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| Surrender and trust |
The reading from Genesis provides a link to the portrayal of Mary as in conflict with the serpent.
* [3:15] They will strike…at their heel: the antecedent for “they” and “their” is the collective noun “offspring,” i.e., all the descendants of the woman. Christian tradition has seen in this passage, however, more than unending hostility between snakes and human beings. The snake was identified with the devil (Wis 2:24; Jn 8:44; Rev 12:9; 20:2), whose eventual defeat seemed implied in the verse. Because “the Son of God was revealed to destroy the works of the devil” (1 Jn 3:8), the passage was understood as the first promise of a redeemer for fallen humankind, the protoevangelium. Irenaeus of Lyons (ca. A.D. 130–200), in his Against Heresies 5.21.1, followed by several other Fathers of the Church, interpreted the verse as referring to Christ, and cited Gal 3:19 and 4:4 to support the reference. Another interpretive translation is ipsa, “she,” and is reflected in Jerome’s Vulgate. “She” was thought to refer to Mary, the mother of the messiah. In Christian art Mary is sometimes depicted with her foot on the head of the serpent.1
Psalm 98 is praise of the Judge of the World.
* [Psalm 98] A hymn, similar to Ps 96, extolling God for Israel’s victory (Ps 98:1–3). All nations (Ps 98:4–6) and even inanimate nature (Ps 98:7–8) are summoned to welcome God’s coming to rule over the world (Ps 98:9).2In the passage from Ephesians, Paul proclaims our spiritual blessings in Christ as we ponder the Father’s plan of Salvation and our relationship as children of God through the Spirit.
* [1:3–14] While a Pauline letter usually continues after the greeting with a prayer of thanksgiving, as in Eph 1:15–23 below, Ephesians first inserts a blessing of God for the blessings Christians have experienced, as in 2 Cor 1:3–4 and 1 Pt 1:3–12. The blessing here, akin to a Jewish berakah, is rich in images almost certainly drawn from hymns and liturgy. Many ideas here are also found in Col 1:3–23. Certain phrases are frequently repeated, such as in Christ (Eph 1:3, 10, 12) or in him (Eph 1:4, 7, 9, 11, 13) or in the beloved (Eph 1:6) and (for) the praise of (his) glory (Eph 1:6, 12, 14). Some terms like chose (Eph 1:4) and destined (Eph 1:5) reflect Old Testament theology (Dt 7:7; 9:4–6; 23:5) or Pauline themes (redemption, Eph 1:7, 14; grace, Eph 1:6, 7) or specific emphases in Colossians (forgiveness, Col 1:14). A triadic structure is discernible in Eph 1:3–14: God the Father (Eph 1:3–6, 8, 11), Christ (Eph 1:3, 5, 7–10, 12), and the Spirit (Eph 1:13–14). The spiritual blessings Christians have received through Christ (Eph 1:3) are gratefully enumerated: the call to holiness (Eph 1:4; cf. Col 1:22); the gift of divine adoption establishing a unique spiritual relationship with God the Father through Christ (Eph 1:5; cf. Gal 4:5); liberation from sin through Christ’s sacrificial death (Eph 1:7); revelation of God’s plan of salvation in Christ (Eph 1:9; cf. Eph 3:3–4; Rom 16:25); the gift of election and faith in Christ bestowed upon Jewish Christians (see note on Eph 1:12, we who first hoped in Christ); and finally, the same gift granted to Gentiles (Eph 1:13, you also). In the Christ-centered faith and existence of the Christian communities the apostle sees the predetermined plan of God to bring all creation under the final rule of Christ (Eph 1:4–5, 9–10) being made known (Eph 1:9) and carried through, to God’s glory (Eph 1:6, 12, 14).3In the Gospel of Luke, the birth of Jesus is foretold.
* [1:26–38] The announcement to Mary of the birth of Jesus is parallel to the announcement to Zechariah of the birth of John. In both the angel Gabriel appears to the parent who is troubled by the vision (Lk 1:11–12, 26–29) and then told by the angel not to fear (Lk 1:13, 30). After the announcement is made (Lk 1:14–17, 31–33) the parent objects (Lk 1:18, 34) and a sign is given to confirm the announcement (Lk 1:20, 36). The particular focus of the announcement of the birth of Jesus is on his identity as Son of David (Lk 1:32–33) and Son of God (Lk 1:32, 35).4Kyle Lierk wishes that we all not only get a life, but live a life that embraces the gritty reality of our world and celebrates the grace that is waiting to be discovered there.
A wonderful model for someone who lived from that space was Miriam of Nazareth, the mother of Jesus. Here was a person who knew all too well the gritty reality of an earthly existence. Nazareth in the first century was a very difficult place to live if you were not among the small, ruling elite classes. Life under the Roman Empire was brutal for agrarian communities like Nazareth. In fact, by the nature of Joseph’s trade as a carpenter, Mary and her husband belonged to the artisan class which had an even lower income than the peasant class due to the fact that they had no land on which to grow their own food. And yet, within this space of apparent scarcity comes the abundance of Mary’s great “Yes” to God: “May it be done to me according to your word.” (LK 1:38) What a powerful witness of what it means to endure the struggle and trials of life with a deep, abiding trust and faith in God!5Don Schwager quotes “God borrows Mary's flesh to lead humanity to glory,” by an anonymous early author from the Greek church.
