Today’s gospel is a familiar part of the Christmas story – the Angel Gabriel inviting Mary into the plans of God for redemption and salvation of the world. Given our proximity to Christmas, I suspect we quickly want to jump ahead in time and move our thoughts and attention to the Nativity of Jesus. But let us put things on “pause” for a moment and savor the scene on its own – as did Da Vinci, Rembrandt, El Greco and countless iconographers over the ages. Continue reading →