I've borrowed this image and if you've been reading along you will already understand my influence from Henry O. Tanner as seen in a few of my previous drawings. I love his annunciation image but I've changed the pose of Mary and lowered the intensity of the scene.

This is an interesting thing to do, to acquire an idea from an artist and make modifications to suit your own taste. Some artists who live long enough revisit their own images and remake them, but art has a long tradition of artists borrowing from each other (or stealing, as Picasso stated is what great artists do). As we hear the nativity stories we aren't re-writing them but of course, through the very nature of communication, we re-state them and open them up for interpretation and contemporary perspectives.

What could one possibly restate about the annunciation? Preachers make attempts to explain or teach aspects of these narratives all the time. At some point most just read the gospels, like what we will do for Lessons & Carols. But paying attention to details or choosing to quickly tear past them defines it for yourself and the people you live with and serve.

The problem is in defining these stories absolutely. No one should think that this image above, or Tanner's, or anyone else's absolutely could capture the moment mentioned in the gospel. It is just a suggestion! Maybe it is a good suggestion or maybe a wildly off-base idea, but the more you can see and hear about it, the more images and commentary you have, then it all adds up to a transformation in you --which is why the story is told!