Mary was ‘highly favoured’ (1:28). The angel said to her ‘you have found favour with God’ (v.30).

This passage is full of celebration, as Elizabeth and Mary recognise the ways in which God has favoured them.

Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit, sings of Mary: ‘Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! But why am I so favoured, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?… Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished!’ (vv.42-45).

The emphasis on Mary’s faith is significant, as many people would have responded very differently to the situation. God’s favour did not mean that all Mary’s problems disappeared – she was pregnant and unmarried in a culture where that would have caused all kinds of difficulties.

Yet she chooses to recognise the ways that God has blessed her.

Question: How has God blessed you? What can you give thanks to God for today?

Prayer: Lord, thank you for all the ways you have blessed me. Help me to see how I may be a blessing to others.