Mary’s own birth to the aged Joachim and Ann would be deemed as improbable but possible, in line with a pattern seen again and again in Scripture with the parents of special children called forth by God. Her own cousin Elizabeth would be another example as the mother of John the Baptizer. Sarah gave birth to Isaac when she was in her 90’s; Manoah’s wife is another and she would deliver Samson; and the barren Hannah only became pregnant with the prophet Samuel after she desperately promised God that he would be dedicated to his service. These were all children “of promise” and they were singular in that there would be no others to pass through their mothers’ wombs. God stretched the rules of nature in these miraculous births. But, in Mary’s pregnancy with Jesus, the laws of nature were superseded. It was a miracle of an entirely different order. Isaac would become the father of a great nation, God’s people. Jesus ushered his kingdom, first through his own person and later through his mystical body, the Church. Samson was a mighty deliverer of his people from the bondage of the Philistines. Jesus lays down his life as the redeemer of mankind from the slavery of Satan and the afflictions of sin and death. Under Saul and David, the prophet Samuel brought God’s word to his people. Jesus is the revelation of the Father, showing us the face of God. He is the true mediator between heaven and earth. He testifies to the truth, the Good News of the kingdom.
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