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The pre-Christmas story continues today: “The angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth.” 

What follows is perhaps the best known and most loved narrative of all time.

Yesterday I wrote about expectations quoting one recent writer who explained that expectations are pre-meditated disappointments.

The Christmas truth offers the sure way to avoid disappointment.

The angel Gabriel has had a busy couple of days this week: yesterday visiting Zechariah and today with news for Mary.

Zechariah reacted with distrust seeking unnecessary certainty: “How can I be sure of this?”

Mary responded with a desire to understand since she knew that her pregnancy was not humanly possible.

In this Annunciation moment Mary was not trying to decide whether or not she would co-operate with God. Instead she was seeking to know whether or not this messenger was from God or not. If the communication is from God then the answer is yes, whatever the uncertain future will bring.

So whereas Zechariah was seeking certainty in a proof, Mary’s certainty was in her relationship with the divine.

Mary appreciated that her task was not to plan her life and to initiate and oversee every disciplined decision for her future. Instead Mary understand that if she sought God alone then everything else would follow.

That’s the difference between human expectations which will usually lead to let-down, and hope.

Hope seeks nothing apart from relationship with God.

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Dante Gabriel Rossetti (1828–1882), Ecce Ancilla Domini! (The Annunciation) (1849–50)