Being Like Gabriel

Then the angel said, “I am Gabriel! I stand in the very presence of God. It was he who sent me to bring you this good news!”

Luke 1:19

When we read the accounts of the birth of Jesus, we often feel a connection with the primary characters. A young woman might sense a bond with Mary as she thinks of what it would be like if she were told that she was going to give birth to the Messiah. An older couple who struggled with infertility might relate to the perplexity and ultimate joy of Zechariah and Elizabeth concerning the miraculous birth of their son, John.

We are less inclined, I think, to feel connected with Gabriel, the angel of God. For one thing, we don’t really know what angels are like. It’s hard to relate to something you can’t envision. Moreover, the links we feel with people like Mary, Zechariah, and Elizabeth depend upon our common humanity. We can imagine how these folks might have felt. Who knows what Gabriel felt?

I’m not suggesting that we need to forge an emotional tie with Gabriel. But I do think there is a way we are to be like him, not just the same, but similar. When Gabriel told Zechariah that his older wife would bear a son, Zechariah questioned the angel, rightly noting: “I’m an old man now, and my wife is also well along in years” (1:18). The angel responded: “I am Gabriel! I stand in the very presence of God. It was he who sent me to bring you this good news!” (1:19). Of course, you and I don’t stand in God’s very presence. But we do have relationship with God through Christ. And the Spirit of God dwells within us. Moreover, we are recipients of God’s revealed truth in Scripture. This means that we, like Gabriel, have something to say to others. We too have been sent to bring good news to people. We get to tell them about God’s love, and how this love was expressed through God becoming human in Jesus, and how the love of God in Christ led to the cross, and how God’s work of salvation was vindicated through the resurrection. We get to tell people that Christmas is not just a sweet story, but the truthful account of God entering human life in order to transform us and all things.

As it was with Zechariah and Gabriel, sometimes people will not be ready to receive the good news we have to share. Our job is not to make anyone believe anything. Rather, we are called to bear witness to what God has done and is doing. In this way, we are rather like Gabriel.

QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION: Are there people in your life who need to hear the good news of God’s love for them? How might God use you to communicate this good news?

PRAYER: Dear Lord, as I read Luke 1, I’m reminded of my calling to be like Gabriel. No, I can’t fly through the heavens. And, no, I am not yet able to stand in your presence. But, nevertheless, you have appointed me to be a messenger of the good news. I have the privilege of telling people just how much you love them and what you have done because of that love. Thank you for this high calling!

Help me, dear Lord, to bear witness to you honestly, humbly, faithfully, wisely. Keep me from becoming pushy or arrogant. At the same time, keep me from being fearful of speaking truly about you. May I bear witness to you, not only through my words, but also through my daily life. May people around me experience your good news alive in me.

O Lord, help me to be like Gabriel! Amen.