"The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God." (Luke 1:35)

What amazing words these must have been to Mary, a young woman, when she first heard them. Just minutes before she had probably been engaged in some mundane task of daily life in her mother's home, perhaps grinding flour or baking bread, maybe weaving or spinning wool into yarn. If she was like most young women who are shortly to be married, her mind would have been turned to her future life with Joseph, what their home would be like, the children they would have and the life that they would lead together. Happy images of the future would have filled her thoughts. She would have had her hopes, dreams and expectations--images of how her life would be as the future wife of Joseph.

Suddenly with the appearance of the angel Gabriel, her visions of the future contained a new and dramatically different element. The angel told her that she was highly favored and blessed among women, that the Lord was with her and that she would soon conceive and bring forth a son whose name would be Jesus. This child would be given the throne of Mary's ancient forebear, King David, and reign forever.

Mary voiced the question of how this would take place. She knew the order of natural conception and knew that the angel's message did not fit into this order. In explanation the angel Gabriel told her of the greatest miracle of all time saying, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God."

We are called to believe that miracles do occur. Some people are troubled by the idea of miracles based on their picture of cause and effect in this world. They have accepted that the only causes are natural ones, the laws of physics and so on. For such a person the idea of Jesus being born without a natural father is fantastic beyond belief.

But we are called to believe that miracles have and do occur. There are forces that attack this belief. We have grown up in a culture that has a strong sense of natural order. Science today is capable of explaining so many events that previously were mysteries. It is capable of explaining them by means of fundamental laws of nature. For some this sense of natural law can become so strong that the Lord's active presence within creation vanishes. For some there is no Divine intervention within this system. All is fixed and moves along with changes taking place by mere random accident. But it could be noted that according to natural law most changes result in more chaos, not less chaos. Changes tend toward the break down of a higher order into a lower one.

Think of the example of a person quickly typing out a document on a computer. You would expect that errors would be introduced into the typing. What is the likelihood that the errors would improve the original document? It’s possible, but rather unexpected. But the argument for pure natural evolution is that given enough time and the forces of natural selection life as we now know it has developed. Asserting that human life came about purely by random accidents starting with the genetic code of the most primitive life millions of years ago seems akin to saying that given enough time and enough typed copies a simple child’s nursery rhyme could evolve into a Shakespearean play without any plan or higher thought being involved.

We are called to believe that miracles do occur. However, the Writings for the New Church have taught us that we are not to expect to see the miracles of the Old and New Testaments performed today in the same way they were performed in the time those books were written. We read:

The reason miracles are not done at this day, as before, is that miracles compel, and take away free will in spiritual things; and from being spiritual, they make a person natural. All in the Christian world . . . can become spiritual; and they become spiritual solely from the Lord through the Word; and the faculty for this would perish if they were brought to believe through miracles. (True Christian Religion 501)

Partially based on statements such as this, a person can come to a pattern of thinking that does not believe in the Lord’s ability to affect things for good in a miraculous way even today. A person could believe in God, but still tend to view the progression of his or her life as following laws of a machine-like system. Anything that does not fit into this fixed system is believed to be a miracle that would take away spiritual freedom--the very freedom that the Lord was born into the world to reestablish.

Perhaps, though, it is too easy for us to become too limited in our view. So limited that we block out a sight of the miracles that can occur within our own lives without taking away our spiritual freedom. Perhaps it is too easy for this limited point of view to block out a sense of the Lord's presence, a sense of the Holy Spirit's presence. How does the Lord reach out to touch our lives?

What of Mary's life? The events surrounding the first Christmas were a major intervention within her life. The same is true of her husband to be, Joseph. Both of them could have denied the possibility of a miraculous conception and this state of denial would have been far more damaging than that of Zacharias's. Could the Lord's birth ever have taken place if Mary was not willing to accept the angel's words? Her firstborn was to have a continuing effect throughout her whole life. His presence was not without many events that brought a sense of awe and wonder to both Mary and Joseph. We know of at least one event that showed that raising Jesus was not always easy. At age 12, they spent three anxious days searching for Him, only to find Him in the temple, sitting in the midst of teachers, listening and asking questions.

