Spirit to triumph over limitations of fear and control

Isaiah writes about the great action of reconciliation of the Covenant between God and His people in the texts of the Roman Catholic Lectionary for today, the Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord. The lengths to which the Divine desires to be united with humanity includes the birth of “God is with us”, Immanuel. The psalmist radiates delight in doing the will of God and bringing the news of the intimacy of the Divine to the congregation. At the same time she prays for protection and as she accepts that security she knows it is because the message of the great desire of God to be immanently present to people threatens the control systems which put humans in charge of faith and belief. The author of Hebrews exhorts us to wake up and realize that our actions and will are not possible as valves to allow and deny the support of God in our lives. The acceptance of the Will of the Divine to Incarnate as human through the faith beyond senses of Mary, the young Jewish girl, is the Great Yes which brings the Son of God to human existence. Luke presents the “majesty” of the Annunciation with angelic peace yet this leaves hidden the bravery for a young unmarried Jewish girl to conceive and bear a child. Her pronouncement of the delight of God in His people and the restoration of the Covenant would be physical and she would need the indwelling Spirit of trust and courage. The 4th Century Father of the Church, Gregory of Nyssa, writes in an excerpt from his work, The Creation of Man, that the holy person is able to allow the energy of the Spirit to overcome the passions and sensual direction of the flesh. This “holiness” itself is a Divine gift. It is a required element to put trust in the Will of the Divine over what our earthly nature holds us to.