Ironicschmoozer’s Weblog

Most folks in the Western world have read or heard the passages from the New Testament about the birth of the baby Jesus, in particular the visit of the wise men from the Gospel of Matthew and the visit of the shepherds to the babe in manger from the Gospel of Luke.  But a chapter earlier in the Gospel of Luke, we hear an account of when Mary hears that she will be giving birth.  She’s young, poor and not yet married.  It will be a shock to Joseph, to whom she is engaged.  Of course it’s a shock to her as well, because the diagnosis of her pregnancy comes from the Angel Gabriel.
From the New Testament’s Gospel of Luke, Chapter 2

In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth,  to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary. And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.  And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”
And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?”

And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy— the Son of God. And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. For nothing will be impossible with God.” And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.

The following text comes over 500 years later….

From the Holy Quran, the third Surah (chapter):
When the angels said:  O Mary, surely Allah gives thee good news with a word from Him (of one) whose name is the Messiah, Jesus, son of Mary, worthy of regard in this world and the hereafter, and of those who are drawn near (to Allah).  And he will speak to people when in the cradle and when of old age, and (he will be) one of the righteous.  She said:  My Lord, how can I have a son and man has not yet touched me? He said:  Even so, Allah creates what He pleases.  When He decrees a matter, He only says to it: Be! And it is.  And He will teach him the Scripture and the Wisdom and the Torah and the Gospel.  And make him a messenger to the children of Israel.