Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus.
Lk 1:26-38
EXPLANATION OF THE GOSPEL
The angel Gabriel was sent from God…
The angel Gabriel is traditionally given the rank of an archangel. His name means “my Master is God.” There are two archangels mentioned in the Bible. They are Raphael (God heals) and Michael (Who is like God?). Raphael appears in the Book of Tobit while Michael in the Book of Revelation.
…to a town of Galilee called Nazareth,…
Although Jesus was born in Bethlehem, he grew up in Nazareth.
…to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the house of David…
There is an allusion here to Isaiah 7:14 “Therefore the Lord himself will give you this sign: the virgin/young girl shall be with child, and bear a son, and shall name him Immanuel.” The original Hebrew word used may mean a young girl or a virgin. However, the Greek translation of the Hebrew bible called the Septuagint prefers the word ‘virgin’. And it is the Septuagint that Matthew and Luke use. Hence, Luke’s gospel states that the angel Gabriel was sent to a virgin.
Betrothed here is a technical term to mean a situation of a legal marriage con-tract where man and wife do not yet live together. In Galilee it was the last state of an engagement prior to moving in together.
The detail that Joseph is of the house of David is important for it is through Joseph that Jesus becomes part of the house of David and thus, fulfils the proph-ecy that the Messiah would come from David’s house.
“Hail, full of grace!”
Full of grace is also translated as “favored one”.
Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus.
This is why Mary is the favored one.
“How can this be, since I have no relations with a man?”
This response can not be taken as doubt because unlike Zechariah, Mary was not punished.
Therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God.
That God would send his Son is a startling New Testament assertion.
OBEDIENCE TO PARENTS
Obedience is defined as compliance with what is required by authority. It comes from the Latin words “ob” and “audire”. “Ob” means towards. “Audire means “to listen”. Obedience means to listen to what authority is saying in order to carry it out.
When the Fourth Commandment commands: Honor your father and your mother. It commands children to respect, love and obey their parents.
Obedience is about turning off the lights when a child is told by his mom: “Anak, patayin mo ang ilaw sa sala.”
Obedience is about washing the dishes without being told when it is your turn to wash the dishes.
Obedience, however, is above all about carrying out the teaching of your parents. The Panatang Makabayan goes this way:
Iniibig ko ang Pilipinas
Ito ang aking lupang sinilangan
Ito ang tahanan ng aking lahi
Ako'y kanyang kinukupkop at tinutulungan
Upang maging malakas, maligaya at kapakipakinabang
Bilang ganti, diringgin ko ang payo ng aking mga magulang
Susundin ko ang mga tuntunin ng aking paaralan
Tutuparin ko ang mga tungkulin ng isang mamamayang makabayan at masunurin sa batas
Paglilingkuran ko ang aking bayan nang walang pag-iimbot at ng buong katapatan
Sisikapin kong maging isang tunay na pilipino
sa isip, sa salita, at sa gawa.
By God’s will children are obliged to obey their parents so that parents can successfully carry out the duty of raising their children to become upright citizens and good Christians. If children do not obey the counsel of their parents, how can parents help their children grow up to become responsible adults and good Christians. This duty is so grave that in the OT punishment for a rebellious son or daughter is death by stoning.
Think about the counsel (payo) that your parents have been giving you during your growing years. Did you ever hear your mom or dad tell you: “Anak, pabayaan mo ang pag-aaral. Wala kang mapapala diyan (Son/daughter, neglect your studies. It won’t help you anyway.).” Or “Anak, siguraduhin mo na sasama ka sa mga masasamang barkada (Son/daughter, make sure you go with bad companions.).” Or “Anak, siguraduhin mo na bago ka makatapos mag-aral ay nakapag-asawa ka na (Son/daughter, make sure that you get married before finishing your studies.).”
The Fourth Commandment is not just about the duty of children towards their children. It is also about the duty of parents to their children. It is not just about the duty of obeying one’s parents. It is also about the grave responsibility of parents to raise their children to become responsible adults and good Christians. Therefore, by word and example parents are to teach their children.
Two other concerns.
I saw a drawing of an old woman confessing to a priest. She said her sin was of disobeying her parents. That made me laugh. Her parents were probably dead already. But even if her parents were still alive, she could not possibly have disobeyed her parents anymore because she was already an adult. She was no longer a minor who still had to be raised by her parents. (However, if one were still living with his parents, you still have to obey them in certain things such as house rules.) Having said that, the duty of respecting and loving one’s parents remain.
The second concern is about punishment. The bible says spare the rod and spoil the child. Years back this was understood as physical punishment. I am not for cruel physical punishment. But if you need to spank your child, don’t carry out the punishment when you are angry. For if you do, you are punishing out of anger and not out of love. My brother-in-law punished his children by having them stand in the corner. Others punish by grounding their children for some time. That is, not allowing them to leave the house for example, on weekends.
When Mary replied, “I am the handmaid of the Lord, be it done to me according to your word”, she was giving her obedience to God. She is giving us an example. By carrying out the Fourth Commandment, we follow the good example of Mary. By obeying the Fourth Commandment, both parents and children like Mary give their obedience to God.
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