"Revealing to you the pre-eternal counsel, Gabriel came and stood before you, maid, and in greeting said, 'Rejoice, earth that has not been sown; rejoice, burning bush that remains unconsumed; Rejoice, unsearchable depth; Rejoice, bridge that leads to heaven; Rejoice, ladder raised on high that Jacob saw; Rejoice, divine jar of manna; Rejoice, deliverance from the curse; Rejoice, restoration of Adam, the Lord is with you!'"'You appeared to me in the form of a man,' said the undefiled maid to the chief of the heavenly hosts. 'How then do you speak to me of things that pass human power? For you have said that God shall be with me and shall take up his dwelling in my womb. How shall I become the spacious habitation and the holy place of him that rides upon the cherubim? (Psalm 18:10) Do not amuse me with deceit; for I have not known pleasure, I have not entered into wedlock. How then shall I bear a child?' "Then the bodiless angel replied, 'When God so wills, the order of nature is overcome, and what is beyond humankind comes to pass. Believe that my sayings are true, all-holy and immaculate lady.' And she cried aloud, 'Let it be to me according to your word, and I shall bear him that is without flesh, who shall borrow flesh from me, that through this mingling he may lead humankind up to his ancient glory, for he alone has power so to do!'"(excerpt from STICHERA OF THE ANNUNCIATION)6The Word Among Us Meditation on Luke 1:26-38 suggests as we honor Mary today, let’s remember the deep faith she had, not just to be a mother, but to be the Mother of God!
Mary has many things to teach us. Like her, we are called to bring Jesus into this world, and like her, we too will suffer. When we face the challenges and temptations of life in this world, we can forget about the Lord and follow the path of least resistance. Or we can do as Mary did and hold fast to our faith in God’s greatness. We can trust that he will look after us if we remain humble and open to his word.7Claudia Hammond is the author of Time Warped: Unlocking The Secrets Of Time Perception. She is mentioned in a BBC article about what we get wrong about time. In the last century, Albert Einstein’s discoveries exploded our concepts of time. He showed us that time is created by things; it wasn’t there waiting for those things to act within it. He demonstrated that time is relative, moving more slowly if an object is moving fast. Events don’t happen in a set order. There isn’t a single universal “now”, in the sense that Newtonian physics would have it.
The way we experience time in our minds is never going to match up with the latest discoveries in physics. We all know what the passing of time feels like. Although we can’t change the way our brains perceive time, there are better ways we can start to think about it. But even then, the way it warps in certain situations will continue to surprise and unsettle us. In the end, perhaps, St Augustine put it best when he asked: “What then is time? If no one asks me, then I know. If I wish to explain it to someone who asks, I know it not.”8Friar Jude Winkler shares a few levels of interpretation of the passage from Genesis. The text from Ephesians is compared to the theology of John Duns Scotus, who teaches Jesus would have come anyway. Friar Jude emphasizes the place of vulnerability in the encounter leading to the surrender of Mary to the Will of God.
Dorian Llywelyn SJ, a member of the California Province of the Society of Jesus, surveys the history of artistic representations of Gabriel’s visit to Mary. Each of us is called to discover our place in the mystery of the Annunciation, to know the Incarnation by the message of an angel, and to pray that by the mystery of his Cross and Passion, the Son of the Virgin may bring the whole world into the glory of the Resurrection.
Whether in hearing the words of God or reading them, Mary internalises them so intensely that they take flesh in her as the Word. At the beginning of the 12th century, the Benedictine Goscelin of Canterbury wrote to his spiritual daughter, an anchoress, encouraging her to take Mary as her model and understand Christ as coming into her soul as he came into the Virgin’s womb: ‘Conceive Christ, carry him, give birth to him, feed him. Let him deign to be born in you from his infancy and to grow in you to the fullness of love.’ Some fifty years later, the Cistercian Isaac of Stella taught his listeners that that in differing ways on differing levels, ‘every Christian is also a bride of God’s Word, a mother of Christ, his daughter and sister, at once virginal and fruitful. These words refer in general terms to the Church; they are specially true of Mary; and they also apply to individual Christians in particular ways.’ 9Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, believes that Jesus and the Twelve Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous are saying the same thing but with different vocabulary:
We suffer to get well.
We surrender to win.
We die to live.
We give it away to keep it.
Fr Richard’s good friend Father Thomas Keating (1923–2018) taught that this is the human condition.
To be powerless means to be absolutely helpless. . .This, oddly enough, is the best disposition for the beginning of a spiritual journey. Why is that? Because the deeper one’s awareness of one’s powerlessness and the more desperate, the more willing one is to reach out for help. This help is offered in the next two steps. You turn yourself over to a Higher Power who you believe can heal you and work with you in the long journey of dismantling the emotional programs for happiness. ..The real spiritual journey depends on our acknowledging the unmanageability of our lives. The love of God or the Higher Power is what heals us. Nobody becomes a full human being without love. It brings to life people who are most damaged. The steps are really an engagement in an ever-deepening relationship with God. [2]10Vulnerable and open to surrender to the Will of God is the disposition shown by Mary, beyond time and space, that we seek to live as Christians who are Christ bearers.
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