Scarry angels, overturned life, Son of God?

Angels are scary beings. After saying "Hello" the 2nd thing out of their mouths is almost always "don't be afraid". I think they must be scary looking like some awesome sci-fi ninja warrior, but it's not only that. When an angel shows up, kiss "life as you know it" goodbye. Whatever they have to say is going to turn your life upside down, or rightside up, depending on how you look at it.

In the Bible most people when they see an angel do the following:

1. pee their pants out of pure terror
2. fall on the ground and cower in fear
3. listen very carefully to what the angels say
4. tell the angels "you've got the wrong person. I think you came to the wrong address. Can I see your work order? Yep. That's my address, but ...." 
5. finally do as instructed

Mary was told by the angel that she, still a teenager, was going to be a mommy. For the record, Mary didn't pee her pants, cower or try to pass the buck to someone else. She said "Yes Lord!" Faced with being a single mom in a society where you get stoned to death for that, she said "Yes." The angel obviously didn't go to the wrong address. Read the story yourself:

In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a village in Galilee, to a virgin named Mary. She was engaged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of King David. Gabriel appeared to her and said, “Greetings, favored woman! The Lord is with you! ” Confused and disturbed, Mary tried to think what the angel could mean. “Don’t be afraid, Mary,” the angel told her, “for you have found favor with God! You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be very great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David. And he will reign over Israel forever; his Kingdom will never end!” Mary asked the angel, “But how can this happen? I am a virgin.” The angel replied, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the baby to be born will be holy, and he will be called the Son of God. What’s more, your relative Elizabeth has become pregnant in her old age! People used to say she was barren, but she has conceived a son and is now in her sixth month. For the word of God will never fail. ” Mary responded, “I am the  servant. May everything you have said about me come true.” And then the angel left her. Luke 1.26-38

In our class on the 4 R's of reading the Bible we learned to look for

• action words: verbs & commands
• hinge words like "then, however, but, etc. 
• emotion words: words that convey or bring out emotions 
• God words: talk & descriptions about God

Today, I want to challenge you to read this passage of scripture and list what it says about Jesus. Please leave your observations in the comments. Its okay to write questions. I'll start:

1. God shows favor to people. Not sure what that means, but Mary "found favor" with God.