In my personal prayer recently, I cracked open the Gospel of Luke. During the Easter season, I had been praying through Acts, but now I’ve returned to the beginning—back to where the story first takes flesh.
Early in Luke’s Gospel, we hear of the angel Gabriel appearing first to Zechariah, and then to Mary. And of course, we hear Mary’s fiat—her humble and world-shifting "yes" to the Lord.
This time through, I was struck again by the parallel between Mary and Eve. It’s a reflection many of us have heard: Mary as the New Eve. Where sin entered the world through the consent of Eve, salvation enters through the consent of Mary. God Himself comes—not by force, but by invitation and response. By her yes.
But something new stood out to me this time.
In the Garden of Eden, a fallen angel comes to Eve. He casts doubt on God’s goodness—suggesting that God is holding something back, that He can’t fully be trusted.
In contrast, when Gabriel appears to Mary, the message is the exact opposite: God wants to give something beyond imagining. Something far greater than even Mary had planned for her life.
It’s not just the message that differs—but the heart that receives it.
Eve grabs at the promise. Mary receives it.
Eve listens to the voice of distrust and acts on her own terms. Mary listens to the voice of heaven and surrenders with trust.
It all comes down to disposition. To receptivity. To trust.
To put it in poor, worldly terms: it’s like getting in the car with your kids and saying, “We’re going somewhere wonderful.” And one child sits back with excitement. The other grabs the wheel and yells, “We’re getting ice cream, right now!”
Both want something good. But only one is willing to wait for the gift the Father actually intends to give.