Lk. 1:33. And He shall reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His Kingdom there shall be no end.
"The house of Jacob" are those who believed both from the Jews and equally from other nations, for such are properly Jacob and Israel. How then is it said that He sat on the throne of David? Listen. David was the least among his brothers; and the Lord was in contempt and reproach as one who loves to eat and drink wine, and the Son of a carpenter, and in dishonor even among His own brothers, the sons of Joseph. "For even His brothers," it says, "did not believe in Him" (John 7:5). David, despite his beneficence, was persecuted; and the Lord, working miracles, was slandered and had stones cast at Him. David conquered and reigned through meekness; and the Lord reigned, having accepted the cross through meekness. So then, do you see in what sense it is said that He sat on the throne of David? As David received a physical kingdom, so the Lord received a spiritual reign, which "will have no end." For the reign of Christ, that is, the knowledge of God and Christianity, will have no end. For even in persecution we shine by the grace of Christ.
Lk. 1:34. And Mary said to the Angel: how shall this be, since I do not know a man?
The Virgin said, "How will this be?" not because she disbelieved, but because she, being wise and understanding, wished to learn the manner of the present event, for nothing like it had ever happened before, nor would it happen after. Therefore the Angel pardons Her and does not condemn Her as he did Zacharias, but further explains the manner of the event. Zacharias is justly condemned: he had many examples, since many barren women had given birth, but the Virgin had not a single example.
Lk. 1:35. The angel answered and said to Her: The Holy Spirit shall come upon You, and the power of the Most High shall overshadow You; therefore also the Holy One being born shall be called the Son of God.
"The Holy Spirit," he says, "shall come upon Thee," making Thy womb fruitful and fashioning flesh for the consubstantial Word. "And the power of the Most High" — the Son of God, for Christ is the power of God (1 Cor. 1:24) — "shall overshadow Thee," that is, shall cover Thee, shall surround Thee on all sides. For as a bird completely overshadows its chicks, covering them with its wings, so the power of God encompassed the Virgin completely; this is what "overshadow" means. Perhaps someone might say: just as a painter first sketches in shadow, then applies the final colors, so too the Lord, fashioning flesh for Himself and composing the form of a man, first shadowed forth the flesh in the Mother's womb, blending it from the blood of the Ever-Virgin, and then formed it. But this is uncertain. For some say that at the very moment the Lord overshadowed the Virgin's womb, a perfect infant came into being at once, while others do not accept this. Listen, then, to what he says: "therefore also the Holy Thing being born," that is, growing in thy womb gradually, and not appearing all at once in perfect form. From this the mouth of Nestorius is also stopped. For he said that it was not the Son of God dwelling in the Virgin's womb who became incarnate, but a mere man, born of Mary, who later came to have God as his companion. Let him hear, then, that what was being born in the womb — that very thing — was the Son of God; it was not one who was carried in the womb and another who was the Son of God, but one and the same was the Son of the Virgin and the Son of God. See how he also pointed to the Holy Trinity, naming the Holy Spirit, the power — the Son, and the Most High — the Father.
Lk. 1:36. Here is Elizabeth, your relative, who was called barren, and she has conceived a son in her old age, and this is already her sixth month,
Lk. 1:37. Because with God no word shall be without power.
Perhaps someone is puzzled how Elizabeth was a relative of the Virgin, when the Virgin was from the tribe of Judah, and Elizabeth was from the daughters of Aaron, for the Law required that marriages be from one and the same tribe, and therefore kinship was found among those descended from one and the same tribe. To this one can say, on the one hand, that since the time of the captivity the families became mixed, but better still the following: Aaron had as his wife Elizabeth, the daughter of Amminadab, and he was from the tribe of Judah. Do you see that the Mother of God was a relative of Elizabeth from the very beginning, from Aaron? Since Aaron's wife was from the tribe of Judah, from which the Mother of God also came, and Elizabeth was from the daughters of Aaron, consequently Elizabeth was a relative of the Mother of God. For her foremother, the wife of Aaron, was from the tribe of Judah. Notice also the succession of kinship: Aaron's wife was Elizabeth, and Zacharias's wife was Elizabeth, as one descended from her. But let us see what the Virgin says.
Lk. 1:38. Then Mary said: behold, the handmaid of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.
