is a prayer commemorating Mary’s annunciation and Christ’s incarnation. It is often prayed with the Rosary or at noon or evening alongside the ringing of a bell. Also known as the “Hail Mary” or “Ave Maria,” this prayer developed in the Middle Ages and is especially popular among Roman Catholics.
Anglicans often hesitate to say this prayer because it addresses Mary herself. This conflicts with the Anglican understanding that we pray to God rather than the saints. As Article XXII puts it, the “Invocation of Saints is a fond thing, vainly invented, and grounded upon no warranty of Scripture.” In other words, we don’t see prayer to the saints in the Bible.
To resolve this objection to the Angelus, we can replace the prayer to Mary with a prayer to Christ. Instead of “Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death,” we can substitute “Son of Mary, Son of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death.” In my opinion, this improves both the theology and the devotional power of the prayer. We give more honor to Mary by praying to her Son!
APPENDIX: An Anglican Angelus
AUTHOR’S NOTE: As used in the Angelus, “Son of Mary, Son of God” is attributed to the Daily Office Book of the Society of Saint Francis (see discussion on the Conciliar Anglican blog). In that context, the phrase appears in a modern adaptation of the Angelus. Here, I offer my own adaptation, combining the “Son of Mary, Son of God” phrase with the traditional Angelus prayer. My purpose is to retain traditional piety as much as possible alongside theological accuracy.
The Anglican Angelus
The Angel of the Lord announced unto Mary: And she conceived by the Holy Ghost.
Hail, Mary, full of Grace, the Lord is with thee, blessed art thou, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Son of Mary, Son of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death.
Behold the handmaid of the Lord. Be it unto me according to thy Word.
Hail, Mary, full of Grace, the Lord is with thee, blessed art thou, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Son of Mary, Son of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death.
And the Word was made flesh. And dwelt among us.
Hail, Mary, full of Grace, the Lord is with thee, blessed art thou, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Son of Mary, Son of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death.
We beseech Thee, O LORD, pour Thy grace into our hearts; that as we have known the Incarnation of Thy Son, Jesus Christ, by the message of an angel, so by His Cross and Passion we may be brought unto the glory of His Resurrection. Through the same Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Image: The Annunciation by Leonardo da Vinci, held in the Uffizi in Florence, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
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