In addition to the way in which Jesus' birth and life intervened in Joseph and Mary's life, think of the way His presence affected the disciples. Many of them were happily going about their daily jobs when they were called to leave all behind and follow Him. While this intervention sometimes involved something of the miraculous, it also involved an element of free will. Just as Joseph and Mary could have resisted the words of the angel announcing that the Lord would be born, so also the disciples could have heard the Lord call them to follow and shook their heads and returned to their work. There were many, many others who were influenced in this same way. Many others who heard the Lord's words calling to them and had their lives profoundly influenced by what He said.

The Lord comes to each of us in our lives many times each day. While we may not have anything occur in our lives that an objective observer would call miraculous, it is not true that our lives will follow some pre-established route, set by our inborn nature and directed by compelling experience of the natural world. The Lord's first birth represents the way in which He comes in any age to anyone who will receive Him. Just as the words of the angel Gabriel would have been a dramatic intervention within the happy normalcy of the future that Mary would have envisioned, so also the Lord can come to us announcing the conception of a future for us that is far different from the one our natural mind would envision. The Lord comes to us offering and promising a far different set of reactions to daily events from the ones we presently have--a different perspective, a far greater patience in some areas and a stronger resolve and commitment in others. He comes to us bringing light to areas of thoughts that we had resigned ourselves to being in deep darkness and bringing warmth to much that we might otherwise have done from need or duty.

The angel Gabriel was sent to a virgin, whose name was Mary. Ancient prophecies had promised that the Messiah would be born as the child of a young woman. Several hundred years after this prophecy was given, a Greek version of the Old Testament called the Septuagint, introduced a new element of the miraculous by using a word in this prophecy that was not the general one for a young woman, but rather the distinctive Greek term for "virgin." When the angel appeared to Joseph in a dream, the gospel of Matthew records that he quoted this prophecy according to the way it is presented in the Septuagint. The Writings for the New Church make it quite clear that this seemingly added idea is correct and even essential in our understanding of the Lord's advent.

There are two distinct reasons for the importance of a belief in the virgin birth. One reason has to do with the essential need for Jesus to be born with a natural mother but without a natural father if He was going to become our Savior and Redeemer. It was crucial for the work of Jesus that He not derive from His birth any of the internal evils that are passed on through the soul provided by the natural father in any natural conception. His soul and life came directly from the infinite God. His developing mind and life were the ever more perfect manifestation in human form of the Father and creator, our Lord and God. But it was important that He take on a natural mind at first empty of any experience and knowledge as you and I were born with. It was important that He take on the hereditary inclinations to evil that birth to a natural mother brought to His life.

The second reason for believing in the virgin birth exists because of the representation of the term virgin and what this says about how the Lord comes to us in our lives. We are told that a virgin represents someone who willing to have his or her life affected by truth. In this story, Mary represents a state of mind in each of our lives that is not controlled by self interest nor committed to a determined course of action. It is a state of mind that is open to new possibilities.

The Lord comes to us to each of us bringing the promise of a new conception of life just as the angel Gabriel came to the virgin Mary. He comes promising a rebirth or regeneration of life that is radically different from the one we come by naturally. It is not to the hustle and bustle of established life that He appears, but rather to those states of mind that, like the virgin Mary, look forward to something new and different and most importantly are willing to receive the conception of this new life. The life that comes to us naturally, apart from any presence of the Lord, is like a child conceived of a human father and mother. Without the Lord's presence, this life cannot have any other basis than self-interest and worldly concern. Experience may teach us to broaden this self-interest and to temper these concerns, but apart from the Lord's advent within our lives they will never rise above this level. The Lord is born within each of our lives within the states of mind that are willing to be affected by what the Word teaches--by the states of mind that are willing to rise above the prompting of our natural inclinations to be self-serving and natural in our interests, thoughts and actions. He is born within the states of mind that are willing to turn outward to recognize and serve the needs of those around us. He is born within the states of mind that are willing to recognize that natural things exist to serve the needs of mankind and creation as a whole and have their proper uses as well as their abuses.

