Juraj Feník - Róbert Lapko, «Annunciations to Mary in Luke 1–2», Vol. 96 (2015) 498-524
In addition to the scene conventionally known as "the Annunciation" (Luke 1,26-38), three other texts in the infancy narrative qualify to be classed as such. This article proposes an understanding of 2,8-20; 2,22- 35; 2,41-52 as annunciation pericopes by highlighting the fact that other characters, namely, the shepherds, Simeon, and Jesus function as messengers communicating to Mary further information about her son. It identifies the messenger, the act of speaking, the message, and the reference to Jesus' mother in each of the four scenes. Luke's infancy narrative, so the argument runs, contains four annunciation scenes in which a progressive revelation about Jesus addressed to his mother takes place.
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518 JURAJ FENÍK – RÓBERT LAPKO 518
to be a sign that others will contradict. None of this was revealed
to her before. The Israel element functions as a link in the dialectic
between the two panels in the annunciation. Jesus’ significance ex-
tends beyond the group named as “your people Israel” to include
the Gentiles, as the first segment in Simeon’s speech brings out.
With reference specifically to Jesus’ divinely appointed mission in
Israel, the second part bespeaks the division evn tw/| VIsrah,l. In sum,
in virtue of Simeon’s annunciation — schematized in the outline
below — new christological perspectives gain entrance into the
Lucan narrative (and to Mary’s understanding of Jesus’ identity).
messenger act of speaking addressee message
2,28 auvto,j 2,28 ei=pen 2,29 de,spota 2,30 to. swth,rio,n sou
(Simeon) 2,33 (Mary)
2,32 fw/j eivj avpoka,luyin evqnw/n
do,xan laou/ sou VIsrah,l
2,34 Sumew,n 2,34 ei=pen 2,34 pro.j 2,34 ou-toj kei/tai
Maria,m eivj ptw/sin kai. avna,stasin
pollw/n evn tw/| VIsrah,l
kai. eivj shmei/on avntilego,menon
2,35 kai. sou/ de. auvth/j th.n yuch.n
dieleu,setai r`omfai,a
(o[pwj a'n avpokalufqw/sin evk
pollw/n kardiw/n dialogismoi,)
IV. Annunciation to Mary by Jesus (2,41-52)
The final episode to be examined is 2,41-52, the conclusion of
Luke’s infancy narrative. Its purpose, to follow Krückemeier, is the
“aussergewöhnliche Bedeutung, die der Protagonist als erwachse-
ner Mann besitzt, bereits in dessen Jugend vorausschauend abzu-
bilden” 37. However one classifies the episode along form-critical
lines and whatever one claims the significance of the narrative to
be, this article espouses the view that its configuration qualifies it
as yet another example of an annunciation addressed to Mary. The
37
N. KRÜCKEMEIER, “Der zwölfjährige Jesus im Tempel (Lk 2.40-52) und
die biographische Literatur der hellenistischen Antike”, NTS 50 (2004) 307-
319, here 317.
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