Gabriel appeared to Mary in Nazareth, a girl probably in her mid-teens, and told her she would conceive and bear a son. Her response: 'How will this be, since I am a virgin?' Not, 'This is impossible,' but 'How will this work?' She's asking a practical question.
And Gabriel's answer is strange: the Holy Spirit will come upon you. That's not a biological explanation. It's a theological one. The most important thing about Jesus's birth isn't the mechanics—it's that he comes from God. But I love that Mary asked. She didn't pretend to understand. She voiced her confusion. And she wasn't struck down for it. She was honored. Her willingness to engage honestly, to ask, to eventually say yes—that's the response God was looking for.
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