Luke 1:34-38
Let us mark, in these verses, the reverent and discreet manner in which the angel Gabriel speaks of the great mystery of Christ’s incarnation. In reply to the question of the Virgin, “How shall this be?” He uses these remarkable words: “The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee.”
We shall do well to follow the example of the angel in al our reflections on this deep subject. Let us ever regard it with holy reverence, and abstain from those unseemly and unprofitable speculations upon it, in which some have unhappily indulged. Enough for us to know that “the Word was made flesh,” and that when the Son of God came into the world, a real “body was prepared for Him,” so that He “took part of our flesh and blood,” and was “made of a woman.” (John 1:14 ; Heb. 10:5 ; Heb. 2:14 ; Gal. 4:4) Here we must stop. The manner in which all this was effected is wisely hidden from us. If we attempt to pry beyond this point, we shall but darken counsel by words without knowledge; and rush in where angels fear to thread. In a religion which really comes down from heaven there must needs be mysteries. Of such mysteries in Christianity, the incarnation is one.