Annunciation - Full of grace, the Lord is with you

By Edward Sri

"Full of grace, the Lord is with you"

Mary’s world radically changes when the angel Gabriel appears to her saying, “Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you!” Understandably, Mary “was greatly troubled.” Imagine being home alone, walking into a room and finding an angel suddenly standing before you! However, Luke’s Gospel tells us that Mary is not startled simply by the angel itself but by the angel’s greeting: “She was greatly troubled at the saying, and considered in her mind what sort of greeting this might be.”
Why might Mary be so anxious about the angel’s words? First the angel says, “Hail, full of grace.” No one else in the Bible has ever been honored by an angel with such an exalted title. The Greek word kecharitomene, which here is translated “full of grace,” indicates that Mary already possesses God’s saving grace. The Lord has prepared her as a pure and holy temple in which the divine Christ child will dwell for nine months. Now the Son of God will reside in the womb of a woman who is full of grace.
The Catholic Church has often turned to this passage when commenting on Mary’s Immaculate Conception—the belief that Mary was conceived full of grace as God prepared her to be the mother of the Messiah.
Second, the angel says, “The Lord is with you!” Although many Catholics today are accustomed to hearing “The Lord be with you” repeated throughout the Mass, we might not be as familiar with the powerful significance these words originally had in ancient Judaism.
Many times in the Old Testament the words “the Lord is with you” signaled that someone was being called to a daunting task. In fact, these words often accompanied an invitation from God to play a crucial role in his plan of salvation. Such a divine calling generally entailed great sacrifices and challenged people to step out of their comfort zones and put their trust in God like never before.
At the same time, these words offered assurance that they would not face these challenges alone. They would not have to rely solely on their own abilities and talents because God’s presence and protection would be with them throughout their mission. Some of Israel’s greatest leaders—men like Isaac, Jacob, Joshua, Gideon and David—were told that God would be with them when they were commissioned to serve his people.
One of the most famous stories that illustrates the meaning of “the Lord is with you” can be found in Exodus, when God called Moses at the burning bush to confront Pharaoh and lead the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt. Feeling fearfully inadequate for the job, Moses responded the same way many people respond when they feel they are in over their heads: with a “Why me?”—and a disbelief that God would call him to this important task.
The Lord’s response to Moses’ fears is striking. God did not say to Moses, “I will send you to a Toastmasters’ workshop on public speaking,” or, “I’ll fly you out to a Franklin Covey seminar on effective leadership.” Rather, God told Moses the one thing he needed to hear most: “I will be with you” (Exodus 3:12).
Similarly, when Mary hears the angel say to her, “The Lord is with you,” she is not simply receiving a formal, pious salutation. With these words Mary probably realizes that a lot is being asked of her. Yet she will not have to face these difficulties alone. God will give her the one thing she needs most: the assurance that he will be with her.
Third, we learn more of Mary’s mission in Luke 1:30, as the angel says, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.” Like the phrase “The Lord is with you,” the notion of finding “favor with God” also would bring to mind Old Testament covenant mediators in God’s salvation plan.
Noah was the first person in the Bible described as finding favor with God (see Genesis 6:8). God saved him and his family from the flood and gave him a covenant to be the head of a renewed human family. The next person to find favor with God was Abraham (see Genesis 18:2-3). God made a covenant with him, calling on his family to be the instrument through which he would bring blessing to all the nations of the world. Similarly, Moses, the covenant mediator who led Israel out of slavery in Egypt, found favor with God (see Exodus 33:12-17), as did David, for whom God established a kingdom (see 2 Samuel 15:25).
Like these great covenant mediators of the Old Testament, Mary has found favor with God. Walking in the footsteps of Noah, Abraham, Moses and David, Mary now is called to serve as an important cooperator in the divine plan to bring salvation to all the nations.