Mary was "in trouble." A married woman gets pregnant and we say that she "is in a family way," or "expecting." But when an unmarried girl gets pregnant, we say she is "in trouble." And Mary was definitely "in trouble." She was going to have a baby and she wasn’t married.

One day, out of the clear blue sky, with no warning or advance preparation whatsoever, an angel from God came to Mary and told her she was going to have a baby. The news was understandably frightening and startling. Mary wondered what in the world was going on. But 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 will call his name Jesus." It was the kind of news that can wake one up very fast.

For Mary this news was confus…