Our preparation for the celebration of Christmas, more than any other event of the season, tends to turn people outward to others. It is a time that can help us to recognize the community of caring people that we live in. And it is a time that can remind us that many are in need--there are many people who can use our help. This help may be a matter of providing food, clothing and shelter for those have not been able to or have not yet come to be provident enough to provide them for themselves. It can be a matter of giving a hand to someone who could use some help with a job, sharing some burden with them. Christmas is a time when we give gifts that symbolize and love and friendship for others. The most lasting gifts are those that we give when we recognize the spiritual needs of others—when we recognize that, by our words and actions, we can help the Lord bring loving warmth to another person's life. We, by our words and actions, can bring the light of greater understanding to another person's life. We have the capability of helping others receive far greater blessings in life than they might otherwise. Our preparation for and celebration of Christmas can remind us of how a truly Christian life is one of wisely giving and of serving. The state of mind that receives this reminder is the one imaged by the virgin, Mary.

The Lord comes to each of us in our lives, just as the angel Gabriel came to Mary. He comes telling of events that can take place, if we are willing, which far exceed anything we might picture ourselves. He promises us a new life, born within our own, but not taking its source from us. He promises the presence of the Holy Spirit within this new life. He comes with a miraculous intervention in the natural course of events. The words of the angel Gabriel to Mary are also words to us with the promise of a new life that will profoundly affect what we care about, think and do each day throughout the year. These words are the promise of a new life for each of us.

After the close of this service you are invited to take the sacrament of the Holy Supper. This act of worship represents our desire to receive the Lord’s gifts of love and wisdom within our lives, represented by our eating of the bread and drinking of the wine. There is a powerful reminder of the words of the angel Gabriel in The True Christian Religion description of this sacrament

...the Holy Supper for those who approach it worthily is a kind of guarantee and seal put on their adoption as sons of God ... the Lord is then present and introduces into heaven those who are born of Him, that is, who are regenerated. (True Christian Religion 728)

As the angel Gabriel said to Mary, so the Lord would say to us, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God."

(റഫറൻസുകൾ: Arcana Coelestia 1573 [1-8]; Isaiah 7:1-15; Luke 1:26-38)

3880. 'And she said, This time I will confess Jehovah' means in the highest sense the Lord, in the internal sense the Word, in the external sense doctrine from the Word - the Divinity of love, also His celestial kingdom being meant here. This is clear from the meaning of 'confessing'. As regards 'confessing' - in the external sense or inner sense nearest to the literal - meaning doctrine from the Word, this is self-evident, since confession, even in everyday speech, is nothing else than a declaration of personal conviction before the Lord and so comprehends within it the things which a person believes and which for him therefore constitute doctrine. That 'confessing' in the internal sense means the Word follows from this, for all teaching regarding faith and charity must be drawn from the Word. Of himself man does not know anything about celestial and spiritual things, and therefore he knows them only from Divine revelation, which is the Word. The reasons why 'confessing' in the highest sense means the Lord are that the Lord is the Word and therefore doctrine from the Word, and that the Word in the internal sense, having regard to the Lord alone, deals with His kingdom, 1871, 2859, 2894, 3245, 3305, 3393, 3432, 3439, 3454. This is why 'confessing Jehovah' means the Divinity of love, also His celestial kingdom, for the Lord is Divine Love itself and the influx of this love makes His kingdom, doing so by means of the Word received from Him. For 'Judah' who received his name from the expression 'confessing Jehovah' means the Divinity of love, also the Lord's celestial kingdom, see what has been shown already in 3654; and this explains why it is stated here that 'confessing' has that meaning.

