Day 8, The Christmas Story, He Knows My Name

Good morning. It is Wednesday the 9th of December. I must add a disclaimer here. I was sitting on the couch this morning, thinking, hmmm... it’s two weeks till Christmas Eve. Today, we’re just getting to the Annunciation. Will I even get to the birth of Jesus in this study by the 24th, Christmas Eve? See, I don’t know, because every morning when I sit down, I don’t know what I’m going to say or how far in the scripture passage I will go, so hey, who knows? I don’t even know what I am fixing to write below this paragraph. I was thinking “I need to make sure we have Jesus being born on Christmas Eve”, and in my analytical mind thought I might need to count off the scriptures remaining and divide them by days, so the outcome would be just right. BUT God reminded me that this story should be told as HE gives understanding, and not to meet a schedule, and that, as in all things, perfect timing is his. Otherwise, in my own hands of planning and scheduling, I and all of you would just become the victim of another hurried, rushed, meaningless Christmas destroyed in the hands of humans. So, it will be interesting to see what day Jesus is born on in our study this month!


26 In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a village in Galilee, 27 to a virgin named Mary. She was engaged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of King David. 28 Gabriel appeared to her and said, “Greetings, favored woman! The Lord is with you![d]”


Yesterday, we pondered Mary, and the day before learned about her hometown, Nazareth. We learned what their engagement/betrothal customs were. And now, we come to the conversation between her and Gabriel.

So in the meanwhile between visiting Zechariah, and at least six months later on this day, Gabriel has been back up at the throne of God. I am wondering during that year if all these occurrences ranked the highest for numbers of angelic visitation in Bible history. I think in this story there are more than 4 angelic visitations, maybe more, at least two of those by Gabriel himself. Once again, Gabriel is sent to earth, this time to Mary. I wonder if he finds out about these things just before the fact? It is my guess he does. You know how God never seems to lay out the whole story to us, just part of it? I wonder if he did that with Gabriel. Nevertheless, Gabriel continues his post at the throne of God, watching for any sign from God that it was time to carry out the next portion of his plan. And six months after visiting Zechariah, he is now sent to earth again, this time to a young, unimportant, unknown teenage girl in a similarly unimportant small village. And the first thing he says to Mary is “Hello, woman who has been given favor, the Lord is with you!”

There is an exclamation point in this verse, as there was when Gabriel spoke to Zechariah. I think he was truly excited and enthused. Remember, he had been in the throne room. He was seeing the God of the universe, his creator and our creator, now setting in motion the events of the Messiah’s coming to earth. Of course he was excited! He, no doubt, had a bigger picture than the humans who he was sent to would have. And he was enthused!

29 Confused and disturbed, Mary tried to think what the angel could mean. At this point, he’s come to her, excited, calling her favored, saying the Lord is with her. I think it is correct to say that a young girl of her culture would be very confused and disturbed and trying to figure out what was going on. Do you know the thoughts that can run through your mind in a split second after hearing a person speak only a sentence? It is amazing how fast the brain can start analyzing and churning out information and questions.

30 “Don’t be afraid, Mary,” the angel told her, “for you have found favor with God!
I saw something here I didn’t catch before with Zechariah. In both instances, Gabriel calls them by name and tells them not to be afraid. He was not some obscure entity from another planet sent to deliver a generic message. He was debriefed by the God of the Universe, about Zechariah, and then about Mary, their positions, their lives, about them as people, and their names. He knew the people he was speaking to, and he called them by name. Doubtless, as Gabriel stood in front of God himself, God spoke their names. “Mary”... I just love that, because even that one little gesture shows the personal nature of God in his relationship with us individually. He calls us by name. And the angel who had watched his every move, not only brought a message, but he was bringing relationship. It is one thing to have an angel show up in your room. It is another for them to look you in the eyes and call you by your name and tell you not to be afraid. How loving, how personal, how intimate a picture of God’s desire for relationship with us. And that desire for relationship with us is the crux of this whole story, the reason he would soon send Jesus to us. I just never saw before that hint at relationship.

I know that’s not very far along in the story today, but that’s where I feel led to stop. I feel it is vital today, that you end this segment with the knowledge that God Almighty KNOWS your name and he SPEAKS your name. He knew intricately the players of this story, but just as intricately he knows us. Look at the verses below. And let it sink in, that HE knows YOU. HE designed YOU.

"Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you.. Before you were born, I set you apart for my holy purpose. Jeremiah 1:5

Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. Isaiah 43:1-3

See, I have written your name on the palms of my hands. Isaiah 49:16

Zephaniah 3:17(NIV) The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take GREAT DELIGHT in you, he will QUIET YOU with his love, he will REJOICE OVER YOU with singing.


Your mother, whether your birth mother or your adoptive mother, had a desire to sing over you when you were a baby. It is innate in us as mothers. We hold our babies tenderly and close to our hearts and sing to them. It is a time of bonding, of soothing, of expressing our love, our watch care over the one we have been entrusted to love. Mary would soon hold her child close to her heart, as we still do, and sing over him. But, remember, God said he made us in his image, and this innate desire in us is but a picture of our God, who in the same manner sings over us. It began with him, not with mothers. It is an image of him. He knows you, he made you, he set you apart, he called you by name, claimed you as his. He wrote his name on the palm of your hand. There is something close and intimate about the palm of the hand (remember writing your girlfriend or boyfriend’s name on the palm of your hand as a kid, closing it tightly to keep it close to you?) I used to get on to my middle son for constantly writing on his hands as a kid. Obviously, I might now have rethought that, as this was another trait of God that was passed to us when we were made in his image. He takes great delight in you, he quiets you, and he sings over you. If that is not enough, read Psalms 23 about every benefit he provides YOU.

Today let Him call you by name. I challenge you to do this - When you are near your Bible, do this. Open it up to the passage we studied today in Luke 1. Now open your hand and look at your palm. Be reminded that your name is written on God’s palm. Now close it tightly and feel the complete protection the hand provides over that palm. Lastly, now open your hand, stretch your fingers wide, and press your palm into that passage in the Bible we studied today. Leave it there. Let your alive body touch God’s alive and active words and realize that you are touching truth.


Do you hear what I hear? Listen, and you will hear him call your name.
How wonderful.
Teresa