I am the painter's board; let the painter paint what he wishes; let the Lord create what is pleasing to Him. It is evident that what was said before — "how will this be" — was an expression not of unbelief, but of a desire to learn the manner; for if she had not believed, she would not have said: "Behold, the handmaid of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word."
Lk. 1:38. And the Angel departed from Her.
Know also that Gabriel means "man of God," Mary means "lady," and Nazareth means "sanctification." Therefore, when God was about to become man, it is fitting that Gabriel is sent, whose name means "man of God"; and the greeting takes place in a holy place, that is, in Nazareth, for where God is, there is nothing unclean.
Lk. 1:39. And Mary arose in those days and went with haste into the hill country, to a city of Judah,
The Virgin, having heard from the Angel that Elizabeth had conceived, hastened to her, partly rejoicing in the good fortune of her kinswoman, and partly, as one most prudent, wishing to confirm conclusively whether what had appeared to her was true, so that by the truthfulness of what was said about Elizabeth she might not doubt what concerned herself. For although she hoped, she nevertheless feared lest she might somehow be deceived, and this was not from unbelief, but from a desire to know the matter more precisely. Zachariah lived in the hill country; therefore the Virgin hastens there.
Lk. 1:40. And entered into the house of Zacharias, and greeted Elisabeth.
Lk. 1:41. When Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit,
And John, having received a certain special gift beyond other people, leaps in his mother's womb, which is why he is also "more than a prophet" (Matt. 11:9), for they prophesied after their birth, but he was deemed worthy of such a gift while still in his mother's womb. Notice: the Virgin "greeted Elizabeth," that is, she began to speak with her.
Lk. 1:42. And she cried out with a loud voice and said: Blessed are You among women, and blessed is the fruit of Your womb!
So, the voice of the Virgin was the voice of God incarnating within Her, and therefore He also granted grace to the Forerunner while still in the womb and made him a prophet, for the prophetic words of Elizabeth to Mary were not the words of Elizabeth, but of the infant; and the lips of Elizabeth only served him, just as the lips of Mary served the One dwelling in Her womb — the Son of God. For Elizabeth was then filled with the Spirit when the infant leaped in the womb; if the infant had not leaped, she would not have prophesied. Just as it is said of the prophets that they first entered into a supernatural state and were inspired, and then prophesied, so perhaps John too, as if inspired, first leaped, then prophesied through the lips of his mother. What did he prophesy? "Blessed are You among women." Then, since many holy women bore unworthy children, for example Rebekah bore Esau, he says: "and blessed is the fruit of Your womb." It can also be understood differently: "Blessed are You among women." Then, as if someone were asking: why? — he states the reason: for "blessed is the fruit of Your womb," that is, for "the fruit of Your womb" is God, since God alone is blessed, as David also says: "Blessed is He who comes" (Ps. 117:26). For in Scripture, it is customary to use the conjunction "and" in place of the conjunction "for"; for example: "Give us help from trouble, and vain is the salvation of man" (Ps. 59:13) instead of "for vain is the salvation of man"; and again: "Behold, You were angry, and we sinned" (Isa. 64:5) instead of "for we sinned."
He calls the Lord the "fruit of the womb" of the Mother of God, because the conception was without a man. Other infants are the offspring of fathers, but Christ is the fruit of the womb of the Mother of God alone, for She alone bore Him.
Lk. 1:43. And whence is this to me, that the Mother of my Lord should come to me?
Lk. 1:44. For behold, when the voice of your greeting reached my ears, the babe leaped with joy in my womb.
Lk. 1:45. And blessed is she who believed, for there shall be a fulfillment of the things spoken to her from the Lord.
Just as later, when Christ came to be baptized, John forbade Him out of reverence, saying, "I am not worthy" (Matt. 3:14, 11), so now he proclaims through his mother: "How is it that the Mother of my Lord should come to me?" calling her who bore Him in her womb "Mother" before she had given birth to the Lord. Other women, before they give birth, are not customarily called mothers, out of fear of an unsuccessful delivery, that is, a miscarriage; but with regard to the Virgin there was no such suspicion whatsoever. O Mary! Even before You gave birth, You are a Mother, and blessed, because You believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to You by the Lord.