Gospel in Art: The angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town called Nazareth

Archangel Gabriel; The Virgin Annunciate, by Gerard David,1510 © Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

Source: Christian Art

Gospel of 20 December 2022
Luke 1:26-38

The angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the House of David; and the virgin's name was Mary. He went in and said to her, 'Rejoice, so highly favoured! The Lord is with you.' She was deeply disturbed by these words and asked herself what this greeting could mean, but the angel said to her, 'Mary, do not be afraid; you have won God's favour. Listen! You are to conceive and bear a son, and you must name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David; he will rule over the House of Jacob for ever and his reign will have no end.' Mary said to the angel, 'But how can this come about, since I am a virgin?' 'The Holy Spirit will come upon you' the angel answered 'and the power of the Most High will cover you with its shadow. And so the child will be holy and will be called Son of God. Know this too: your kinswoman Elizabeth has, in her old age, herself conceived a son, and she whom people called barren is now in her sixth month, for nothing is impossible to God.' 'I am the handmaid of the Lord,' said Mary 'let what you have said be done to me.' And the angel left her.

Reflection on the altar panels

Yesterday's reading spoke of the angel of the Lord appearing to Zechariah. But Zechariah did not quite believe what the angel was telling him. Today's Gospel reading is telling us of the angel appearing to Mary. She is reacting in a completely different way: she listened, asked a question ('But how can this come about, since I am a virgin?') and then took the decision to accept God's invitation. There and then she believed the angel. She couldn't have possible understood everything that was going on, but she just wilfully and joyfully participated in the mystery of salvation, there and then. Today's reading is all about invitation and response: God's call and our free will to decide whether to follow that call or not.

God so beautifully chose Mary, based in the small city of Nazareth. God could have easily chosen someone in the big city of Jerusalem, centre of the Jewish world, to draw attention to the fact he was sending his son into the world. But no, God chose the small city of Nazareth, so Jesus could grow up there, discreetly, under the radar… till he would start his ministry at the age of 30.

Gerard David, based in Bruges, painted these two stunning Annunciation panels. These panels, depicting the Archangel Gabriel and the Virgin Annunciate, originally formed the movable wings of an altarpiece. The panels are executed in 'grisaille' effect. This is a technique by which a painting is executed entirely in shades of grey to create the illusion of sculpture. Yet the flesh tones and hair of the figures depart from the monochromatic grey, in keeping with the softer, naturalistic vein prevalent in Bruges painting at the turn of the 15th century. The dove is rendered in an almost three-dimensional way, by clever use of its shadowing. For most of the year these altarpieces would be displayed with the side wings closed. So these two panels would have been visible for most of the year, with the Annunciation firmly central. On special occasions and feasts, the altarpiece would be opened, displaying the internal panels, probably consisting of either a nativity scene shown at Christmas or a crucifixion scene for the Easter Triduum.

LINKS

Gospel in Art: https://christian.art/

Today's reflection: https://christian.art/daily-gospel-reading/luke-1-26-38-2022-3/