Artwork:
The Annunciation by Bartolomé Esteban Murillo, (1660) is an oil on canvas painting in the Baroque style. Housed in Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, Netherlands, Murillo’s devotional straightforward work portrays a New Testament scene that depicts the Archangel Gabriel´s Annunciation to the Virgin Mary. The Virgin is accompanied by three traditional attributes: a sewing basket and book, which symbolize her hard work and devotion; and a spray of lilies, which symbolize her purity.

Advent Devotional

Sometimes as Christians, we tend to overcomplicate doctrine. The portion of the Nicene Creed concerning Jesus states that, “by the power of the Holy Spirit he became incarnate from the Virgin Mary and was made man.” Millions of Christians around the world repeat these lines from the Creed every Sunday. God became human. We have an incarnational faith and that matters.

Instead of complicating the Incarnation of Jesus Christ, this carol simplifies it. Not much is known about the history of this song other that it originated in the West Indies, most likely Trinidad. It was made popular when singer Harry Belafonte recorded it in 1958. Each verse contains a simple refrain repeated three times. These three refrains, combined with the melodic steel drums characteristic of Caribbean music, make this carol especially attractive for children. What better introduction to the Christological principle that Jesus is both human and divine than the straightforward words, “The Virgin Mary had a baby boy.” Christ, who was present at the creation of the world, can now be known definitively and personally. C.S. Lewis’s good friend, Sister Penelope Lawson once wrote that, “for in the humanity of Jesus God sat again for his portrait, and this time it was a perfect likeness.”

Prayer

Thank you, Father,
for sending us Your Son.
As we reflect on Christmas,
I celebrate the birth of this baby boy,
the promised Savior and King,
fully human and
yet fully God.