[2] But what 'confessing' or 'confession' really is will be seen from places in the Word where these expressions are used, as in Isaiah,

You will say on that day, I will confess You O Jehovah; for You were angry with me, Your anger turned away, and You comforted me. And you will say on that day, Confess Jehovah, call on His name, make His deeds known among the people, make mention that His name is exalted. Isaiah 12:1, 4.

In David, we will confess You O God; we will confess, and Your name is near. They tell of Your wonders. Psalms 75:1.

In the same author,

A Psalm for confession. Make a joyful noise to Jehovah, all the earth. He made us and not we ourselves, His people and the flock of His pasture; therefore we are His, His people and the flock of His pasture. ¹ Enter through His gates in confession, His courts in praise; confess Him, bless His name, for Jehovah is good, His mercy is for ever, and His truth from generation to generation. Psalms 100:1-5.

What 'confessing' and 'confession' mean here is self-evident, namely acknowledging Jehovah or the Lord, and the things that are His - that acknowledgement clearly being doctrine and the Word.

[3] In Isaiah,

Jehovah will comfort Zion, He will comfort all her waste places. Gladness and joy will be found in her, confession and the voice of song. Isaiah 51:3.

In Jeremiah,

Thus said Jehovah, Behold, I will bring back the captivity of the tents of Jacob and have compassion on his dwellings. And the city will be built upon its mound, and the palace will be inhabited in its accustomed manner. And there will come out from these confession and the voice of those amusing themselves. Jeremiah 30:18-19.

In David,

I will confess Jehovah according to His righteousness, and will sing of the name of Jehovah Most High. Psalms 7:17.

In the same author,

When I shall have gone to the house of God with the voice of song and of confession, a multitude keeping festival. Psalms 42:4.

In the same author,

I will confess You among the nations, O Lord, I will make melody to You among the peoples, for great even to heaven is Your mercy. Psalms 57:9-10.

[4] From these places it is evident that 'confession' has reference to the celestial form of love, for in the descriptions 'confession and the voice of song', 'confession and the voice of those amusing themselves', 'I will confess You among the nations and I will make melody to You among the peoples', 'confession' is used to mean something distinct and separate from that meant in phrases describing the spiritual form of love. 'Confession' or 'confessing' is a celestial term, whereas 'the voice of song', 'the voice of those amusing themselves', and also 'making melody' are spiritual expressions. In addition confession is said to occur 'among the nations' but melody to be made 'among the peoples' because 'the nations' means those who are governed by good, 'the peoples' those who are governed by truth, 1416, 1849, 2928, that is, those governed by celestial love and those governed by spiritual love. For in the Word, in the Prophets, dual expressions commonly occur in which one has reference to what is celestial or good, the other to what is spiritual or true, so that the Divine marriage may exist in every individual part of the Word, and so a marriage of good and truth, see 683, 793, 801, 2173, 2516, 2712, 3132. From this it is also evident that confession implies the celestial form of love and that genuine confession, or that which flows from the heart, flows from nothing else than good. But confession which flows from truth is called 'the voice of song', 'the voice of those amusing themselves', and 'making melody'.

[5] A similar duality occurs in the following places: In David,

I will praise the name of God with a song and will magnify Him with confession. Psalms 69:30.

In the same author,

I will confess You on a ten-stringed instrument, Your truth, O my God. I will sing to You with the harp, O Holy One of Israel. Psalms 71:22.

'Singing with the harp' and all other stringed instruments mean spiritual things, see 418-420. In the same author,

Enter His gates in confession, His courts in praise; confess Him, bless His name. Psalms 100:4.

'Confession' and 'confessing' flow from the love of good, but 'praise' and 'blessing' from the love of truth. In the same author,

Reply to Jehovah by means of confession; make melody to our God with the harp. Psalms 147:7.

