Gideon, Gabriel, Mary, and Guts

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(From John William Waterhouse, via FineArtAmerica.com, used w/o permission.)

This morning's Gospel reading is Luke 1:26-38. That's the bit that starts with....

...This comes a little after an account of Gabriel's interview with Zachariah, Luke 1:10-20. That's when Gabriel personally delivers God's response to Zachariah's prayer: and Zachariah demands proof.

Zachariah got proof, all right. He wasn't able to talk for for months. That didn't stop until he agreed with his wife about his son's name: in writing. Elizabeth's name for the boy was John, the same name Gabriel had specified

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