Luke 1:26-38 Dear Partner in Preaching, I will confess that until I read Cameron Howard’s beautiful reflection on this week’s biblical story, I’d never noticed that Mary is perplexed by Gabriel’s greeting, not his presence. And… that has stayed with me all week. Most of us, I would imagine, would find the presence of the heavenly being enough to strike terror into our hearts, kind of like the guards at the resurrection in Matthew’s account or the people of Israel shaking in fear at the thunder and lightning of the Lord’s presence at Sinai. But no, Luke specifies that after Gabriel greets her with pretty magnanimous...