In the same author,

I will confess You in the great congregation, I will praise You among a numerous people. Psalms 35:18.

In the same author,

I will confess Jehovah with my mouth, and in the midst of many will I praise Him. Psalms 109:30.

In the same author,

We, Your people and the flock of Your pasture, will confess You for ever; generation after generation we will recount Your praise. Psalms 79:13.

In the same author,

Let them confess Jehovah for His mercy, and for His marvellous works to the children of men. Let them sacrifice the sacrifices of confession, and proclaim His works with a song. Psalms 107:21-22.

[6] In all these places it is evident that dual expressions occur describing the same thing, which would be seen as pointless repetitions if one did not embody something celestial, which is good, and the other something spiritual, which is truth, and so did not embody the Divine marriage. The Lord's kingdom is that marriage. This arcanum is present in every part of the Word but it cannot possibly be disclosed except by means of the internal sense, and of knowledge derived from this, showing which in a dual expression belongs to the celestial category and which to the spiritual. But a general impression of what the celestial is and what the spiritual, to which reference has often been made already, must exist first.

[7] True confession of the heart, because it flows from celestial love, is confession in the genuine sense. The person with whom it exists acknowledges that everything good comes from the Lord and everything evil from self. When that acknowledgement exists with him it is a state of humiliation, for in this case he acknowledges the Lord to be everything in him and he himself in comparison to be nothing. And when confession is made in this state it flows from celestial love.

[8] But the sacrifices of confession which were offered in the Jewish Church were thanksgivings, and in the universal sense were called eucharistic and repayment sacrifices, of which there were two kinds - those of confession and those that were votive. As regards sacrifices of confession embodying the celestial form of love within them, this becomes clear from the institution of them, described in Moses as follows,

This is the law of the sacrifice of eucharistic offerings made to Jehovah. If someone offers it as a confession, he shall offer in addition to the sacrifice of confession unleavened cakes mixed with oil, and unleavened wafers anointed with oil, and fine flour fried, cakes mixed with oil. With leavened cakes of bread he shall offer his gift, in addition to the sacrifice of confession. Leviticus 7:11-13, 15.

All the things mentioned here, such as 'unleavened cakes mixed with oil', 'unleavened wafers anointed with oil', 'fine flour fried', 'leavened cakes of bread' mean the celestial things of love and faith and so mean confessions. It also means that these must be present within humiliation. For 'fine flour' and cakes made from it mean the celestial element of love and from this the spiritual element of faith, which is charity, see 2177; 'unleavened' means purification from evils and falsities, 2342; 'oil' means the celestial element of love, 886, 3728, as does 'bread' also, 2165, 2177, 3464, 3478, 3735.

[9] Votive offerings however, which constituted the second kind of eucharistic sacrifices, in the external sense meant repayment, in the internal sense the will that the Lord should provide, and in the highest sense a state of Providence, see 3732. This is why both types of offerings are mentioned in various places in the Word, as in David,

Sacrifice to God confession, and render to the Most High your vows. He who sacrifices confession honours Me, and he who sets in order the way, to him will I show the salvation of God. Psalms 50:14, 23.

In the same author,

Upon me, O God, are Your vows; I will repay confessions to You. Psalms 56:12.

In the same author,

To You will I sacrifice the sacrifice of confession, and on the name of Jehovah will I call. I will render my vows to Jehovah. Psalms 116:17-18.

[10] In Jonah,

I with the voice of confession will sacrifice to You; that which I have vowed I will render. Jonah 2:9.

From all this one may now see what 'confession' is, from which Judah received his name, namely this: In the highest sense the Lord and the Divinity of love; in the internal sense the Word, and also the Lord's celestial kingdom; and in the more exterior sense doctrine from the Word which the celestial Church possesses. Evidence that these things are meant in the Word by 'Judah' may be seen in what is presented below.

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