The kingdom of heaven comes close to Mary, and by repenting – by changing her mind – she steps into the present presence of God’s future.
The angel says, “You will be with child”...and Mary asks, “How can this be?” She is a virgin. And we need to understand that term to mean not only someone who has not yet had sexual intercourse (in this sense, a virgin can become pregnant, simply by having sex) but to mean a girl who has not yet ovulated (that is, for whom pregnancy is a biological impossibility, even if she had had sex).
Mary knows that she cannot have a baby, because her body is not yet ready to have a baby. That is why she is still ‘pledged to be’ married: an arrangement has been made between two families, and the wedding will take place once she has become a woman, once her periods begin.
But God knows Mary’s body more intimately than Mary does. This moment, this moment when her ovaries release their very first egg, is a moment that God can step into in order to bring light into the world.
Mary repents, and steps forward into the unknown with God.
[Today’s Antiphon is O Clavis David]
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