Today's reading is devoted to an event described by two evangelists: Matthew (Mt 1:18-23) and Luke (vv. 26-38). It is reasonable to think that Luke used in his Gospel the testimony of the Virgin Mary herself, unlike Matthew, who relied on Joseph's account. In addition, in Luke's presentation the story of the Annunciation is joined to the story of the Virgin Mary's visit to Elizabeth (vv. 39-56). Using such a composition, the evangelist, as it were, compares and relates two events: the birth of John the Baptist and the Nativity of Christ.

At first glance, such a comparison can appear rather conditional: after all, the birth even of such a prophet as John is still incomparable in significance with the birth of the Messiah-Christ. And yet this comparison has its own meaning. For every miracle is nothing other than God's intervention in nature and history, changing, though not completely stopping, the course of natural and social processes. From this point of view, the Nativity of Christ too could be considered an ordinary miracle, if only the word "ordinary" were appropriate in this case. For even the birth of the Messiah-Christ and the entry of the Kingdom into the world are not something absolutely external to this world; otherwise Christ would have had no need to be born, and the Incarnation of God would lose all meaning.

The Kingdom is amazing precisely because it includes our world and does not destroy it. Perhaps for this reason the Incarnation of God was absolutely necessary: by containing Himself within the bounds of human nature, which is by definition limited, God enters the world not from outside, but from within; now His greatness does not prevent Him from becoming wholly, to the end, part of the world He Himself created. Apparently, in a fallen world it was not possible to act otherwise; it was possible to set it right only from within, and God resolves on this step for the sake of His love for people.

But even before this He did not abandon humanity, and above all His people. Every miracle, every theophany, was a step toward the world and toward the human person. Therefore Luke quite rightly relates John's birth to Jesus' birth: all "ordinary" miracles find their meaning only in the main miracle - the birth of the Messiah and the manifestation of the Kingdom.

Elizabeth says: Mary, the One Who Believed, is already blessed, that is, happy, because what was promised to Her will certainly be fulfilled. Usually things are different with us. Well, suppose my boss promised to raise my salary; I would hardly feel happy until I received it! And if, while I am waiting for that joy, someone starts congratulating me, I will knock on wood and spit three times over my left shoulder...

And Mary? "My soul magnifies the Lord!" She is truly happy. This is what Christ brings into this world. He has not yet been born; only a few days have passed since His conception, but all who learn of Him are filled with joy and praise.

Why, then, do we not enter into this joy, or why do we lose it so easily? Unlike Elizabeth and Mary, we already know everything that He has done, and He Himself is constantly with us. Perhaps we simply cannot be called "those who believed"?

What city is being spoken of here? Of course, first of all Jerusalem, for Zephaniah addresses its inhabitants directly. Yet one gets the impression that not only Jerusalemites are being discussed here, and it is hardly by chance that prophecies of retribution for the sins of the Judeans alternate with rebukes of their pagan neighbors. So we can apparently apply what is said both to the former and to the latter.

But precisely for this reason it is useful once again to reflect: is the prophet addressing only his contemporaries, or do his words also refer to people of other ages, right up to our own time? Around us even today we can see the same lawlessness as thousands of years ago, and not only see it! We ourselves have more than once taken part in it, so even now woe to the sinful and defiled city...

But even after the prophecy has announced the coming outpouring of the fury of the Lord's wrath, we hear an astonishing promise of pure lips that will be given to all peoples so that they may praise the Creator. In His wrath the Lord destroys every impurity, but He also cleanses from it all who turn to Him. Before us is an important witness: the sentence against a sinful people can be canceled if the people leave the paths of wickedness.