The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary on the Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord challenge us to the openness, vulnerability, and surrender of Mary as we experience situations of choosing Life in relationship with “God who is with us”.
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| Emmanuel |
In the passage from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah, Ahaz is promised the Sign of Immanuel.
* [7:14] Isaiah’s sign seeks to reassure Ahaz that he need not fear the invading armies of Syria and Israel in the light of God’s promise to David (2 Sm 7:12–16). The oracle follows a traditional announcement formula by which the birth and sometimes naming of a child is promised to particular individuals (Gn 16:11; Jgs 13:3). The young woman: Hebrew ‘almah designates a young woman of marriageable age without specific reference to virginity. The Septuagint translated the Hebrew term as parthenos, which normally does mean virgin, and this translation underlies Mt 1:23. Emmanuel: the name means “with us is God.” Since for the Christian the incarnation is the ultimate expression of God’s willingness to “be with us,” it is understandable that this text was interpreted to refer to the birth of Christ.1
Psalm 40 stipulates the precise mode of thanksgiving: not animal sacrifice but open and enthusiastic proclamation of the salvation just experienced.
* [Psalm 40] A thanksgiving (Ps 40:2–13) has been combined with a lament (Ps 40:14–17) that appears also in Ps 70. The psalmist describes the rescue in spatial terms—being raised up from the swampy underworld to firm earth where one can praise God (Ps 40:2–4). All who trust God will experience like protection (Ps 40:5–6)! The Psalm stipulates the precise mode of thanksgiving: not animal sacrifice but open and enthusiastic proclamation of the salvation just experienced (Ps 40:7–11). A prayer for protection concludes (Ps 40:12–17).2
The reading from the Letter to the Hebrews emphasizes Jesus One Sacrifice instead of many.
* [10:1–10] Christian faith now realizes that the Old Testament sacrifices did not effect the spiritual benefits to come but only prefigured them (Heb 10:1). For if the sacrifices had actually effected the forgiveness of sin, there would have been no reason for their constant repetition (Heb 10:2). They were rather a continual reminder of the people’s sins (Heb 10:3). It is not reasonable to suppose that human sins could be removed by the blood of animal sacrifices (Heb 10:4). Christ, therefore, is here shown to understand his mission in terms of Ps 40:5–7, cited according to the Septuagint (Heb 10:5–7). Jesus acknowledged that the Old Testament sacrifices did not remit the sins of the people and so, perceiving the will of God, offered his own body for this purpose (Heb 10:8–10).3
In 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).4
For Cindy Murphy McMahon, the lesson for us here is that God is full of the unexpected. We must not put God in a set, confining, constricting, limiting understanding that we have. God enjoys surprising us, so we must remain open to the wonders of the Lord and the marvels of God’s Holy Spirit in our lives.
So God, throughout history, had been giving a message that what God desired was people’s hearts, not superficial, ritualistic sin offerings. The psalmist revealed it, Jesus confirmed it, and then settled it once and for all with his own sacrifice as proof. Surprising news to many once again!
Then we come to the Gospel, the Annunciation, wherein the surprising God fulfills the prophecy with the cooperation of a young Hebrew woman named Mary. Mary was certainly surprised, but not so much that she said no. She had some questions, but she heard, felt and saw enough to trust God, and the rest is history5
Don Schwager quotes “Do you wish to be great?”, by Augustine of Hippo, 354-430 A.D.
"Just imagine the incredible kindness and mercy! He was the only Son, but He did not want to remain alone. So that humans might be born of God, God was born of humans. Begotten of God is He through Whom we were created - Born of a woman is He through Whom we are to be re-created. The Word first wished to be born of humans, so that you might be assured of being born of God" (excerpt from Sermon on John 2, 13)6
The Word Among Us Meditation on Luke 1:26-38 comments that Mary might not have had much time to reflect on the angel’s greetings until later, after she had said yes to God’s plan. But as the baby grew in her womb, she probably thought about it often. She knew that what God was asking of her wasn’t going to be easy. No doubt this was a special child. How was she going to raise Jesus to be a king and sit on the throne of David, as the angel had said? (Luke 1:32-33). When such questions swirled in her mind, she could always go back and recall the angel’s words: God was with her, and so was his grace.
When has the Lord asked you to do something difficult? Maybe you were given a special needs child to raise or you are caring for an ailing spouse or parent or you’re trying to work through tensions in your marriage. We all are faced with situations in which God is asking us to do what seems beyond us. We may have to say yes to the Lord not once but many times as we struggle to be obedient to his plan for our lives.
But what the angel said to Mary is also true of us. Mary was born without original sin, but because of our baptism, we are also filled with God’s grace. He dwells in us. That means he is always with us and that his grace is always available to us.7
Friar Jude Winkler explains how the reference by Isaiah to a maiden becomes a virgin in the Gospel. Mary, Immaculately conceived, is completely free to respond to Gabriel. Friar Jude connects Mary to the Ark of the Covenant as the Holy Spirit hovers over her.
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, comments that Brian McLaren is an author and contemplative activist who is responding to crises, not theoretical for him, but a deeply felt and lived experience which comes through so clearly in these words.
Anxieties can gray the whole sky like cloud cover or descend on our whole horizon like fog. When we rename our anxieties, in a sense we distill them into requests. What covered the whole sky can now be contained in a couple of buckets. So when we’re suffering from anxiety, we can begin by simply holding the word help before God, letting that one word bring focus to the chaos of our racing thoughts. Once we feel that our mind has dropped out of the frantic zone and into a spirit of connection with God, we can let the general word help go and in its place hold more specific words that name what we need, thereby condensing the cloud of vague anxiety into a bucket of substantial request. So we might hold the word guidance before God. Or patience. Or courage. Or resilience. Or boundaries, mercy, compassion, determination, healing, calm, freedom, wisdom, or peace. . . . [2]8
The “yes” of Mary provides the Way for us to meet challenges through depending on the grace of God as we adopt attitudes of surrender and vulnerability in times of great decisions.
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