4th Sunday of Advent (Fr. Francis)
My Sisters and Brothers in Christ,
It is God who builds the house! It is God who sends the Savior! It is God who comes to Mary and through Mary gives us the Savior. All comes from God and all returns to God, but the present is the important time because it is now that God and humans are in relationship.
The Gospel of today presents us with two important figures in the “drama of the nativity of Christ.” First the angel Gabriel, the faithful messenger appears with a message. His message is about the fulfillment of a promise. It is also, about the revelation of the hidden mystery of the old covenant in the new. Jesus Christ is that mystery! The angel Gabriel comforted a distraught Mary saying, “For nothing will be impossible with God.”
Just close your eyes and imagine the scene of Mary and Gabriel and how powerful those words must have been for Mary and the relief she must have felt knowing that God was in control, and that with God, nothing is impossible.
We, too, need comfort and reassurance in these most troubling of times. The virus continues, and while we are hopeful for the vaccine, its efficacy remains to be seen. So, meditating on Gabriel’s words of wisdom can, likewise, give us hope and strengthen our faith to face each day anew, knowing that with our God, nothing is impossible.
Mary’s role in the history of salvation stands out clearly today. She receives the message with humility: “I am the handmaid of the Lord, let it is done unto me according to your words.” With these humble words, she accepted her role in the history of salvation. Mary’s faith was a statement of her total self-donation to God’s own will for our salvation.
Her response was a statement of her humility, generosity, courage, and love for humanity. Hence through here generosity, Mary reminds us that this is a season of joy, receiving and sharing. Today, as the angel brought the good news to Mary so also, we must continue spreading this message.
Mary listens. The angel announces that the Messiah will be born in her and she listens. Her greatness comes through her faithful listening. Mary listens, asks for clarification, and finally accepts to be the servant of the Lord. Prayer, in the first place, is a listening. We can ask questions, but the answers will come through listening. It is not only with God that we need a listening attitude. If there are difficulties with members of our family, it is often because we do not know how to listen. We are ready with our answer, but we have not understood yet the question.
Mary accepts. Mary is deeply disturbed even by the initial greeting of the angel. But Angel Gabriel showers her with assurances that everything will be alright. “Do not be afraid…. The Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; hence the holy offspring to be born will be called Son of God,” (v. 35). These words of assurance eventually brought Mary to turn her negative emotion to a humble word of acceptance. The important word in these angel’s words of assurance is overshadow. The word is rarely used in the Bible. In the Old Testament, however, we can find it in the book of Exodus. It says that as soon as the cloud overshadowed the tent, “The Lord’s presence filled it,” (Ex. 40:34). It was in the tent that the Ark of the Covenant was kept, and God overshadowed or covered it. Luke’s choice of this word is not accidental, but it is deeply symbolic. He compared Mary’s body to the tent in which the Ark of the Covenant was kept. He compared Mary’s womb in which Jesus will be housed, to the Ark of the Covenant in which the tablet of the Ten Commandments was housed. Thus, when God’s power overshadows Mary, the Lord’s ‘presence’ fills her.
Mary believes. Her faith was humble and hence she first believes and only then reasons upon it and so the angel said to her: “Know that Elizabeth your kinswoman has conceived a son in her old age; she who was thought to be sterile is now in her sixth month, for nothing is impossible with God,” (vv. 36-37). The important words in the sentence are the words, ‘nothing is impossible with God.’ Before God’s power overshadows Mary, the world had no hope. Sin and violence were everywhere. Humanity had no hope of salvation. It was held slavery by Satan. St. Elizabeth had no hope of giving birth to a son because she was old and sterile. Even the Blessed Virgin Mary had no hope of bearing a child because she is a virgin. But when God overshadows Mary, He changes all these especially when Jesus has entered the world through Mary’s great fiat. Yes, God wants Mary to submit even the noble reason of faith.
Mary obeys. Her obedience is risk-taking when she says, “Let it be done according to your word,” (v. 38). Her obedience is loving. She loves God and hence trusts in Him and obeys. She kept on saying, ‘yes’ to God until the end of her earthly life to be the Mother of God.
As we prepare to celebrate the birth of Jesus as human person, it is also important to pay attention to the teaching of the Church about respect for life from conception to natural death. Pray that the Lord will guide the conscience of our leaders and those in political authority to hold on to and to promote the teaching of Christ regarding life and moral issues. Let us, therefore, seek wisdom and guidance from the Bl. Mother to know and come closer to Christ and His teachings. Amen.
Fr. A. Francis HGN