The Annunciation of the Lord: the Dawn of the New Covenant and the Paschal Mystery

Exactly 9 months before the Solemn Feast of the Nativity of the Lord is the Solemn Feast of the Annunciation of the Lord. It is the day to commemorate the annunciation of the Son of God the Most High being conceived, through the Holy Spirit, in the womb of Mary the Blessed Virgin, who is also announced to be the most favored one by God, meaning to be full of grace, thus, being the Immaculate Conception, as the Gospel Reading of this Solemnity (Luke 1:26-38) describes. Upon this, Mary became pregnant with the Son of God the Most High to take up the Davidic throne (Luke 1:32). And this is to affirm God’s message to David through Nathan that His Son shall reign the Davidic Kingdom forever (2 Samuel 7:8-16).

The earthly Davidic house ended with the capture of Zedekiah by the Babylonians in 586 BC (2 Kings 24:12-5:21). However, in the eyes of God, this Kingdom did not go extinct, as the Annunciation of the Lord to Mary (Luke 1:32) indicates.

Mary was betrothed to Joseph, who is on the direct Davidic lineage (Luke 1:27), and her betrothal to him was consummated (Matthew 1:18-25). And, Mary gave birth to the Son of God the Most High, also as Joseph’s stepson (Luke 2:1-7). Thus, the Son, incarnated in and born of Mary, as named Jesus, is Davidic.

The First Reading (Isaiah 7:10-14) reminds that what the Annunciation is about and its direct consequence, the virgin birth of the Son of the Most High, was foretold through Isaiah to Ahaz, who was a Davidic king, about 700 years before the Annunciation. It was in response to Ahaz’ obstinate defiance to God.

From the Second Reading (Hebrews 10:4-10), we know that the Annunciation of the Lord, the Son of God the Most High (Luke 1:28-35) marks the dawn of the New Covenant, which was established during the Lord’s Supper through his blood (Luke 22:20; cf. Matthew 26:28).

The sins of people made their sacrificial offerings displeasing to God under the Old Covenant (Psalm 50:8; Hosea 6:6; Psalm 51:16; Psalm 40:6-8; Isaiah 1:11-31; Jeremiah 7:21–23; Hebrews 10:4-10). Because of this, earthly Davidic kingdom destroyed by the Babylonia. And the Temple rebuilt during the post-exilic period was permanently destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD, thus losing the sacred place to offer sacrifices. This signaled the end of the Old Covenant paradigm. However, under the New Covenant, which has been brought by the Son of God the Most High, incarnated in Mary and born of her, as the Annunciation (Luke 1:28-35; cf. John 1;1, 14; cf. Luke 2:7), the Temple has been rebuilt by him (John 2:19). And this rebuilding the Temple is the Resurrection of the Lord for us to be delivered and justified in the New Covenant (Romans 4:24-25).

Now, we see the Annunciation of the Lord not only as the dawn of the New Covenant but also as the dawn of the Paschal Mystery. The sunrise of the Paschal Mystery is the Nativity of the Lord. And its climax is the threefold glorification of the Lord: his Death, Resurrection, and the Ascension. In fact, this spectrum of the Paschal Mystery is reflected in the mysteries of the Holy Rosary, as the Annunciation of the first Joyful Mysteries (from the Annunciation to the Nativity) , which is followed by the Luminous Mysteries (the public ministry of the Lord) , the Sorrowful Mysteries (the Passion and the Death of the Lord) , and Glorious Mysteries (from the Resurrection of the Lord to his Ascension, and Mary’s Assumption and heavenly Coronation of the Gebirah to Christ the King). And to mark this special occasion, all three beings of the Trinity are involved for the Father sending the Son through Mary's womb by the power of the Holy Spirit, to let the Paschal Mystery be revealed at the Son's virgin birth and through his public ministry and through his Passion, Death, Resurrection, and Ascension, so that his Kingdom will come under the New Covenant. 

St. Joseph the Loving Defender

What if Joseph had not married Mary and undertook the role of the earthly father of the Son of God, who was born of Mary, how the world would look like today? Would Mary have given birth to Jesus alone? Would Mary have been able to raise him all by herself?

Though Mary, the virgin betrothed to Joseph, of the Davidic lineage (Matthew 1:6-16), bore the Son of God the Most High, by the power of the Holy Spirit, without intercourse (Luke 1:30-33, 35), how the world would have believed this? Who in the ancient Israel would have believed this, though God had said to one of Joseph’s ancestors, Ahaz, “Listen, house of David! Is it not enough that you weary human beings? Must you also weary my God? Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign; the young woman, pregnant and about to bear a son, shall name him Emmanuel”(Isaiah 7:13-14).

Given the patriarchal character of the ancient Israel, which is reflected in Abraham, as the father (גוים /ab) of many nations (אב המון /hamon goyim)(Genesis 17:5), it would unimaginable Mary giving birth to and raising Jesus alone as a single mother. The social norm certainly required a woman like Mary to have a loving and caring man, like Joseph. Otherwise, she sure would have been ashamed and could have been stoned to death (Deuteronomy 22:20-21). Knowing Joseph and hid loving heart, that is why, through the Archangel Gabriel, God called Joseph to welcome Mary, who was already pregnant with the Son of God, as his wife, though he was thinking to quietly divorce her quietly, as addressed in one of the options for the Gospel Reading of the Solemnity of St. Joseph, the Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Matthew 1:16, 18-21, 24a). As it was also Joseph, who led Jesus and Mary to safety in Egypt when Herod was trying to kill Jesus, as warned by the angel of the Lord (Matthew 2:13-23).

As the father of the Holy Family, Joseph, indeed, protected and defended his step-son, Jesus, the Son of God, and his wife, Mary from any harm. 

What if Mary had not consented to bear the Son of God and serve Him as the Theotokos? What if Joseph had rejected God’s call to take Mary as his wife? Would we have had the Son of God, incarnated in the human flesh of Jesus, to dwell among us, while teaching and healing through his public ministry, to shepherd us to his Kingdom?

Would Mary have been able to serve God as the His handmaid  (Luke 1:38), if Joseph had not welcomed her as his wife?

It was neither the will of Joseph nor the will of Mary to be betrothed. According to the Protoevangelium of James (8-10), it was God's will to let these two come together for matrimony. And Mary's "surprise" pregnancy, which was not by her will but God's will (Luke 1:26-38), made it difficult to keep the betrothal. However, because Joseph let God's will override his will, the betrothal was sustained and consummated (Matthew 1:18-24). Because of this, Jesus, the Son of God the Most High was born of Mary and was able to grow in wisdom and strengths (Luke 2:40) in order to begin his public salvific ministry. 

With his love and righteousness, St. Joseph, the spouse of the Blessed Virgin, is indeed, the defender of Christ and his mother. So he is the defender of the Church, whose core, the Holy Family, was headed and defended by him.

St. Joseph, pray for us and defend us against devils and helps us be like you. Amen